Tavernier writes of a great topaz in the possession of the Grand Mogul weighing 157 carats and worth about 100,000 dollars. Runyeet Singh’s topaz, half the size of a billiard ball, was worth 200,000 rupees. The Great Braganza, 1680 carats, which adorned the crown of Portugal and was supposed to be a diamond, is a white topaz. One of the pleasures of the giant Emperor Maximilian, of whose strength so many stories are told, was to crush topazes to powder in his fingers. Why he indulged in this form of sport is unknown; probably he found it recreation after killing an ox at a blow or knocking out the teeth of an unfortunate horse. Mr. King mentions a Head of Mæcenas on topaz attributed to Solon at Florence, and another—wrongly attributed to Dioscorides—of a girl’s head in the Marlborough collection. The Topaz was called “Stone of Strength” by Pliny for the martial Scorpio is the wrestler’s sign and the sign of strong people. The power of the topaz was said to increase as the moon increased, especially if the night orb was at new or full in the sign Scorpio. It banished the terrors of the night, protected the wearer during epidemics, soothed the wild passions and gave a glimpse of the beyond. It banished the fear of death and secured a painless passing from this life to the next; it gave strength to the intellect and enabled the wearer to receive impressions from astral sources. It preserved from miasmatic conditions and lost its colour when in the presence of poisons. The power attributed to it of quenching boiling water is symbolic of the fiery Mars, planet of power in the watery Scorpio. It was also said by the old masters that the topaz preserved against drowning, and a curious illustration of this belief came recently under the writer’s notice. He advised the wife of a well-known Australian to purchase a very beautiful topaz, which was mounted under his direction as a charm of the sign Scorpio. During the late war this lady and her daughter had need to travel to England. The voyage was about half accomplished when the vessel was submarined. The boat in which the lady and her daughter were, capsized and all the struggling passengers were thrown into the sea. She seized a piece of wreckage and supported her daughter and herself until they were both dragged into a boat some considerable time after. The lady had clutched the topaz charm from her neck and was holding it tightly in her hand while struggling in the water. Just as they got into the boat she felt someone give a heavy blow on her hand and take the gem from her. She grieved for the loss of her beautiful topaz charm which she regarded as the symbol of her own and her daughter’s salvation.