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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,