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Snake Stones and Bezoars: Rumphius

The real or supposed virtues of the "snake-stones" of Ceylon are detailed at considerable length by the great Dutch naturalist, Rumphius. After noting the old tale that the "natural" snake-stones came from the cobra de capello (Serpens pilosus), he proceeds to relate the information he had been able to gather regarding the "spurious" stones of this type. These were fabricated by the Brahmins, the process being kept a profound secret; indeed, there were those who asserted that the Brahmins themselves had lost the art, as this had been possessed by but a single family which had died out, leaving the secret unrevealed. Rumphius describes these artificial stones as usually round and flat, the size varying from that of a half-shilling piece to that of a two-shilling piece. Some were of lenticular form and a few were oblong; all had a white spot in the middle. In making the application, the bitten spot was first pricked until it bled, whereupon the stone was immediately laid on and allowed to remain until it dropped off of itself "just as a leech would do." So intense was its absorbent activity that it would sometimes break, in which case a substitute had to be quickly applied. The saturated stone was placed in milk and the absorbed venom was thus drawn out, turning the milk blue. One of the tales of the Gesta Romanorum treats of a serpent-stone of singular medicinal virtue. According to the story--which is, of course, a mere legend--a certain Theodosius, who "reigned in a Roman city," was a most prudent ruler, but was afflicted with blindness. In his care for the welfare of his subjects he had decreed that when anyone who desired justice rang the bell at the palace gate, a judge must forthwith appear and try his case. Now it happened that a serpent had its nest near the bell-rope, and one day, while the reptile was absent, a toad took possession of the nest. Returning and finding the nest occupied, the serpent,--evidently a worthy descendant of the original serpent of Paradise, "more subtle than any beast of the field,"--wound its tail about the bell-rope and pulled the bell. When the judge appeared, as in duty bound, he was struck by this strange spectacle, and reported it to the emperor, who told him to right the wrong which had been done, directing him to expel and kill the toad. Not long after, the serpent made its way into the palace and entered the emperor's room, bearing in its mouth a small stone. Proceeding to the emperor's couch, it crawled up, raised its head above the emperor's face and dropped the stone upon his eyes. As soon as the stone touched the eyes, the emperor's sight was restored. The serpent disappeared and was never seen again.