THE HISTORY OF THE PEARL 31 



"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each one 

 of the several gates was of one pearl; and the street of 

 the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." 

 The use of pearls in describing the heavenly gates, shows 

 the sublime and sacred respect with which John thought 

 of the radiant pearl. 



The great historian Pliny, who was born in Italy in 

 23 A. D., mentioned the pearl in his writings. 



In 37 A. D. the wife of Caius Caligula possessed a col- 

 lection of pearls valued at $3,000,000.00. 



From the earliest history pearls were found in Britain. 



From the reign of Francis I. to Louis XIII. the pearl 

 was prominent in France. It is said that there was a law 

 in France about 1355 which prohibited the goldsmiths in 

 Paris from setting Scotch pearls with the oriental. 



Mary, Queen of Scots, wore pendant pearls in her 

 ears when she went to chapel and possessed a magnificent 

 rosary of pearls which were greatly coveted by other 

 queens at that time. 



Sir Thomas Gresham, of London, was a wealthy sub- 

 ject and is said to have ground a large pearl to powder 

 and mixed it in wine, which he drank to the health of 

 the queen to show a prodigal loyalty to her. 



At the time of Columbus, Spain and other European 

 nations considered pearls as among the most valuable 

 jewels, and the early discoverers were required to give a 

 part of the treasures which they found to the king. 



On October 12, 1492, when the valiant hero Columbus 

 landed at San Salvador another addition was made to the 

 history of pearls. The natives possessed large quanti- 



