In the museum of natural curiosities at Madrid there is a large piece of loadstone originally extracted from the American mines. There is scarcely a Gitána in Madrid who is not acquainted with this circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a part of it; its being placed in a royal museum serving to augment, in their opinion, its real value. Several attempts have been made to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuccessful. The Gypsies seem not to be the only people who envy royalty the possession of this stone. Pepita, the old Gitána of whose talent at telling fortunes such honourable mention has already been made, informed me that a priest, who was muy enamorado (in love), proposed to her to steal the loadstone, offering her all his sacerdotal garments in the event of success: whether the singular reward that was promised had but slight temptations for her, or whether she feared that her dexterity was not equal to the accomplishment of the task, we know not, but she appears to have declined attempting it. According to the Gypsy account, the person in love, if he wish to excite a corresponding passion in another quarter by means of the loadstone, must swallow, _in aguardiente_, a small portion of the stone pulverised, at the time of going to rest, repeating to himself the following magic rhyme:— ‘To the Mountain of Olives one morning I hied, Three little black goats before me I spied, Those three little goats on three cars I laid, Black cheeses three from their milk I made; The one I bestow on the loadstone of power, That save me it may from all ills that lower; The second to Mary Padilla I give, And to all the witch hags about her that live; The third I reserve for Asmodeus lame, That fetch me he may whatever I name.’ _La raiz del buen Baron_, _or the root of the good Baron_.—On this subject we cannot be very explicit. It is customary with the Gitánas to sell, under this title, various roots and herbs, to unfortunate females who are desirous of producing a certain result; these roots are boiled in white wine, and the abominable decoction is taken fasting. I was once shown the root of the good baron, which, in this instance, appeared to be parsley root. By the good baron is meant his Satanic majesty, on whom the root is very appropriately fathered. CHAPTER VII