REVERIE.

ABBIE W. GOULD.

I sit by the cottage hearth, to-night,
The lamps burn dim and low,
But the merry flames, with flashing light,
Toss hither to and fro:

And as the sparks, up to the sky,
From out the sooty chimney fly,

A lesson of truth I read in fire,

Of the dream called Life, with its deep desire.

O Soul of mine, how in the dark
Thou dwellest, and alone!

And from the tiny sun-light spark,
In majesty thou'st grown;

And though the body chained thee fast
Its time of slavery could not last,

But swift to the spirit's call, "mount high"
As the sparks of fire, Thou sought the sky.

Man seeks the evil, seeks the good,
He asks not how or why,

Life's lessons are not understood

'Till youth has hurried by;

But with our gathered, faded leaves,
And roses dead, the spirit grieves

That thorns are hid beneath life's flowers
To wound and sting, in sweetest hours-
To wound and sting, in sweetest hours.

But Life and Light, as in the wood,
Their flames could not conceal,

So ever in true sacrifice,

Their aims to man reveal;

And though the ashes softly fall,
A glory still will shine o'er all,

For as the dross and rubbish burn,
The Soul of man doth sun-ward turn.

PRECIOUS STONES.

We frequently have letters of inquiry in regard to the precious stones, as to what particular signs they belong, their efficacy, etc., knowing that authority upon such matters must be ancient, and not having at our command time to look into the old writings upon the subject, we give some extracts from a work upon the "History of Precious Stones," by C. W. King, M. A., Fellow of Trinity College. Cambridge, a man of extensive research and unquestionable reliability. From Camillus Leonardi he quotes the following upon the general nature and intrinsic value of stones, explaining that Camillo was probably a student of Arabic authority, as he designates the gems by Arabic names, and goes on to say that the mysterious "A. C.", the supposed founder of the Rosicrucian order "acquired all his arcana at the Arabian College of Damascus:"

"All things in nature have a certain form, and are subject to certain influences. Stones therefore, being natural productions, have a certain specific form, and are likewise subject to the universal influence of the planets. Hence if they be engraved by a skillful person under some particular influence, they receive a certain virtue as though they had been endowed with life through that engraving. But if the effect intended by the figure engraved be the same as that produced by the natural property of the stone, its virtue will be doubled and its efficacy augmented.

Our author then proceeds to give what he terms "Camillo's wellexecuted summary of the theories of Aristotle" upon the origin of stones, as found in his famous treatise "On Minerals:"

"The efficient or generative cause of stones has been variously assigned by different writers. But passing over their conflicting theories let us come to the true cause, and maintain with the greatest of philosophers, that the efficient virtue, or generative cause of stones, is a certain mineral virtue that subsists not merely in stones, but also in metals, and moreover in the substances that hold the middle place between these two species. And forasmuch as we are without a proper name for this virtue, this one, that is to say, The Mineral Virtue,' hath been attributed to it by inquirers; for things that we are unable to express by their proper names, we are obliged to define

by a similitude, not that the same facts are examples of the manner in which this mineral virtue subsists in stones,' to use Aristotle's words. For we give an example not because a thing is done in the same way, but in order that those who are learning may form an idea thereof; and thus, by taking the case of animal seed, we can illustrate in what manner the mineral virtue, which we assert is the efficient or generative cause of stones, operates in stones. Thus, we say that the seed of an animal is the superfluous nourishment descending into the spermatic vessels, and issuing out of those vessels. The efficient, or generative, virtue is infused in the seed itself, through means of which such spermatic matter is rendered fecundative, according to the doctrine held in natural history. The which virtue however doth not act by means of its essence, but by the means of its inherence; as we say, for example, an artist is implied in the idea of an object made by art. So by a parity of reasoning we maintain that in fit matter for the production of a stone there subsists a formative or efficient virtue for the producing a stone of this or that species, according to the disposition or requirements of the matter, the place, and the influence, where such matter is found ready for its operation. The which virtue is indeed designated by some 'the Virtue of the Heavens.' And this is what Plato means by saying that 'the virtues of the heavens are infused in proportion to the worthiness of the subject matter.'

"In Physics also it is granted that all formative or efficient virtue has some proper instrument in some particular species, through the means of which it effects or produces its own operation. For this reason we must adopt the opinion of Aristotle put forth in his treatise On Minerals,' and maintain that 'the peculiar efficient or generative virtue of stones, existing in the material of stones, which is termed mineral matter, is made up of two things; or, as it were, instruments, which instruments are diversified according to the difference of the nature or the species of the stones. Of which instruments, the one is Heat digestive, extractive or desiccative of Moisture, inducing form in the stone through the medium of the coagulation of its earthy particles, to which it is subjected by the unctuous moisture; and this heat is directed by the formative or mineral virtue of the stones themselves, which last is termed by Aristotle 'the Hot, Desiccative Cause.' Nor is it doubtful that such

heat, if it were not regulated by some other condition, would be in excess above the nature of the stone, and would reduce it to ashes; and, on the other hand, if the heat were lessened, it would not digest the matter properly, and so not bring the material of the stone to its best and perfect form, because it was insufficient to produce that effect. The second instrument is Cold subsisting in the matter of the aqueous moisture, which aqueous moisture is affected by the dryness of its earth, and this is the Cold constrictive of moisture,' which moisture by means of such constriction is forced out, and does not remain in the matter except in such a proportion as is necessary for the continuity of the same. And this is termed by Aristotle the Drying and Congealing Virtue of the earth.' And this is the cause why stones cannot in any way be melted by the desicca tive heat in the same manner as the metals are melted. For in metals the moisture has not been completely squeezed out, for which reason the matter of metals remains capable of fusion. For which reasons we must maintain that Heat, that digests and repels moisture, and Cold. that constringes moisture after it is acted upon by the dryness of the earth, are the peculiar instruments of the Efficient or Mineral Virtue of stones. And this is the doctrine laid down by Aristotle in his treatise 'On Minerals,' viz., that stones are produced in two ways, either by congelation or by conglutination; as already stated."

Next follows an elaboration of this theory of Aristotle, by his disciple Theophrastus, the writer suggesting that in the theory if we substitute the terms "Electric action" and "Affinity of particles" for "Efficient Virtue" and "Condensation," "we really measure all the advances modern science has made in solving these mysteries of creative Nature":

"Of things growing within the earth, some are of Water. others of Earth. Of Water, are the metals, such as silver and gold and the rest: of Earth, are stone, and all the more precious kinds of stones, and also whatever other peculiar varieties there be of earths properly so called; peculiar, that is to say, on account of their color, their polish, their density, or any other quality. The subject of metals has been considered elsewhere; at present let us discuss the latter substances, stones, and earths.

"All these therefore, we ought, speaking generally, to consider as made up of a certain pure and homogeneous matter,

produced either by a flux or a filtration through some medium, or else secreted in some different manner, as has already been stated. For it is possible that some are formed in the latter, some in the former way; others again by a different process: from the which causes in fact they derive their smoothness, their density, their brilliancy, their transparency, and all such properties. And the more pure and homogeneous each substance may be, in so much higher a degree do the aforesaid qualities subsist in the same. For as a general rule, according to the perfection possessed by the agent employed in the composition, or the condensation, of the subject-matter, so does the product turn out of the same kind. Now condensation is in some cases the result of heat, in others of cold; for there is no reason why certain kinds of stones should not be formed by either of these causes, inasmuch as all the various kinds of earths may be supposed to be produced by fire, if indeed it be a fact that the condensation and the dissolution of any substance are brought about by opposite means. Now in stones many peculiar qualities subsist; for in the earth, their origin, lie the causes of most of their different distinctions with respect to color, tenacity, density, smoothness, and similar properties: whilst in other respects differences between them are not commonly to be observed."

Yet another quotation from Camillo is especially interesting:

"It is indisputable that there are virtues in stones, but the origin whence such a virtue is derived has not been determined. Some lay it down that there are in stones special virtues, besides their complexional, derived from the elements composing them, and they support their assertions by the following argument alone: that whatever is composed of anything possesses the virtue of what composes it, just as a rivulet has the taste of its fountain head. But it is a known fact that stones are composed of the elements, therefore whatever there is in stones comes entirely from the elements and not from any other virtue. Plato and his followers, who hold the doctrine of Ideas, say that all composite bodies, in whatever species, have their own Idea (or type) that infuses virtue into them; and in proportion as such mixed or composite bodies possess a purer substance of their own derived from the elements, in the same degree does their Idea, when it is infused into them, produce a more perfect result