STONE
304
STONES
coins in or under the foundation stone, now verj' gen-
eral, needs further elucidation. The earliest definite
instance at the moment discoverable is an entry in an
account-book at Bruges, which records that, when the
palace of the magistrates of the Franc was rebuilt in
1519, an angel (coin) was paid out to be placed under
the foundation stone (W. H. J. Weale in "Notes and
Queries", 27 Aug., 1870, p. 184). It is just con-
ceivable that this burial of gold and silver may rep-
resent a more primitive fonn of sacrifice in which a
human victim was immolated and buried under the
masonry; but the evidence of any widespread custom
of this barbarous kind is by no means so conclusive
as is maintained by such writers as Tylor (Primitive
Culture, 1903, I, p. 104 sq.) and Trumbull (The
Threshold Covenant, pp. 45-57).
For the ecclesiastical function see Cat.\lani, Commentary on the Pontificate Romanum, II (Rome, 1739), 1-32; Sauer, Symbolik (Ratisbon, 1902), 114 sq. Cf. also Douce in Archaologia, XXVI (London, 1S36), 217 sq.; Trcmbull, The Threshold Covenant (Edinburgh, 1S96), 45-57.
Herbert Thurston.
Stone, Mary Jean, b. at Brighton, Sussex, in 1853; d. at Battle, Sussex, 3 May, 1908. She was educated at a Calvinist school in Paris and at Aschaffenburg in Germany, where she acquired an intimate knowledge of French, German, and Italian. In Germany Miss Stone was brought into touch with the Catholic reli- gion, and exchanged Protestantism for the "free atmosphere", as she e.xpressed it, of the Catholic Church. She was received into the Church by Mon- signor Ketteler, then Bishop of Mainz. Her histor- ical studies, for which, perhaps, she is best known to the public, were, on her return to England, encouraged by the fathers of the Society of Jesus. Her talent and painstaking method of research earned for her a speedy recognition in her "Mary the First, Queen of England" (1901). This is a study of the unhappy queen which takes first rank amongst historical mono- graphs. Miss Stone also wrote "Faithful unto Death", a study of the martyrs of the Order of St. Francis during the Reformation period (1892); "Elea- nor Leslie", a memoir of a notable Scottish convert to the Church (1898); "Reformation and Renaissance", a group of studies on the periods indicated (1904); "Studies from Court and Cloister", reprinted essays, of which perhaps the most interesting are those on "Margaret Tudor", "Sir Henry Bedingfeld", and a "Missing Page from the Idylls of the King" (1905); "The Church in Enghsh History", a higher text- book for teachers of history (1907). Her "Cardinal Pole", begun for the St. Nicholas Series, was inter- rupted by her death. She was a frequent contributor to the greater periodicals, the "Dublin Review", "Month , "Blackwood's", "Comhill", etc., and con- tributed several articles to The Catholic Encyclo- pedia. G. Fladgate.
Stone, Marmaddke, Jesuit, b. at Draycot, 28 Nov., 1748; d. at St. Helens, 21 Aug., 1834. He was educated at St. Omers, shared in its historic exodus to Bruges, 10-17 August, 1762 (see Saint Omer, Col- lege OF), entered the Society of Jesus in 1767, hit'^r became a master at the Liege Academy. In 1790 he succeeded as president to Father William Strickland, who then became procurator at London; with his a.ssistance Father Stone succeeded in peace- fully guiding the English ex-Jesuits through more fan a .score of tempestuous years (see Mil.ner, John ; PoYNTRR, William). Father Stone's confr^res, though held together by a common vocation and their still uncancelled vows, were not allowed by the brief of suppression to reunite for purpo.ses of government. He could therefore only rule by aiipealing to con- science; no easy task when one remembers the exterior difficulties, the adventuresome ardour that animated the young men of his college staff, and the pecuhar ways into which the middle-aged missionaries were
prone to subside. When dealing with the bishops,
he could claim no rights, not even those essential to
rehgious bodies. Fortunately, they were not hostile,
though their views on Jesuit property and privileges
caused Father Stone much trouble.
On 14 July, 1794, the College at Liege was trans- ferred to Stonyhurst (q. v.) . In spite of the magnitude of the task, it was accomplished in good order; and schools reopened 22 October following. A rescript from Propaganda (14 Feb., 1796) confirmed Stony- hurst in all the privileges of Liege. Though it was impossible to hope for a restoration of the Society during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, it was not impracticable to work for a reunion with the Russian Jesuits, whose corporate existence had lately been recognized at Rome. In this Father Stone was successful. On 19 May, 1803, having made his pro- fession, he was declai-ed provincial, and admitted others to their vows, for England, Ireland, and Mary- land; on 29 September a novitiate was opened at Hodder. Rome, however, gsive no public recogni- tion of the restored order, though the pope pri- vately expressed his pleasure. When the I3ull of Restoration finally came (7 August, 1814), the inter- pretation was added (2 Dec, 1816), that it was to apply only where the secular government wished: in England, therefore, the Jesuits were to be regarded as still in their old position (see Society of Jesus). The college had grown enormously since its transfer to England and the Jesuit missions had prospered steadily. Father Stone, notwithstanding his years, continued to act as college minister till 1827, when he finally retired to St. Helens. Here the good news reached him (1829) that the English Jesuits had at last been formally recognized. Though he might not look an ideal leader. Father Stone was wonderfully adapted to his circumstances; his unfaiHng kindness, simplicity, sincerity, patience, and self-devotion were irresistible. If he acted slowly, he made no mistakes; he was capable of undertaking great enterprises, and of carrying them through with strong tenacity of purpose.
Correspondence at Stonvhurst and elsewhere; Gerard, Stony- hurst College (1894); Foley, Records S. J., vii, 741; Ward, The Dawn of the Catholic Reviml (London, 1909) ; Idem, The Eve of Catholic Emancipation (London, 1912).
J. H. Pollen,
Stones, Precious, in Bible. — Precious stones are stones remarkable for their colour, brilliancy, or rarity. Such stones have at all times been held in high esteem everywhere, particularly in the East. We gather from various passages of Sacred Scripture that verj' early the Orientals appropriated them for divers ornamental uses: rings, bracelets, collars, neck- laces; the crowns of kings as also their garments and those of their officers and of the priests were set with precious stones. The Hebrews obtained their pre- cious stones from Arabia, India, and Egj-pt. At the time of the Exodus Egj-pt was flooded with riches, and we know how the Israelites on leaving the land possessed themselves of many precious stones, ac- cording to the commandment of God (Ex., iii, 22; xii, 3.5-36). Later when the}' were settled in Palestine they could easily obtain stones from the merchant caravans travelling from Babylonia or Persia to EgjTJt and those from Saba and Reema to TjTe (Ezech., xxvii, 22) Solomon even equipped a fleet which re- turned from Ophir laden with precious stones (III Kings, X, 11).
The precious stones of the Bible are chiefly of in- terest in connexion with the breastplate of the high- priest (Ex., xxviii, 17-20; x.xxix, 10-13), the treasure of the King of Tyre (Ezech., xxviii, 13), and the foundations of the New Jerusalem (Tob.,xiii, 16-17, in the Greek texi, and more fully, Af>oc., xxi, 18-21). The twelve stones of the breastplate and the two stones of the shoulder-ornaments seem to have been
