78 THE PEARL FISHERY. 



in extent, and that the entrance of each gate must have 

 been of an extraordinary breadth, to allow its vast popu- 

 lation room to go in and out, we infer that the " world's 

 wealth" would not have been equivalent to the value of 

 one of them. A pearl brought, in 1574, to Philip ii., 

 though no bigger than a pigeon's egg, was valued at 

 fourteen thousand and four hundred pounds sterling ; 

 and one a little larger, belonging to Cleopatra, was 

 priced at eighty thousand pounds. Another, now in the 

 hands of the king of Persia, mentioned by Tavernier, 

 was bought of an Arab for one hundred and ten thou- 

 sand four hundred pounds, — an enormous sum for a 

 jewel less than a common hen's egg. 



The pearl fisheries of the East are, the island of 

 Bahrein, or Baharem, in the Persian Gulf; and Catiscer, 

 on the coast of Arabia Felix, over against Bahrein ; 

 and Kondatchie, in the island of Ceylon, The pearls 

 fished in the latter place are remarkable for their 

 roundness and the fineness of their water, or clear- 

 ness, but they seldom exceed two carats or four grains 

 in weight ; hence those found in the Persian Gulf 

 greatly surpass them in value. 



The village of Kondatchie is the chief station of 

 the boats now employed in the pearl fishery, and gives 

 name to the bay in which the principal oyster-banks 

 are situated. Here at the fishery may be observed 



