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Show The Poetry of Pearls BY MRS. ERIC PRITCHARD. IN history as well as in fiction, the pearl has probably played more romantic parts than any other variety va-riety of gem perhaps thnn all other gems added together. It has I been loved, caressed, trodden under loot und spurned. Both men and women have sacrificed their lives, their honor and their virtue tor the attain meut of singU; pearls, more often for ropes or chains of pearls. On the other hand, hi&tory relates that pearls have been cast awav by rlie handful as Worthless encumbrances, as the following Incident shows: When the annv of Gralerius Backed the camp of the routed Persians, a bag of shining leather filled with pe:ir'8 fell into the hands of a private soldier, sol-dier, but the latter, while carefully preserving the bap, threw away its conleuts. under the impression that anything that could not be used for useful purposes had no other value. In less scientific dayp than the present, pres-ent, these ''gems of the sea" afforded much food for speculation as to their nature, origin and significance. A favorite fa-vorite legendary belief was that they were crystallized drops of dew or rain, a mode of origin with more poetry in it than the more correct and generally accepted theory that the pearl is the product of disease, and can be pro- I duced more or less at will b artificial damage inflicted on the living substance sub-stance of the young oyster. But in spite of their somewhat morbid origin, there i? plenty of pleasure to be derived de-rived from the possession or the contemplation con-templation of these most beautiful of all gems. And. as I have already aid, the paths of history are strewn with reference to the part which the pear) bat played in the affairs of man and woman. We read of pearls oycter pearls, as thev were called- in Chinese records dating back nearly .Sunn years, and Persian history and Persian poetry abounds in mention of the pear) as a symbol of puritj and this association oi ideas ba- persisted until the present dav. Bui it is a curious fact that though we have read so much about famous pearls which have played Bireal parts in history, there i;. hardly an authentic instance of any pearl being still in existence which has any an tiquity of its own or mads history ol any importance. This is partly due to the fact thai valuable pearls were nearly alwavs stolen in the brave dayi of yore, and their unlawful possessors had reason for concealing; their historical histori-cal identity. Pearls seem o gather to themselves" the vitality, the life, the electricity ai'd the brilliance of those who make t'i lends of 'hem and wear tliem constantly on their person in the full, searching light of day and stiu it is difficult to guess whet has be- eome of all these pearls whicjj were used by the ancients for the ornamentation ornamen-tation "t their temples, or fo.r tho glorification of their brazen images. What has haupened to those thousand' of pearls whic h lav resplendent in the sword bilts of ancient Persian war riorst During the palmy days of the Roman empire pearls were greatly esteemed as ornament.- bv the women of fash ion, though after its downfall they were again chief! v used for the deco ration of inanimate objects and if av.v .....t -.ntil mediaeval days that thev again served the purpose of personal decoration. Tn England thev were not really appreciated for the latter pur pose until the fourteenth century. Yet throughout every century and in every Country, from comparatively earlv times, "we see pearls depicted bv contemporary con-temporary artists in such of their wot ks as survive. Tt in bv the painting of srt.Ms that we are all familiar with the famous pearls of the Eapaburg family, those of the Valois, the Medicis. the Bor-ei;.-, tho Tudors and the Stuarts. The wives of Henry VIIT. were generally represented as clothed in a complete armor of pearls. A quotation from Shakespeare shows how pearls were appreciated at the end of the fifteenth century : Orient nearls fH for a queen Will I gle thy love to win. And a shell to keep ttiem In. Perhaps the most famous pearls in history, after those of I leopntra, were those belonging to Catherine de Medi ei and Queen Elisabeth, who, by the wav. annexed some valuable ones be longing to Marv Queen of Scots. The latter ill starred queen possessed some wonderful pear-shaped specimens. What weird histories and secrets could these pearls disclose! From those hidden iu the treasure chest of Siudbad t he Sailor to heirlooms lodged in the banks and safe deposits of today, or those which have been disposed of to meet the pe cumarv exigencies of their owners and now repose in attractive white velvet i a sos behind the jeweler's window. The diamond, owing to its poor intrinsic intrin-sic beaut v in the uncut state, is a very modern tone compared to the pearl, and i even today inferior to it in ac tnal value It. is interesting to note that during the last fifteen years tnev have enormously increased in value, and, owing to the demands of the mod em woman are likely to continue on the upward grade. 'U late years the modern .icweler has realized in hie wisdom that there are i ertain periods in hi-try wherein beauty of workmanship and desigu has left itt. eternal mark on its eontempor aneoua productions, and never in re speet of drees, jewel work or furniture, can French inste of the sixteenth, seventeenth sev-enteenth and eighteenth centuries bo equaled. It is, perhaps, the Louis XVI design that lends itself more ad mirably than that of any other period to the daintily simple setting of pearl.-, and diamonds that is iu VOgue today. The beautiful bow pattern of Ugliest construction appears specially designed i for diamonds and pear!-. What can be mors Bffective than the simple pendant which consists of two pearls suspended OS the slit:htet of platinum chains, or single diamond treated in the same wav and i:ed as earriiiRS? The latter, nlont with many another quaint conceit of bygone days, are revived for the ed: li eat ion of t ;.""e who T'o-css the noees snrv elegance of ear to wear them Amidst a bewildering display of pre eioui stones I meant flrrnlv to ab stain from mentioning anv other rival to the gems which "the dark, unfath omed w,,is of ocean bear," for the Story Of ancient Oriental and bnrharic snlendor is folly represented in the hi-torv hi-torv of the pearl the ieweler of today is an artist: M n hope that the woman wom-an who is lucky enough to obtain their exquisite ornaments and designs may I possess that innate judgment which IS so essential, for the "wearing' or the same. Jewels want daintv framing, nnd should be worn with discretion, le.-d I he law? of affinity be Outraged Above all should woman avoid the lamentable lam-entable fencv for ruling on masses of : miscellaneous rind comparatively value-; les trinkets ip company with' reallv ! good Jewelry. The successful mixing ,.r Bjetni is onh given to the few. arid the delightful "conceit"' of matching ijowns and ieweU to advantage, a) . thoiurh the nmhition of manv is exclu sivelv tho property of cenins. Pearls, on the other hand, have the advantage of never looking really out of place. Indeed, they can be most successfully- worn in the daytime, espe ciallv if hidden under a simple and transparent network. Owing to the I fact of the pearl beinflr reznrded as the. poetic symbol of puritv. it forms one of the most popular of christening pro-. i ents or of rifts to the debutante- Tinv eirls can possess a small string of pearl. which can be increased in size and value as opportunity or the gen erositv of friend- arises, This i- Wise for tin' pearl is the gem that is never out of fashion for n single century, that steadilv improves commercially in vnl ue and s also invested with s mysti enl poetical and historical interest (hat will never die. It i a fl f t i u tr accom- j naniment to beaut v. becoming to vouth I and age. and it clashes with no color in Irei-. I know women who rrrnrd their J pearls with n real and personal affec ! tion. |
