OTHER PRECIOUS STONES
The
garnet was the favorite gem of Mary Stuart, that tragic queen whose
life was swayed by passion, and whose blood in the end stained the
headsman's axe.
In
marked contrast to the cold glitter of the diamond is the warm serene
glow of a pearl of fine luster. There is something of life, something
vitally individualistic about the pearl. It is as if the one who wore
them wore part of herself suspended from her neck. The fabulous and
much discussed draught of pearls of Cleopatra was not a meaningless
gesture. She seemed to drink something that pulsated with her own
vivid vitality.
Its
purity and delicacy of tint, its inimitable perfection of form, its
exquisite effect when laid upon the smooth white neck or the braided
hair of a fair girl, have rendered it a deserved favorite with the sex.
When a love-struck swain wishes to condense into one word all his
admiration for his lady love, he calls her his "pearl". No lover in his
senses ever addressed his lady friend as his sapphire or his turquoise.
Pearls, as every one knows, are found in oysters and mussels. Large
pearls were owned by the Romans. A cart was required to carry off the
pearls which Pompey took from Mithridates.
In
our day pearls are found in the Red Sea, off Ceylon, and some other
Indian islands, in the Gulf of Panama in the Pacific, and in many
streams and rivers in all the continents.
Pearls
are measured by the grain, not the carat. False pearls are common.
Stage pearls can be bought by the pound at a small expense. An
experienced eye detects them
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