The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1868-03-31
cossiy Pearls

~ @e 1919 ~
thony drank orc, dissolved in vine
gar, which cost nearly S+o0,0 600;
while C0siins. the gluten. swallowed
one worth $4,000. The example Of
Cleopatra found an imitator even IN
sober England. Sir Thomas Ores
hAm no, otherwise famous for acts Of
folly, eth 80 mistook the meaning q
loyalty, that he ground a pearl, which
had cost him $4,000. into q cup Of
wine. ID order thus ttly to drink the
health q his great queen. This p!a-
giarisi again had many rivals in the
mad courtiers II Louis XIV, who,
in their insane Extravaganza, wcre
won't % pulyerize their diamonds,
and occasionally used the powder to
dry the ink Of letters which they sent
to their beloved ones is diamond
powder IN the hair much worse9
The largest pearl on record is
probably one bought by that most
romantic Of travellers and dealers in
precious gems, Tayernier, at Catifa.
in Arabia, where a pearl fishery ex-
isted already in the days PGny. 1t
il said-for the pearl Is unknown 10
our day-to have been pear-shaped
perfect in all respects, and nearly
three inches long. He obtained from
the Shah Of Persia, the enormous SUN
ELL, 900 for the gem.
Mr.. Hopes pearl, which is looked
upon az the finest now known, is two
inches long and four inches round
1t weighs 1900 grains, and, like all
such rarities, is Of such enormous
and uncertain value, that no one
would buy il at a market price. The
most beautiful collection Of pearls
belongs, however, TO the Dowager
Empress Of Russia. Her husband
was exceedingly fond of her, and as
she shared, with other fancies, also
that for fine pearls, with her he
sought for them all over the world.
They had to fulfil two conditions
rarely TO be met with:-they must be
perfect spheres and thy must be YER
gin pearls; for he would buy none
that had been worn by others. AZ
ter twenty-five years. search, he at
last succeeded in presenting his m
press with a necklace snch as the
world has never seen before.
As this admiration for fine pearls
has been the common weakness Of
man in all ages and in all countries
we need not wonder at their playing
a prominent part in religious writ
ings. The Talmud has a pretty story
teaching us that those who believed
in it, esteemed but one object in ma
ture Of higher value than pearls
When Abraham approached Egypt,
the book tells us, he locked Sara in a
chest, that noue might behold her
dangerous beauty. But when he was
come to the place of paying custom,
the officer said, PAY customy And
he said, i will pay the custom!'-
They say to him, Thou earliest
Clothes And he said, i will pay for
clothes Then they said to him,
Thou earliest gold And he an
swered them, i will pay for gold
On this they further said, Surely
thou earliest the fine silk lie re-
piled, 4 will pay custom for the fine
silk Then they said, Surely it
must be pearls thou takest with thee
And he only answered, i will pay
for pearls Seeing hal they could
name nothing of value which the pa
triarch was not willing TO pay custom
for, they said, 1T cannot be but open
the box and let ne sec what is within /!
So they opened the the box, and the
whole land Of Egypt was illuminated
by the lustrc of Sara's beauty-far
exceeding that of pearls
Hence, pearls are repeatedly used
in Holy Writ for the most solemn
comparisons, and to denote the high
est degree Of perfection. In the Old
Testament, wisdom is praised above
pearls, and in the New Testament,
the Kingdom of Heaven is compared
to a pearl ofgreat price, which, when
a merchant had found it, he went
and sold all that he had, and bought
il. Even the New Jerusalem was re-
yealed to st. John under the figure
Of a n edifce with twelve doors, each
Of which was a single pearl.
And this precious gen, fit 10 adorn
an empor's crown, and TO heighten
the beauty Of the fairest Of madens,
this pearl Of great price, perfect in
form and beauteous in l~ustre, this
jewel oi the deep, sought for at the
peril Of human life, aud paid for with
the bread Of ten thousands--it sick
ems and dies and vanishes in a day.
Every now and then we hear Of a
noble family, which prided itself on
the possession of magnificent ances-
trail pearls, panic-stricken by finding
some of their precious gems turning
10 a sickly color, and crumbling into
- T. - - - atwua sIa