The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-10-14
PEARLS AS ROUGH GEMS.
Treasured by the Monarchs OF All Nat onA
and Ages.

and Ages.
History will convince the most skepti-
cal that pearls are truly royal gems.
They have not alone been favorites with
some of the most famous rulers of all
countries but have also played an i'm
portant part in religious affairs. In
Indian mythology their discovery is at
tributed to Vishnu, who is said to have
presented an enormous number OF them
to his daughter, Pandai, as wedding
present. All the Indian deities are
represented as adorned with pearls.
The archcd roof of the marvellous
throne of the Great Mogul, described
by Taverdier, was ornamented with
diamonds and pearls, and was fringed
with strings OF pearls
In China the reigning monarchs wore
pearls as cmblems of their rank from
the rcmotest times, there being definite
information on the subject antedating
the Christian era. The frequent men
ton of pearls in Chinese history and
their UNIVERSAL use in the ornamental
ton of Chinese idols are indisputable
proofs off the honor in which these
gems wcrS held in that country from
the earliest times. To this day the en-
peror wears in his cap three golden
dragons embroidered and crowned with
pearls.
In Persia pearls were at one time
more highly priced than gold. All the
early queens of Persia are represented
as wearing earrings of three pearls OF
graduated sizes, the largest of the
three being at the bottom of the
ornament. The portraits of the Sas-
sanian kings show 4 large pearl pend
ant from the right ear, while the kings
of the Mcdes and Pcrsians wore brace
lets and necklaces of pearls. To this
day it is customary in Persia to shower
pearls on the head of the monarch as
part of the ceremony of his coronation.
The priests and dignitaries of Baby
lon, the Jewish patriarchs and priests,
the Egyptian kings and queens, the
wealthcr men and women of Byzanti-
um, Pompeii and Rome, and the kings
and mobiles of ancient Europe all wore
and highly priced these gems of the
sea, and in modern times there is
not queen in Europe who
does not own valuable and beau
tiful pearl jewe]ry Grecian men
of rank, like the Sassanian kings wore
a single pearl in the right ear. The
pearls which Cleopatra wore in her ears
were among the most beautiful the
world has ever known, and the dissoly-
ing of one of them in vinegar at feast
given Marc Antony is a matter of his
tory. Lolita Paulina, wife of the EN-
peror Caligula Of Rome, is represented
by Pliny as having been "bcdecked and
set out with emeralds and pearls be-
slowed in rows and ranks" all over her
dress. Nero literally distributed
pearls among his favorites, and at one
time the craze for these gems in
Rome was so great that sumptuary
laws were enacted to restrain all
except the privileged classes from
wasting their substance in the pur-
chase of gems out of all proportion to
their wealth. The last of these sump-
tuary laws was passed during the
reign of Emperor Leo, 400 A. d. The
crowns and diadems of the Byzantine
emperors were profusely ornamcnted
with pearls, and the German crown,
which dates from the time of Charlie
magne, is ornamcntcd with numerous
pearls strung on n golden wire, and
around it is the inscription in pearls:
'Chonradus Del Gratia Romanorum
1mperator Augustus" Sumptuary laws
similar to those in Rome were after
ward enacted in Germany and France.
When Henry VIII. met his bride,
Anne of Cieves, he wore a collar of
pearls, and the buttons of his coat were
large oriental pearls. Anne of Cleves
wore n wedding gown embroidered with
large flowers in pearls. Queen Eliza
beth was passionately fond of jewelry,
and especially of pearls. One of the
most famous of her jewels was parure
of pearls purchased from the unfort,,-
nate Mary, queen of Scots, at much
lower price than its real value. 1t is
SAID that some of her more ambitious
courtiers absolutely impoverished them
selves to curry favor with their sover-
eign by presenting to her fine jewelry,
Elizabeth, queen of Roumania, is one
of the present sovereigns of Europe
who favor pearl jewelry. She is re-
markably intellectual woman, the pro-
duction of whose pen, over the name
Carmen Sylvia, have place in modern
literature. Her accomplishments and
good taste, supplemented by her per-
sonal attractiveness, render her a per-
sonage whose good opinion strengthens
admiration for whatever she approves.
An engraving from a recent photo
graph of this amiable queen
shows her favorite necklace of
pearls and a head-dress ornamented
with the same gems. Her style of
beauty is peculiarly adapted to this sort
of ornamentation, and her modest and
refined tastes are manifest in her dress
as well as in her jewels. While gems
so long held in the highest estimation
by lovers of the rare and beautiful need
no Endorsement from modern ROYALTY,
their good name is In nowisc impaired
by the approval of person of the rank
and influence of Roumania's queen.
Something concerning the size and
history of few of the most famous
pearls is not out of place in this connec.
ton. There is no definite information
concerning the size OF the pearls of
Cleopatra, one of which was dissolved
for Antony The other was sawed in
half by order of King Agrippa and was
mndc into earringS fnl. the statl1n of the