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THE SOUTHERN WOULD, MAY 16,1882.
11
the time she committed so great a crime as
the attempted theft of the will, and the
actual arson in setting fire to the Manor.
Yes, it is much better so. Had she lived
an asylum or prison must have received her
for the rest of her days. Yes, yes, my dear,
God knows best. He was merciful to her
in taking her, and merciful to her boy as
well."
Written specially for the Southern World.
*U ABOUT TOAII-STONKS.
<*!• BY HELEN HARCOUBT.
Toad-stones? Ay! even so! A funny sub
ject, is it not?- Funny in more senses than
one, for when we look back front our mod
ern standpoint of science and common
sense, upon tho utter credulity of our an
cestors, it certainly does, as the old woman
says, “strike us comical.”
A great many ridiculous things were said,
done and believed, in “the good old times,"
but very few more utterly absurd ideas wore
ever propounded, than those that once ob
tained full credence in regard to toad-
stones.
Far, far back among the earliest traditions
of India, we hear tho astonishing tidings
that serpents have a precious stone in their
head, which, taken internally, is a specific
against poisons, or used as a jewel and
worn on the person, will forewarn its owner
of the presence of venom.
Yet it remained for Pliny alone among the
very ancient writers, to bring the toad into
prominence; he tells us of a certain bone in
the right side of the toad which ]>ossesses
wqnderful medicinal qualities, and speaks
also of stones called batrnchites, which
were brought from Coptos, some of them
being colored like a frog, others like ivory,
aud others blackish-red, like a toad; but let
us do justice to Pliny, who was, in the
main, a sensible old fellow.
He gave the name of batrachite (or frog
like) to these stones, simply on account of
their odd coloring, and not from any sujicr-
stition with regard to their uses.
But such a matter of fact view did not suit
the vendors of the marvellous, who for cen
turies after him, held swny over the hearts
of credulous mankind, nnd thus building on
the frail corner stone supplied by innocent
Pliny, in the word “batrachite,” they erect
ed a wondrous fabrio of marvellous state
ments, in regard to the powers of tho hum
ble little toad.
The most general form of this supersti
tion was that “they are exceedingly venom
ous, and have in their lioad a stone of ex
ceeding virtue os a talisman, charm or amu
let."
How utterly has modern science and mod
ern common sense scattered these curious
ideas to the winds!
This wonderful jewel, so snugly hidden
away within the head of the toad, could not
however, be secured by dissection, or if so
obtained, was worthless. It was not, of
course, in the nature of things, that so mar
vellous a stone should be be got by any ordi
nary means, much less by the common mode
of the knife, and so, in the words of a quaint
old writer, the following method of proce
dure was adopted by those who sought to be
come the happy possessors of a toad-stone.
“The art,” says he, “is in taking of It out,
for they say it must be taken out of the head
alive, before the toad bo dead, with a piece
of cloth of the color of red scarlet, where
withal they are much delighted, so that
while they stretch out themselves, as it
were in sport, upon that cloth, they cast out
the stone of their head, but instantly they
sup it up again, unless it be taken from them
through some secret hole in the said cloth,
whereby it falleth into a cistern or vessel of
water, into which the toad dsroth not enter,
by reuson of the coldness of tho water. The
probation of this stone is by laying of it to a
live toad, and if she lift up her head against
it, it is good, but if she run away from it,
is a counterfeit.” Under which severe test
we presume that nine hundred and ninety-
nine out of a thousand toad-stones, would be.
pronounced frauds, since just about that
proportion of toads would "run away” into
retirement, unless forcibly prevented. But
still the belief in the efficacy of toad-stones
continued In full force for centuries, perhaps
all the more so because of the extremo rar
ity of the.inarvellous jewels thus “proved"
genuine by the toad itself.
Many, many years after the above quaint
item of information was given to the world,
Lupton, in his “Notable Things” makes the
same assertion, although iud different
words:
“Hold your stone," he says, “before a toad,
and if it be a right and true stone, your
toad will leap towards it, and make as
though he would snatch it froiu you, for he
envieth so much that man should have that
stone.”
Anselmus Bretius informs us how he him
self having read that “if a large and old he
toad is placed on a table on a red cloth, and
watched carefully all night, he will vomit up
his stone,” he did actually so watch a he
toad, all through the long hours of the
darkness; again and again did the toils of
8lumberseek to ensnare him, but most man
fully did he struggle against what he con
sidered as the efforts of a supernatural pow
er to throw him off his guard, "for it was
not usual," says he “that sleep should so
seek to overpower mine eyes.”
He did not sleep, neither did the toad
“vomit up its stone," and the only reward
of his patient watching was weariness, an
aching head, and let us hope, an access of
wisdom.
Shakspeare, that greatest of all writers,
seized upon this fuble of the toad-stone und
turned it to a beautiful truth beautifully
expressed, where in “As You Like It,” he
exclaims:
“Sweet are the uses of adversity.
Which, like the toad, ugly anil venomous.
Wears yet a precious Jewel in Its heiul.”
Fortunate indeed, in the estimation of his
fellows, was the owner of a toad-stone; no
poison could affect him, no “evil-eye" harm
him.
1 There was a difference in toail-stoncs; all
were valuable, but not all equally so; the
best kinds were said to be white, hut others,
of a dark bluish color, with a sort of eye
murk or brown spot, were held to be a per
fect antidote, when swallowed, against all
kinds of poison, und that this was really
true, Camillo, the celebrated physician to
Borgia, gives us his solcmen word, and
surely he, of all men, should have known
Something about poison.
Mediieval jewels, with toad-stones set in
silver—rings, lockets, charms, were very
common, and eagerly sought after, on ac
count'of their wonderful virtues.
Krasin us tells us of a famous toad-stone
that some devout devotee placed, embedded
in silver, (silver wns invariably used for
charms), near the feet of tho Virgin at Wul-
singlmm; nnd Batman gravely informs us
that “there is a race of toads in Italy, near
Naples, which havo in their heads a stone
called crapo, as big ns a pea, hut flat and of a
gray color, witli a brown spot in tho middle,
said to lie of great virtue.”
Thus we see that high authorities were
not wanting to indorse and dignity tho pop
ular belief in toad-stones; what wonder then,
that the ignorant herd placed implicit
faith in their credited origin aud qualities?
Once more we quote from an old-time
writer, Dr. Plot, of London, and in his
words, published in the year 1077, we have
tho connecting link between the still pre
vailing superstition, and modern explana
tion of the true origin of toad-stones:
“By my buponitesor toad-stones, I intend
not that shining, polished stone just demon
strated by the ingenious learned Sir George
Knt, in his Majesty’s presence, to be noth
ing else but the jaw tooth or grinder of the
lupus marinus, and so confessed to be by tho
goldsmith that sold tljem, but a certain
reddish liver-colored stone, indeed, in form
of those of the shark fish, i. «. like the seg
ment of a sphere, convox at the top and
concave underneath, but found amongst the
gravel in Magdalen College walks, and may
be so called from some resemblance to the
figure of a toad’s skull; not that there comes
any such thing out of a vexed toad’s head as is
commouly aud no less fabulously reported.”
And thus, in these few words, the first
blow was struck at this absurd superstition,
and a glimpse of the truth disclosed. Some
thing called toad-stones there were (and are)
undoubtedly, and even those who were the
original finders and sellers, consequently
knew very well that they never were ejected
by a toad, could not tell what they were, nor
how they came to be where they obtained
them, namely, on the ground in certain lo
calities.
And so they were, after all, mysterious,
though not supernatural; here and there
they were dug upor picked up, lying loosely
on the surface of the soil; rough, dirty,
dingy, yet susceptible of a high polish; they
were isolated waifs—whence came they and
what was their origin? It was all a mys
tery.
But it was a mystery that science solved,
as she lias solved many another; she took up
the subject of the much vaunted toad-stones
in due time, and lo! the clouds of ignorance
were swept away, and the clean light of
knowledge revealed—what? Teeth! ay, teeth,
neither more nor less! Let us explain fur
ther.
Far back in the geological ages, there
flourished a family of fishes, now known os
pyenodmts, or hump-toothed sharks. This
great family of monsters, our savants tell
us, fed upon molusks, crabs and “others of
that ilk,” and therefore, that they might
crack the shells and eat their dinner in com
fort Nature, ever kind and considerate,
provided them with several parallel rows of
thick, rounded teeth, exactly like hollow
studs and fastened not in the position of or
dinary teeth, but to the palate and lower
jaw, thus constituting no despicable mill for
grinding up limpets, crabs, mussels, orwhat-
ever uulucky shell-Asha might be drawn luto
the vortex of those fearful jaws.
Query.—As it is not to he supposed that
this family of pyenodmts devoured the shells
os well as their owners, might they not
justly lay claim to the distinction of being
the first manufacturers of “ground oyster-
shell lime?”
Now, these oddly shaped teeth, like all
other modern teeth, were independent of the
skeleton, and thus, in the course of ages,
they were washed out of the original stratum
in which their owners were fossilized aud
deposited, (the kintmeridge clay), and are
now found isolated and detached in a higher
stratum culled the lower green-sand beds.
In Knglund there are ouly three localities
where they are obtained, and in Kurope
their area is equally limited.
And thus, os we have seen, the toad-stone
like many another mysterious object, is
proved to have nothing to do with its name
either with toads or with stones; they are
only teeth after all, oddly shuped and oddly
colored teeth, to be sure, and with the dig
nity of ages of dust clinging to them, but
still only teeth; nor does science arrive at
this fact by inference alone. Kven now,
there swims in the seas between Australia
and New Zealand, a species of shark called
the Port Juckson shark, whose mouth is as
Agussiz terms it, furnished with a “long
pavement” u( teeth, precisely like those ot
the fossil pycnodonts.
All toad-stones ure teeth, but not all teeth
are toad-stones; neither are all the teeth that
are called toad-stones precisely alike.
The most common^ ure those that are hol
low stud-shaded, others are oval, much like
coffee beans, and some are still smaller than
than tiiese, and are sometimes found in par
allel rows just os they were placed in the
jaws of their owner, their Huttened surfaces
revealing, by the aid of a microscope, a
beautiful rose pattern formed by the strata
ot bone.
Uud toad-stones not been found just os
they were, existing in certuin limited local
ities, and scattered by some uuknown agency
i,irough the soil; their appearance unlike
uuytbing ever seen before, and their true
origin and nature a perfect puzzle, they
would never have now the renown they en
joyed for ages.
In their mystery lay their charm, and
with it their fame has departed; yet still
they form beautiful ornaments, properly set
and mounted, and in a geologist’s collection
contribute not a little to its attractions.
But even so, we would earnestly beg our
readers not to sit up all night to watch a
toad squatting on a red cloth, especially if
the weather be cool—even for the sake of
obtaining one of these rare specimens.
TUB FATIBNT PUPIL.
“I bate him! Yes, I do! and I never will
take another lesson! dee if I do!” This
was said with emphasis.
Mrs. Gordon looked out of the parlor win
dow to find that the speaker was her own
little daughter. Mudge was a bright, active
girl, with lovely chestnut hair, blue eyes
and red cheeks. A pet at home, aud a fa
vorite at school, it was not strange that she
was Imperious. She enjoyed music, but she
“hated practice."
Mrs. Gordon looked thoughtful. She de
sired Madge to become an accurate musician
and sho felt that Prof. Dartrum was a ju
dicious teacher. A moment later and Madge
stood there. There was a look of defiance
in her deep blue eyes.
“Let us hear all about it,” said Mrs. Gor
don, making a place for Madge and her two
young friends ou the sofa. Then followed a
brief narration ot the very strict rules, and
the torture to which she was every day
subject.
“Miss Craven is not half as strict. 8ay I
may take lessons of Miss Craven, mammal"
Madge conclude,!.
For answer, Mrs. Gordon said, very gently:
"Before we decide, let me narrate something
that I have read of a young girl whose teacher
was far more exacting than Prof. Dartrum.”
"That could never be!” exclaimed Madge.
“Will you have the story7”
“Yes, yes!" cried three voices in chorus.
“As 1 will leave you to guess the name of
the young girl, you will ueed to pay partic
ular attention,” continued Mrs. Gordon.
“The sleepy old place in which our heroine
lived possibly had something to do in fos
tering the love of music in her breast until
It burst into a flame bright enough to il
lumine two continents.
“This town bad a theater, where the little
girl was accustomed to go with her father.
He was a flute player in the theater and or
ganist in the famous old cathedral. At last,
from following the musicians so closely, she
longed to play herself. The flute did not
suit hor small mouth; but the violin—yes,
she would have a violin!
“ ’A violin! Nothing could be more ab
surd,’ her relatives declared, and Aunt Car
oline insisted that her father must not in
dulge the child in this way; only boys played
violins.
“However, this girl kept on asking; and
at last, her father brought home the smallest
violin thut he could poesibly buy.
“And now for lessons! M. Simon, the
tencher, lived a good distance away. It did
nut matter. Thrie times a week she took
that long wulk through the Kue Voltaire,
across the crowded place where the theater
stood, till the gray towers of the old cha
teau came in sight.
"Fiist, she must learn to stand—how to
rest on her left foot with the right partly iu
front; then how to hold her violin—how it
should rest on her shoulder, and how to
grasp and support it. Hold it perfectly still
for ten minutes! Then lay it down for a
few minutes’ rest! Take it up again, and
hold it firm!
“Patiently now she bent her small fingers
over the strings, as if to touch a chord, head
erect, left uriu bent and brought forward so
that she could see her elbow under the vio
lin. Then she must stand perfectly still,
with the right arm banging down naturally.
No bow, of course. She must first learn to
sustain the weight of the violin, and accus
tom her arm to its shape. In silence and
motionless she held the instrument.
“For two or three weeks she did this and
nothing more.
“Then the bow wns placed in her right
hand. Now rest it lightly on the strings,
and draw it nown slowly and steadily. Not
u sound! No, there wns no rosin on the bow,
und it slipped over the strings in silence.
"Two hours every day, nothing but jiosi- _
tions and dumb motions—not cvcif linger
exercises. Simply to lenrn to stand, to put
the fingers in the right place and to make
the right motions with the bow. Very often
her poor arms would ache, and her legs be
come stiffwith standing. Then her teacher
hud a temper, and was at times, fearfully
cross. Tears stood in her eyes, bnt no word
of complaint ever was uttered. She wus go
ing to play, an d this wus het way to learn.
“At home the same thing was repeated.
Three hours’ practice every day with the
dumb violin, and this for three full months.
“Now she lias rosin on her bow. The ex
ercises are all written out with a pen by her
master—long-susluined holes by the hour.
Tho how hardly moved, so slowly did she
draw it up and down. If she obtained
nothing else, she would have a stiong, clear
tone, and learned to make a grand, full
sweep with her bow. Slowly and patiently
she crept along, sometimes in the morning,
sometimes late at night, listening to in
structions and playing over the exercises.
“Seven hours every day! Scales in every
key, running passages of every imaginable
character—nearly a year of dry scales.
“One day a famous musical director put
up at the Hotel de France. Would he listen
to her playing? Yes.
“She sat in her usual place in the orches
tra all the evening, and then, near midnight,
with her violin under her arm, called at the
Hotel de France. The great artist had been
treated to a banquet, and was still sitting in
the dining-room. There were goblets aud
champagne glasses on the table; and after
talking about music for a few moments, he
took a fork, and gently tapping on a wine
glass, asked what note it was. It was B.
And this one? A. And this one? D. And
so on. He was greatly pleased with the ex
periment, and said he would hear her play.
’Only you must mind I don’t like false notes.’
“ ‘I never give ’em sir.’
“He laughed, and she began to play, She
was a bold, sturdy player, and aston
ished the director with the graceful sweep
of the small arm. At the close, he compli
mented her in a cordial manner, and hoped
she would go on with her studies. ‘O! she
would; she meant to study all the time.’
“The first real piece was a grand occasion.
She played it through hundreds of times,