Note 39 — Chapter I · THE EVIL EYE AND THE SCARING OF GHOSTS.

Many of the precious stones have tales and qualities of their own. Once upon a time a holy man came and settled at Panna who had a diamond as large as a cart-wheel. The Râja, hearing of this, tried to take it by force, but the saint hid it in the ground out of his way. He told the Râja that the diamond wheel could not leave his dominions, and that no one could ever find it. The Muhammadans say that all the diamonds found since, in these famous mines, were fragments of the wheel.39 The wearing of a ring of sapphire, sacred to Sani or Saturn, is supposed to turn out lucky or unlucky, according to circumstances. For this reason, the wearer tries it for three days, that is, he wears it on Saturday, which is sacred to Saturn, and keeps it on till Tuesday. During this time, if no mishap befalls him, he continues to wear it during the period when the planet’s influence is unfavourable; but should any mishap befall him during the three days, he gives the ring to a Brâhman.40 The amethyst obtains its name because any one who wears it cannot be affected by wine. The turquoise or Fîroza is a mystic stone in India. If you bathe wearing a turquoise, the water touched by it protects the wearer from boils, and snakes will not approach him.41 Shylock got a turquoise from Leah which he would not have given for a wilderness of monkeys, because it changed colour with the health of the owner, and the Turkeys, says an old writer, “doth move when there is any peril prepared to him that weareth it.”42 So the onyx, known as the Sulaimâni, or stone of Solomon, has mystic virtues, as, according to Burton, carbuncles and coral, beryl, pearls and rubies were believed to drive away devils, to overcome sorrow, and to stop dreams.43