war.
His time and thought and ingenuity were given to things which would
contribute to his master passion and glorify its deeds. The scalps of
his enemies, the skins of animals he slaughtered, the feathers of birds
that fell to his unerring arrow, the teeth of bears and mountain lions
slain in desperate encounters, these were his jewels. Nor was his
sexual instinct sufficiently refined to enthrone his mate. She was his
slave, and her reward for toil was pride in his deeds and glory. He
knew little of the tender homage which brings gifts and lays them at
the feet of woman. Instinctively he made a setting for his pearls of
bears teeth, that they might carry the scent of blood and tell the
story of his conquest. Nevertheless, among these rude tribes of wolfish
savages, sequestered from the touch of other people more refined, the
modest pearl found favor, and in it they unconsciously paid tribute to
one of the purest forms of beauty. But even this recognition must have
been the growth of years, possibly of ages, for not until the
understanding of worth has become general among a people is value
established, and only things valuable are
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