_Serpent's Tongue_ (Vol. vi., p. 340.).--The _Lingua Serpentina_ of old
MSS., and the fossil now commonly termed a Shark's-tooth. In former days,
few pilgrims returned from the East without bringing at least one of those
curious stones. Being principally found in Malta, it was said they were the
tongues of the vipers, which once infested that island, and which St. Paul
had turned into stone. Considered to be antidotes, and possessed of
talismanic qualities, they were set in cups, dishes, knife-handles, and
other requisites for the table.