The example of Cleopatra found an imitator even in sober England. Sir Thomas Gresham, not otherwise famous for acts of folly, still so mistook the meaning of loyalty that he ground a pearl, which had cost him £15,000, into a cup of wine in order thus fitly to drink the health of his great queen! The pearl belonging to the Shah of Persia, seen by Tavernius in 1633, was valued at 32,000 tomans, equal at that time to double the number of pounds sterling. It is said to have been obtained at Catifa, in Arabia, where a pearl fishery existed in the time of Pliny. It was pearshaped, perfect in all respects, and nearly three inches long. This pearl is believed to be the one which was in possession of the late King of Persia, Fateh Ali Shah. A pearl presented by the republic of Venice to Soliman, the Emperor of the Turks, was valued at £16,000. The large pearl in the crown of the Emperor Rudolph II. weighed 30 carats, and was the size of a pear. (?) Pope Leo X. bought a pearl of a Venetian jeweller for the sum of £14,000. A lady in Madrid, in the year 1605, wore an American pearl which cost 31,000 ducats. A large Java pearl, curiously set, was shown at Madrid a few years ago. It was made to represent a siren, or mermaid, dressing her hair; her body was formed of the pearl, which was of a long oval form, and beautifully pure white; the head and arms were of white enamel, and the lower extremity, forming the fish, of green enamel. The whole was finely carved, and on the girdle were the following words: "Fallunt aspectus cantusque syrenis." The most beautiful pearl known is in the Museum of Zosima, in Moscow. It weighs very nearly 28 carats. It is perfectly globular, and so beautifully brilliant that at first sight it appears transparent. It was bought by Zosima at Leghorn, of a captain of an East India ship. This splendid pearl, which has been named the Pellegrina, is one of the objects of a visit to Moscow. In the French crown jewels there are some very fine pearls. Among others, a collection of 408 pearls, each weighing 16 grammes, of a perfect white, round, and of a magnificent orient. They are valued at £20,000. Also a pearl as large as a pigeon's egg, of a very beautiful quality, valued at £1600, and others of less value. "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 writings. The Talmud has a pretty story, teaching us that those who believe in it esteemed but one object in nature of higher value than pearls. When Abraham approached Egypt, the book tells us, he locked Sara in a chest that none might behold her dangerous beauty. But when he was come to the place of paying custom, the officer said, 'Pay custom.' And he said, 'I will pay the custom.' They said to him, 'Thou carriest clothes.' And he said, 'I will pay for clothes. Then they said to him, 'Thou carriest gold.' And he answered them, 'I will pay for gold.' On this they further said, 'Surely, thou bearest the fine silk.' He replied, 'I will pay custom for the finest silk.' Then they said, 'Surely, it must be pearls that thou takest with thee.' And he only answered, ‘I 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 of Egypt was illumined by the lustre of Sara's beauty-far exceeding even that of pearls. "Hence pearls are repeatedly used in Holy Writ also for the most solemn comparisons, and to denote the highest degree of perfection. In the Old Testament wisdom is praised as above pearls; and in the New Testament the kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price, which, when a merchant had found it, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Even the New Jerusalem was revealed to St. John under the figure of an edifice with twelve doors, each of which was a single pearl." CHAPTER IV. CORAL AND THE CORAL FISHERIES. Scientific description of coral-Varieties of Commercial classifications of coral -Statistics of trade in France and England-Seats of manufacture in Italy-Various coral fisheries in the Mediterranean-Statistics of boats employed-British imports of coral-Indian trade in coral. SCIENCE and commerce frequently work hand in hand, and materially aid each other; but in some instances commerce has been in advance of science, and this may be said of the search for coral and its application for ornament, which have been prosecuted for ages by the uninformed, whilst learned naturalists have been debating many moot points as to the growth, formation, and special localities of the coral varieties. Our scientific men are busy dredging and exploring the great depths of the ocean, but they have as yet thrown little light on those questions which are of paramount importance to the fishers for and workers in coral-as, for instance, why the important banks of good coral are limited to the Mediterranean Sea, and what are the requirements of these polypes for the aggregation and formation of this now much sought for article of commerce. As I remarked in a lecture delivered before the Society of Arts a few years ago, we are still ignorant on many points of the highest |