OPHITES. Ophites or Snake Stones are stones of black or grey colour described by Orpheus as “black, hard, weighty, portentous balls surrounded by furrowed lines in many a mazy bend.” It is variously described. There are in India snake charmers called Sampoori who assert that they can extract the snake stone from the head of a snake, but these assertions are unfavourably commented upon by some Indian authors. Still, it has been shown by Sir J. Tennent in his work on “Ceylon” and by Buckland in “Curiosities of Natural History” that some striking cures from snake bite have ostensibly been effected by the use of a so-termed snake stone which is said to absorb the poison if applied to the bite with a little blood before the poison has had time to invade the system. Some authentic cures are quoted, notably that of a man bitten by a Cobra; in this case the man was saved by “two small snake stones the size of a large pea.” The snake stone, it is said, clings for a short time to the wound and then drops off. It is reported to be composed of some vegetable substance; the Cobra stone, according to Farraday, the distinguished chemist, is but charred bone filled with blood a number of times and then again charred. In England and Scotland snake stones strung together used to be given to cattle to chew if bitten by vipers. The stone was considered to be a very potent charm against the evil blasts of occult forces. Albertus Magnus carried a stone which guarded against epidemics, evil magic and the bites of serpents, and by the aid of which he was able to attract serpents. ORITE. This stone is described as black and round. If mixed with the oil of roses it will cure fatal wounds, protect from wild animals and prevent childbirth. OVUM ANGUINUM. The Ovum Anguinum is described by Pliny as a Druidic badge the size of an apple, surrounded by a gristly crust covered with protuberances like the suckers on the arms of a cuttle fish. The story goes that at a certain season of the year a crowd of snakes are found intertwined and bearing above them the magical Ovum, which the hunter had to catch in some soft material before it tumbled to earth, for if it did so it would lose its power. As soon as the hunter seized the magic stone the serpents rushed after him and his fate was sealed if they reached him before he crossed a flowing stream. PANDARBES. Philostratus relates how Chariclea escaped unharmed from the funeral pyre on which she was condemned to perish by the jealous Arsace by secretly wearing the wonderful ring of King Hydrastes. In this ring was set a stone called Pandarbes which was engraved as a talismanic charm against the fury of fire.