Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-10-01
PEARLS AS ROUGH GEMS.

History will convince the most skepti-
cal that pearls are truly royal gems.
Ihey 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
trlbuted to Nishnu, who is said to have
presented an enormous numb Der of them
to his daughter, Pandai, as a wedding
present. All the Indian deities are
represented as adorned with pearls.
The arched 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 emblems of their rank from
the remotest 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 of the honor in which these
gems We're 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 We're 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 a large pearl pend
ant from the right ear, while the kings
of the Modes and Persians 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 a
part of the ceremony of his coronation.
The priests and dignitaries of Baby
Ion, the Jewish patriarchs and priests,
the Egyptian kings and queens, the
wealthier 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 jewelry. 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 dissolv-
ing of one of them in vinegar at feast
given Mare Antony is a matter of his
tory. Lolita Paulina. wife of the En-
peror Caligula of Rome, is represented
by Pliny as having been 'bedecked 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 stump
tuary laws was passed during the
reign of Emperor Leo, 400 a. d. The
crowns and diadems of the Byzantine
emperors We're prOfusely ornamented
with pearls, and the German crown,
which dates from the time of Charlie,
magne, is ornamented with numerous
pearls strung on golden wire, anC
around it is the inscription in pearls
'Chonradus Del Gratia Romanorun
Imperator Augustus. Sumptuary laws
similar to those in Rome were after
ward enacted in Germany and France
When Henry VIII. met his bride
Anne of Cloves, he wore collar o
pearls and the buttons of his coat were
large oriental pearls. Anne of Cleve:
wore n wedding gown embroidered will
large flowers in pearls. Queen Eliza
beth was pasSionately fond of jewelry
and especially of pearls. One of tn
most famous of her Jewels was parur
of pearls purchased from the unfortu
nate Mary. queen of Scots, at mucl
lower price than its real value. 1t l
SAID that some of her more ambition
courtiers absolutely Impoverished them
selves to curry favor with their sOver
eign by presenting to her fine jewelry
Elizabeth. queen of Roumania, is on
of the present sovereigns of EurOp
who favor pearl jewelry. She is a re
markably intellectual woman. the pre-
duction of whose pen, over the nam
Carmen Sylvia. have u place in moder
literature Her accomplishments an
good taste, supplemented by her pei
sonal attractiveness, render her a pei
sonage whose good opinion strengthen
admiration for whatever she approve:
An engraving from a recent photo
graph of this amiable quee
shows her fayorite necklace {
pearls and a head-dress ornamente
with the same gems. Her style {
beauty is peculiarly adapted to this sol
of ornamentation, and her modest an
refined tastes are manifest in her dres
as well rs in her jewels While gem
so long held in the highest estimate
by lovers of the rare and beautiful nee
no Endorsement from modern royalty
their good name is in nowise impaire
by the approval of a person of the ran
and influence of Roumania's queen.
Something concerning the size an
history of a few of the most famoI
pearls is not out of place in this come
ton. There is no definite informatio
concerning the size of the pearls
CLEOPATRA. one of which was dissolve
for Antony. The other was sawed
half by order of King Agrippa and wa
made into earrings for the statue of tt
goddess Venus. Lola Paulina's pear
were worth two million dollars; tn
PIiny pearl weighed three hundred an
twenty grains; the pearl which w;
worn in the ear of each of the Sass
nian kings was large one, but l
weight is unknown. 1t was throw
into deep pit by the last of the LII
when lured to his death by the Hun
and was never recovered from /
.depthS