PEARLS. ae 
texture, shape, and colour of a real pearl. This 
elegant hypothesis was probably suggested by the 
various transformations observable in nature; such 
as the conversion of the nectareous juice of flowers 
into wax and honey. 
A similar opinion is still entertained by the natives 
of Ceylon, and recorded in the Sanscrit books of the 
Brahmans. The Persians hold the same idea, of 
which the following ingenious fable is an interesting 
proof. Addison introduces it at the conclusion of 
one of his fine moral essays, in which he shews the 
presumption of ascribing our successes to our good 
management, instead of considering them as the 
bounty of heaven. 
‘“*A drop of water fell out of a cloud into the sea, 
and finding itself lost in such an immensity of fluid 
matter, broke out into the following reflection :— 
‘Alas! what an insignificant creature am I, in this 
prodigious ocean of waters; my existence is of no 
concern to the universe! I am reduced to a kind of 
nothing, and am less than the least of the works 
of Omnipotence.’ It so happened, that an Oyster 
which lay in the neighbourhood, chanced to gape and 
swallow it, in the midst of its humble soliloquy. The 
drop,” says the fable, “lay a great while hardening 
in the shell, till by degrees it was ripened into a 
pearl; which falling into the hands of a diver, after 
