In the museum of natural curiosities at Madrid there is a large
piece of loadstone originally extracted from the American mines.
There is scarcely a Gitana in Madrid who is not acquainted with
this circumstance, and who does not long to obtain the stone, or a
part of it; its being placed in a royal museum serving to augment,
in their opinion, its real value. Several attempts have been made
to steal it, all of which, however, have been unsuccessful. The
Gypsies seem not to be the only people who envy royalty the
possession of this stone. Pepita, the old Gitana of whose talent
at telling fortunes such honourable mention has already been made,
informed me that a priest, who was muy enamorado (in love),
proposed to her to steal the loadstone, offering her all his
sacerdotal garments in the event of success: whether the singular
reward that was promised had but slight temptations for her, or
whether she feared that her dexterity was not equal to the
accomplishment of the task, we know not, but she appears to have
declined attempting it. According to the Gypsy account, the person
in love, if he wish to excite a corresponding passion in another
quarter by means of the loadstone, must swallow, IN AGUARDIENTE, a
small portion of the stone pulverised, at the time of going to
rest, repeating to himself the following magic rhyme:-
'To the Mountain of Olives one morning I hied,
Three little black goats before me I spied,
Those three little goats on three cars I laid,
Black cheeses three from their milk I made;
The one I bestow on the loadstone of power,
That save me it may from all ills that lower;
The second to Mary Padilla I give,
And to all the witch hags about her that live;
The third I reserve for Asmodeus lame,
That fetch me he may whatever I name.
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