An engraved amethyst bearing the figure of a little Cupid is said to have been worn in a ring by St. Valentine. While this may be somewhat doubtful, it is by no means impossible, for many pagan gems were worn by pious Christians, who reconciled their consciences to the use of these beautiful but scarcely religious ornaments by giving to the pagan symbols a Christian meaning. Certainly, in view of the time-honored customs connected with St. Valentine’s Day, there seems something peculiarly appropriate in the design of the ring supposed to have been worn by St. Valentine. That precious stones had sense and feeling was quite generally believed in medieval times, and a legend told of St. Martial illustrates this idea. The gloves worn by this saint were studded with precious stones, and when on a certain occasion a sacrilegious act was committed in his presence, the gems, horrified at the sight, sprang out of their settings and fell to the ground before the eyes of the onlookers. [Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF A GROUP OF TREATISES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS, COLLECTED AND EDITED BY CONRAD GESNER AT ZÜRICH IN 1565. The upper one of the two rings figured is set with a natural pointed diamond, the lower one with a piece of amber enclosing an insect; grouped around are twelve stones representing those of the Breastplate.] The St. Sylvester or St. James stone is a banded agate in two colors, the one dark and the other light, with a cat’s-eye effect so that both colors are equally visible. The light side represents the old year, with its known occurrences, and the opaque side represents the new year, which is dark like futurity. This is a typical stone for a New Year’s present or for one born on St. Sylvester’s Day, the last day of the year. The popular tradition is that the member of a family or a household who is last to arise on that day will be the last to arise all the year around. The famous “Sacro Catino” preserved in Genoa was long believed to be made of a single immense emerald, but careful investigation proved that it was of no more valuable material than green glass. A legend still current in the early part of the sixteenth century represented this cup, or dish, as having been used by Christ at the Last Supper, and stated that it was one of the utensils which King Herod ordered to be brought from Galilee to Jerusalem for the celebration of the paschal feast; but his purpose having been changed by Divine Providence, he made other use of it.[387]