Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-05-17
Gossip About Pearls.

sisting Of alternate concentric layers Of mem.
Drane and carbonate OF lime. The true pearl
cular in form, greenlsh in appearance without,
and ornamented with the most beautiful nacre
Within The pearl oyster lives In the warm
be popular superstition, before science was
brought into play to destroy the illusion, that
pearls are produced by the oyster swallowing
then converted by the oyster into pearls. Ac-
cording to DR.. Baird, it appears that the ulti-
mate cause OF the oyster forming this beautiful
substance Is TO get rid OF source OF irritation.
sometimes" he observes, "this happens from
grain OF sand or some such small forelgnbodythat
has insinuated itself between the mantle Of the
oyster ana the shell, and which, proving great
annoyance, the animal covers with smooth coat
OF membrane, over which 1t spreads layer of
nacre. At other times 1t is caused by some
enemy OF the inhabitant OF the shell perforating
IL from the outside to get within reach OF its
prey. with plug OF this same matter the Oys-
ter Immediately fills up the opening made, and
shutting out the Intruder, baiks its nefarious
design. IN Doth these cases we find the pearl
usually adherlng to the internal surface OF the
shell. The best and most valuable specimens
are generally found in the body Of the animal
Itself, and the source OF imitation is here proved
according to the observations of Everard Hume,
who has paid great attention to this subject to
be the oyum or egg of this animal, which in
Lot thrown out by the mother along with the
others, but remains behind In the capsule In
which the ov are generally contained. This
from the parent animal goes on increasing In
size for another year, and then receives Gov
ering OF nacre, the same as the animal spreads
over the internal surface of the shell. The
pearls found in the substance of the animal are
generally round, but they are occasionally pear
shaped, In consequence of the pedlcle by which
the egg is attached being covered by the nacre
as well as the egg ITSELF
From the earliest times pearls, from their
pure, lustrOus beauty, have always been held in
the highest favor, and although their intrinsic
fhof
next to diamonds, extraordinary specimens,
either for size, tint or n acre, are by many con-
s1dered fully equal to them. One of the most
the celebrated traveller Tavern1er at Catifa, In
Arabia. 1t is pear-Shaped, regular and without
blemsh and between two and three inches In
$500 200 in gold. The next in value is the world.
renowned Peregrina," considered the largest
and most exquisite single pearl extant. 1t Is
tae SIZE I5e OF pigeons egg and was brought
Diego de Tennes who presented 1T to Philip H.,
OF Spain. Its value has been variouSly esti-
mated at from $25O,OOo to 100000. It was
exhibited at Seville as a curiosity. A negro
boy was one day padding about the coast,
doing little fishing On his own account, when
he brought up small oyster: He was about
but on second thought he determined to open
it. He did SO, and there within was the
-" Peregrina." His good fortune procured him
size, although OF inferior quality to the mar
velous 90 Peregrina, ;" is also among the Spanish
crown Jewels: 1t Is pear-shaped, and weighs
paragons belonging to the crown OF France.
Among them one especially described as being
of superb ''orient" (nacre and lustre), weighing
tWenty.seven and fve-tenth carats, Is valued at
2OO, 800 francs. Two exquisite pear-Shaped ear
rings said to be the Identical earrings OF
JOseph1nes ume), which, when weighed TO-
gether, turned the scale at ninety-n1ne and
traction carats, are estimated at 800 900 francs.
There are about seventy more very fine spect-
mems among the jewels of the French regalia,
some pear-shaped and some round. An enor-
was exhibited at the Parts Exposition In 1855.
A most superb pearl necklace gift Of her
brother, the Prince Of Wales-was worn by the
her marriage with the Grown Prince Of Prussi a.
1t was valued at 100000 francs The Queen of
Prussia has necklace Of pearls, eacn pearl
alike In size and beauty; This has grown from
first birthday after their marriage, followed by
similar one each succeeding year. II the
royal couple live only few years longer the
double row hanging to the waist. One of the
large pearls in the English crown is said to have
been found in the river Conway, and was pre-
sented TO Catherine, Queen OF Charles II.
Round pearls are more rarely found Of a large
Size than those that are pear.shaped; the most
perfect round pearl hitherto discovered meas
gold. Several years ago there was exhibited In
the city OF New York the marvellous "croWn
pearl" 1t was most extraordinary freak of
nature, and consisted Of one large pearl resting
crown. Julius Caesar Is said to have presented
the sister OF the first Cato with single pearl
valued at zoe, 900 francs. Eight million francs
upon the person OF the wife of Cal1gula on state
occasions. Caligula also placed a collar Of
pearls upon his horse-probably the Identical
hall of tortoise shell studded with emeraids and
topaz. And In those days Of ancient Roman
luxury, the noble ladies wore their slippers en-
satisfied with his sandals unless they were
adorned with pearls and engraved gems. Nero's
affections were shown by the number OF pearls
he sh0wered on his mistTesses. And at q later
day the Duke OF Buckingham emulated lis
folly by distributing among the ladies of Queen
Anne's court I'm the time Of Louis XIII.) pearls
to the value OF nearly million francs. Most
cisopafra, WSc to se Guido a Antonys e1trs s
gaDce, Wasered with him she would spend
sum equivaienIt to 1000, 900 upon one dinner.
LothiDg coming up to her promise, she replied
that 1t was merely an adjunct TO the grand dish.
and wearing In her ears the two finest pearls
threw one OF them into vessel OF the strongest
vinegar sat before her, and as 1t dissolved Inn
nediately she drank 1t up. The fellow to it
was about to share Its fate, when L. Plancus,
who had been appointed umpire In the matter,
seized 1T, declaring that Antony had lost. This
pearl on the conquest OF Egypt, was sawed in
TWO 10 make pendants Tor the ears of the Venus
In the Pantheon; the goddess, remarks Pliny.
being well satisfied with half OF their dinner.
AS regards this story, no acid that the human
stomach can endure Is capable OF entirely dis.
solving pearl, even after long maceration in
II. Barblot, on trying the experiment. found
the outer layer was reduced to Jelly, while
that beneath was not at all affected, The same
experiment Is recorded TO have been tried some
what before Clodius, son Of 1Esopus the player,
who, having discovered that dissolved pearls
possessed the most exquisite flavor, did not
seiishly cOnflne his knowledge to himself, but
gave one apiece TO each OF his guests to swallow.
Iowdered pearls were formerly considered an
h nyauaple medicine In stomach complaints; the
uenenC tney produced must have depended en-
Iueiy on the imagination OF the patient, the SUBJ
stance being mere antacd, no more ef1icaci-
gus tIan the powder Of the shell. The example
gI Cleopatra found an 1mitatOr In England. Sir
lnOniaS GreSnatii, not otherwise famous for acts
OF Jolly, so miStOOk the meanlns LOYALTY that
he ground pearl which cost him cit, GUU into o
cup, OF wine, in order to thus fifty drink the
nealIh or his queen! The plaglarist again had
many rivals In the men cOurtlers OF Louis XIV.
A species OF pearl ornament called the 'ba-
rogue" Is but little known In the United States.
IL is an eXcreScence OF the mother-Of- pearl and
represents some strikngly odd freaks OF nature.
10 spain they hold the barOque In high estima-
tlon, as also do the French and Russians. Two
OF tne most extraordinary known are owned By
apIOmlnent Partisan jeWeller. The one most per-
Iectiy represents q bearded dog and the other
Chlnese, Sitting with crossed legs upon cuSh-
| ion.