912 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



The word pearl, in the Latin and Greek languages, is 

 expressed by Margarita, signifying purity. 



" Of all beautiful things in the world, the pearl is the 

 rarest and most beautiful. Nothing can exceed it, nothing 

 can equal it, although they try very hard in ' French ' and 

 ' Roman ' ways, in glassy globules which continually crack, 

 or in round spots of wax, which, instead of adorning, 

 adhere to the neck of beauty, and when old age comes 

 upon it, turn yellow and wrinkled like the skin of a dow- 

 ager. Nay, nothing can well imitate it, although art has 

 gone somewhat near it. But to a knowing eye one might 

 as well seek to imitate truth, or palm away upon the unwary 

 a copy of true virgin innocence, as to imitate a pearl. We 

 know all the answers that the dowagers can make ; we 

 know that the imitations are ' so cheap,' so pretty ; we 

 know that certain dowagers witness Margaret, Duchess 

 Dowager of Lancaster sell their real pearls and wear 

 cunning imitations ; we know that they in vain try to 

 persuade themselves that the false are as good as the true 

 ones ; but only look hard at the ornaments, and the 

 Duchess is abashed. To test false pearls, one has only to 

 put a true one by them, and the ' difference,' as advertisers 

 say, ' will be at once perceived.' ' 



Let us devote this portion of our book to the history 

 of the pearl. Its very names are pretty. Looloo, Mootoo, 

 Moolie, MargaritcB, Perks, Perlii, Perlas, Pearls, all sweet, 

 pretty, mouth-rounding names, but worthy to be applied to 

 the lustrous and beautiful spheres which we call pearls. 

 Principium culmenque omnium rerum pretii tenent : " Of all 

 things, pearls," said Pliny, two thousand years ago, " kept 

 the very top, highest, best, and first price." What was 

 true then is true now. There are few things so immortal 

 as good taste. Let us pay something "on account" of 



