Î32 An Hijîorical Journal of 



primitive Times, only an allegorical Way of fpeaking, fuch as 

 we often fi-" i even in the Scripture. The Enemies of Da^id 

 did not, as appears, make it a Cuftom to eat the Flefli of their 

 Enemies, when he faid, P/ xxvii. 2. If' hen the Wicked, e^-ven 

 mine Emmies, came upon me to eat up my Flejlo^ In after Times, cer- 

 tain Nations that were become lavage and barbarous, fubftituted 

 the Fad in the Room of the Figure. 



I have faid that the Porcelain of thefe Countries are Shells : 



>f 7^- rr They are found on the Coafts of Nen.v Ef?2- 



A Di^refhon on j y a rr- ■ • rr<L 1, i?j 



he Porcelain cr ^ Virginia : 1 hey are cnannel d, 



rr QÎ 11^ ^ pretty long, a little pointed, without Au- 

 Canada ncles, and pretty thick. The Fifli that is m- 



clofed in thefe Shells, is not good to eat ; but 

 the Infide of the Shell is of fuch a fine Varnifn, and fuch lively 

 Colours, that Art cannot come near it. When the Savages went 

 quite naked, they applied them to the ûime Ufe as our fir il Fa- 

 rents did the Fig Leaves, when they favv their Nakednefs-, and 

 were ailiamed of it. They hung them alfo about their Necks, 

 as them.ofl precious Thing they had ; and it is at this Day one 

 of their greateil Treafures, and fineil Ornaments. In a Word, 

 they have the fame Idea of them, as we have of Gold, Silver, 

 and precious Stones ; being fomuch the more reafonablein this, 

 as they need only in a Manner ftoop to obtain Treafures as real 

 as our's, lince all depends upon Opinion. 



James Cartier fpeaks in his Memoirs of a Kind of Shell fome- 

 thing like thefe, which he found in the I fie of Montreal : He 

 calls it Efurgni ; and aiferts, that it had the Virtue to flop bleed- 

 ing at the Nofe. Perhaps it is the fame with that we are fpeak- 

 ing of ; but they find none about the Ifle of Montreal, and I never 

 heard that thefe Shells had the Properties v/hich C^m>r mentions e 

 They are of two Sorts, or of two Colours ; one White, the 

 Of the Strin s cïther Violet. : The fir 11 is the moil common, 

 nd Necklaces of perhaps for this Reafon is lefs efteemed , 



p J ^ The fécond appears to be fomething of a iiner 



rorcelatn. ^^^.^ ^^^^^ wrought. The deeper the 



Colour is, the m.ore valuable it is. They make of both Sorts 

 little cylindrical Beads : They pierce them, and firing them ; 

 and it is of this that they make Strings and Necklaces of Porcelain?^ 

 The Strings are nothing elfe but four or five Threads, or little 

 Slips of Skin about a Foot long, on which the Beads are flrung. 

 The Necklaces are a Sort of Fillet, or Diadems formed of thefe 

 Strings ; which are confined by Threads, which make a Texture 

 of four, five, fix, or feven Rows of Beads, and of a propor- 

 tionable Length : This depends on the Importance of the Af- 

 fair they treat of, and on the Dignity of the Ferfons to whom the 

 Necklace is prefented. 



By 



