236 THE OLIVE LEAF. CHAP. 



repulsive substances, they were sublimed into their 

 present beautiful forms and hues, as the blossoms of 

 the mineral kingdom. 



But the truth that what is fairest and most precious 

 is obtained only through sore and long-continued 

 struggle, which the jewelled walls witness to, is 

 attested in a more tender and touching way by the 

 gates of pearl. This substance is not of mineral 

 but of animal formation. It is intermediate be- 

 tween the world of life and the world of death, 

 between the lifeless matter which is the only thing 

 that is permanent here, and the living matter which 

 is continually changing. It has not the hardness of 

 the diamond, which is farthest removed from life, nor 

 the softness of the animal or vegetable cell, which is the 

 most variable of all things. It is not produced by the 

 dead inert earth, but by a living creature ; and therefore 

 it affords a better analogy of human nature than jasper 

 and sapphire, emerald and amethyst. It represents 

 more clearly and fully the free play of human life. A 

 pearl is caused by the irritation of a minute parasite, or 

 by the presence of a particle of sand or other extraneous 

 matter accidentally introduced between the mantle and 

 the shell of a species of mussel. The creature cannot 

 get rid of it, and therefore to allay the irritation, covers 

 it over with a series of layers of nacre or pearly matter. 

 This smooth, round, shining object, which feels so soft 

 and pleasant to the touch, which reflects the light in a 

 tender way like snow or moonlight, which is so precious 

 that it is deemed worthy of a place in the crown of a 



