This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1822 Excerpt: ...to a man's head. Within the outer shell they contain little stones of various colours, and great value in the eyes-of ignorant persons, who take them for crystal, amethysts, rubies, emeralds, &c. But they are deceived. Jewellers rate them about as high as Bohemian stones. They say that the cocos de mina, pregnant with ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1822 Excerpt: ...to a man's head. Within the outer shell they contain little stones of various colours, and great value in the eyes-of ignorant persons, who take them for crystal, amethysts, rubies, emeralds, &c. But they are deceived. Jewellers rate them about as high as Bohemian stones. They say that the cocos de mina, pregnant with these kinds of pebbles, burst with a noise as loud as-that of a gun, when what they consider the noble burden which their womb contains is mature. This appearance and these properties are attributed to them by the vulgar, with what truth I know not, for though I have travelled over the greatest part of Paraguay, particularly the shores of the Parana, with eyes attentive to nature, I never saw a stone of this kind. I do not pretend to say that-the coco dc mina may not have its value in the other pro-' vinces of America, which produce genuine jewels, but I boldly deny that any inhabitant of Paraguay was ever enriched with one. The foolish credulity of certain persons, who, from this fallacious resemblance of jewels, hoped to gain riches, was punished with extreme poverty, as we all know. Xerez, Ciudad 'Real, and Villa Rica, cities formerly accounted fountains of metals and of riches, have all proved seminaries of indigence and misery. What was called-Villa Rica, -or the Rich 'City, wasnever opulent in reality, but only so in name, and the hopes it held out of discovering metals. ' Finding no gold and silver in those parts of Paraguay which their feet had traversed and their eyes beheld, they persuaded themselves and others that these metals were concealed in 'the native soil of the Guaranies, whom the Jesuits had undertaken to instruct in religion. From this false conjecture, how many lies have been coined, who m...
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