96 EDIBLE BRITISH MOLLUSC.!. 



possessors, if we may judge from the above mentioned 

 fact in history, and indeed it is even more clearly 

 exemplified in the case of the eminent Mogul, who 

 died of hunger during a grievous famine, which de- 

 populated part of Guzerat. A large mausoleum or 

 Mahometan tomb was erected to his memory in the 

 suburbs of Cambay, with an inscription, telling us that 

 during this terrible scarcity, the deceased had offered 

 a measure of pearls for an equal quantity of grain, but 

 not being able to procure it, he died of hunger.* 



In ' History and Mystery of Precious Stones/ re- 

 viewed in the ' Morning Post/ Feb. 4th, 1 884, we read, 

 that pearls have for ages been significant of tears. 

 Queen Margaret Tudor, cousin of James IV. of Scot- 

 land, previous to the battle of Flodden Field, had 

 strong presentiments of the disastrous issue of that 

 conflict. She had fearful dreams, and in one vision 

 she beheld abundant pearls, the emblems of widow- 

 hood and mourning. A few nights before the assas- 

 sination of Henry IV. of France, his consort, Marie de 

 Medicis, dreamed that all the jewels in her crown were 

 changed into pearls, and she was told that it signified 

 she would weep greatly. 



A pearl is described by Madame de Ban-era as 

 nearly the size of a pigeon's egg, and pear-shaped ; it 

 weighed 250 carats, and was known as " La Pere- 

 orina/' and belonged to the crown of Spain. It was 

 brought from Panama in 1560 by Don Diego de 

 T ernes, who presented it to Philip IT. " It was then 

 valued at fourteen thousand ducats, but Freco, tlie 

 king's jeweller, having seen it, said it might be worth 

 14000, 30,000, 50,000, 100,000, as such a pearl 



* Forbes' 'Oriental Memoirs,' vol. ii p. 18. 



