Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-07-15
CONCERNING COSTLY.PEARLs.

was IN love Wuh the mother OF Marcus Bru-
ta,. gave her pearl worth nearly quarter Of
a million Of our money. and how Mark
Anthony dra4kone dissolved in vinegar.
which cost k<arly four millions, while
I Clodius the glutton swallowed one worth
forty thousand. The example Of Cleo
patra found an imitator even in sober Eng
land Sir Thos Gresham. not otherwise
famous for acts of folly. still So lnistook
the meaning of loyalty that he ground a
pearl. which cost him, e15.s00 into
cup of wine. in order to TINS Silly drink
the health of his queen. To" =, 1,sc - iarist
again had many rivals in the msn cour-
tiers of Louis XIV, who in their insane
extravaganza were wont to pulverize their
diamonds, and occasionally used the pow
der to dry the ink of their letters which
they sent to their loved ones is da-
mond powder in the hair much worse !?
The largest pearl on record is proba-
! bly, one bought by one of the most ro-
mantle of all travellers and dealers in pre-
ciou, gems, Travernier, of Catifa in Ara.
bia, where pearl fishery existed already
in the days of Pliny. 1t is said--for the
pearl is unknown in our day-to have
been spear shaped, perfect in all respects
and nearly three inches long. He OBJ
! tanned fromthe Shah of Persia the enormous
sum Of Eli 600 for the gem
Mr.. Hopes pearl, which is looked upon
as the finest now known, is two inches
long and four inches round. 1t weighs
l, 800 grains, and like all such varieties,
is of such enormous and uncertain value
that no one would buy it at market
price The most beautiful collection of
pearls belongs to the dowager Empress of
| Russia. Her husband was exceedingly
| fond Of her. and as he shared with other
fancies, also that for fine pearl, with
her, he sought them all over the world.
They had to fulfill the conditions rarely
to be met with they must be perfect
spheres, and they must be virgin pearls
but he would buy none that had been
worn by others. After twenty-five years
search he at last succeeded in presenting
| his Empress with a necklace such as the
world had never seen before.
As this admiration for fine pearls has
/ been the common weakness osman in all
ages and in all countries, we. need not
wonder at their playing prominent part
in religious writings.
The Talmud has pretty story, teach
ing us that those who believed In it es-
teemed but one object in nature of high
er value than pearls. When Abraham,
approached Egypt, the book tells us, he
locked Sarah in chest, that none might
behold her dangerous beauty. But when
he was come to the place of paying Gus.
tom the officer said
"Pay custom !"
! And he said
Il will pay the custom
They said to him
Thou earliest clothes"
Aud he said
Il will pay for clothes"
Then they said to him
Thou earliest gold"
Aud he answered them
Il will pay for gold"
On this they further SAID
"Suroly thou Dearest the finest silks y
He replied
Il will pay custom for silks"
Surely it must be pearls then thou
takest with thee"
And he answered only
81 will pay for pearls"
Seeing that they could name nothing
of value for which the patriarch was not
willing to pay custom, they said
"It cannot be /; but thou open the box
and let us see what is within
SO they opened the box, and the whole
land ot Egypt was Illuminated BY the lus'
tre of Saras beauty-far exceeding even
that Of pearls.
Hence pearls are repeatedly used in
Holy Writ, also for solemn comparisons
! and to denote the highest degree of per
fiction. In the Old Testament wisdom
is praised as above pearls and in the New
Testament the Kingdom of Heaven, i:
compared to pearl of great price which
when a merchant found it, be went, and
sold all that be had and bought it. Ever
the New jerusalem was revealed II
St. John under the figure of au edihct
with twelve doors, each of which was
single pearl.
And this precious gem, fit to adorn at
, Emperor and TO heishten the beauty O
the fairest of maidens, this pearl of grea
price. perfect in form aud beauteous il
iustre-tbis jewel of the deep. sought fol
at the peril Of human life, and paid fol
with the bread of ten thousand-it sick
ems and dies and vanishes in day
Every now and then we hear Of a noble
family which prides itself on the posses
sion Of magnificent ancestral pearls, PAN
ic-stricken By finding some Of the prcciou:
gems turning of a blaekly color, snc
crumbling into dust.
L is but few years since the Crow
Jeweler OF France solemnly applied tc th,
Acsdamy of Science fer rent dy agains
this disease, caused probably by the de
composition of the membranes which foru
part of the pearl. and are. after all, Tia
BILE to decay aud corruption like all ani
ma! matter By contact with air. Tier
was no answer given, but the advice, Z
preserve the precious gems as much a
possibIe from tie influences of light an
air and the crown OF France has sine
lost some of its most highly-prized jea
l. els. "B,hold al is vanity aud vexatic
of spirit"