28o                                 Pearls.
	while these hereditary diamonds recall whole gene­rations of stately beauties." With equal, or perhaps with even more truth, may this be said of Pearls. The Pearls which we are about to describe have been possessed by some of the most eminent historical personages, and have been prized for personal decoration by the most admired beauties of all ages. The subject is one of peculiar fasci­nation, but it is to be regretted that in many cases, the information that has come down to us from antiquity, respecting those exceptional Pearls, is only of a meagre character. In the following descriptions an attempt is made to arrange them roughly in chronological sequence, but it will be understood that many of the dates are mere ap­proximations. The most ancient Pearl of which we have found any record may be termed the "Servilia Pearl."
	The Servilia Pearl—circa B.C. 44. After the Roman conquests in the East, parti­cularly when Mithridates, the great king of Pontus, distinguished for his knowledge of languages and far-reaching schemes of policy, had been overthrown by Lucullus and Pompey—the Pearl became highly valued, not only in Rome, but throughout the Roman empire. The ladies wore them in profusion, as