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PEARLS IN LITERATURE
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In
all countries where woman has been enthroned in the respect as well as
the affections of man, the pearl has been inseparably connected with
her in his mind as a peculiarly fitting accompaniment to feminine
loveliness. In the romantic dreams of youth, which hide betimes the
harsh realism of life under a golden haze of imagery; where belted
knights and fair ladies live and move unfettered, and all the
impossible delights of sweet desire free from untoward consequences are
reasonable; where invincible swords have no thought of the horrors of
carnage, and unimpeded love is without cold calculation or following of
sorrow, pearls everywhere shimmer.
And
when in his exalted moods man paints the shadow picture of the goddess
of his life, he finds one gem alone befitting with which to deck her,
namely, the pearl. This has come to pass probably because the ideal
qualities of woman and the sea gem are alike, purity and
33 5
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