PEARLS 213 



the pearl seemed to be playing a game of hide-and- 

 seek. 



Was it possible for human nature to deny itself so 

 easily gotten and pretty a prize? I confess, though 

 the possibility of the pearl increasing in size and love- 

 liness was obvious, that the fact that pinnas are subject 

 to ills, chances, and mishaps, was also recognised. 

 Left to be slowly tossed about, the pearl would become 

 greater; but size, though an important feature, is not 

 the only desirable quality. And while it grew might 

 not another barefooted beach-comber discover it? Or 

 might not one of the many unintelligent admirers of 

 the pinna itself find entrance by drilling or by the 

 violent crushing of the valves, and, ignoring the treasure, 

 destroy the organs and the substance by and from 

 which it was being delicately elaborated ? Suppose, 

 I argued, I remove the gaping shell, I shall no longer 

 be able to enjoy the rare, the unique pleasure of pre- 

 siding over the gradual perfection of a pearl, an aesthetic 

 advantage to which I alone had been made free. Could 

 present possession of a little sphere of carbonate of 

 lime, polished and sooty black, compensate for the 

 continuance of the chaste joy of watching one of 

 the most covert and intimate processes of Nature ? 

 Balancing the immediate material gain against the 

 inevitable moral loss, I was almost persuaded to self- 

 denial, when, with a sudden impulse, begot of the 

 consciousness of rightful acquisition, the pinna was 

 forcibly yet carefully drawn out of the sand in which 

 it was deeply embedded and in which it was anchored 

 by toughened byssus. Directly the valves were prised 

 apart the pearl fell into my hand. Never before had 

 I seen one so loosely retained within its shell. Generally, 

 in the case of the pinna, pearls are embedded in the 

 muscles or soft parts, and are not primarily discernible, 



