Many beautiful crystals bearing intagli of a large size have been discovered. Mr. King mentions two choice specimens of Valerio il Vicentino and his rival Geo. del Castel Bolognese. Some crystals have been found encasing drops of water very much like the spirit in the spirit-level. These are known as Hydrolites or, as Pliny writes them, Enhydros. They are mentioned by the poet Claudian as— “_A stream unfettered pent in crystal round, A truant fount by hardened waters bound._” Mr. King received information that miners in California have died from drinking the water from a hydrolite, and this circumstance exhibits the subtle action of some of the stones attached to the sign of the Fishes. The crystal, wrongly but frequently termed “beryl” stone, is highly esteemed as an instrument for heightening the imagination and bringing out the gazing power of the third eye previously mentioned. Mr. William Jones gives an illustration of the seal of a divination ring from Licini’s “Antiqua Schemata.” It shows a half nude woman holding a serpent in her left hand, the head of which is bending towards a crystal ball held by a nude man, his right leg resting on a wooden stand, his left stretching towards an altar on which the sacred fire is burning. The female bends over the male who gazes intently into the crystal ball. The work is full of expression and force. In the Highlands of Scotland large pieces of crystal were used for charms, and cattle were given to drink water which had been poured over crystals. Similar crystals were employed for the protection of cattle in Ireland, a fine specimen being still kept by the Tyrone family. The sign Pisces is the natural 12th celestial House, ruling large cattle. It is also the sign of occult and mysterious things and of the elevation of Venus. Thus, all the legends, stories and philosophies connected with this bright stone of the sign Pisces are easily understood. Professor Sir William Ridgeway, of Cambridge, England, in his work, “The Drama and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races,” draws attention to the fact that “crystals have always been and are still regarded as the most amuletic of precious stones, and comedians also are frequently cut into faceted shapes by the Arabs and others. The diamond and spinel are both octahedral. The Japanese are especially fond of rock crystal, one of their favorite amulets being a double gourd cut out of such a crystal.” Swedenborg recognized in the crystal “Divine Truth in all its brightness” and truth certainly has its correspondence in the clear glistening magnetic crystal. CHAPTER XVI THE DIAMOND