of fliarks lurk about the diving places, which often devour the
poor adventurers in defiance o f the Abrajamins, or magicians,
whom Marco Polo, p. 138, fays, the traders take with them to
charm thofe dreadful fiihes from every power of doing hurt.
P e a r l s o f T he high eftimation in which pearls were among the an-
TlQi Ty’ tients is evident from the value of one prefented by Julius Cafav
to Servilia, Brutus's mother, which, according to Arbutbnot’s
computation, was worth £. 48,437. ior. and that which Cleopatra
gallantly fwallowed, diifolved in vinegar, at a feaft Ihe gave to
Marc Antony, was valued at £.40,364. n r . 81i *.
Arabian. I h a v e , in my defcription of Arabia (Outlines of the Globe,
vol. x.) given a long account of the pearl fiiheries of the Red
Sea, antient and modern. I ihall not here repeat what I have
faid, any farther than to obferve, that the ihell which produces
the pearl is the Mytilus Margaritiferus of Gm. Lin. vi. 3351.
D'Argenville, Concbolyologie, tab. xx. fig. A. Bonanni, ii. tab. L
• P- 93-
A r t if ic ia l . Linnaus, in a letter dated December 23d, 1755, informed'me
that he had difcovered the art of caufing thefe pretious articles
to be generated in the river Muffels, Br. Zool.iw. N’ 76, 77. In
another letter wrote in the following fpring, he fignified to me
his refolution of not difcovering the fecret. “ Nollem edere Tr.
“ de origine margaritarum quia turn unufquifque famulus pro
* Pliny, lib. ix. c. 35. Cleopatra made a wager with' Antony, that £be would give him a
' /upper that ihould coil centies H. S. or £ . 80,729. ||1 4d. . After the firffc courfe ihe took
one of the pearls out of her ears, and fwallowed it, diilblved in vinegar. She was about to prepare
the other for her lover to pledge her,, but was prevented by L. Plancus,.who decided that
ihe had won the wager, notwithftanding ihe had only taken one of the pearls, or half the value
e f the wagered fupper.
f libit 11
ee libitu caufet apud conchas quot velit margaritas, inde cadat
“ pretium et valor earum quo ipfi harum poffefibres partem divi-
“ tiarum amittant ob meam curiofitatem, mihi fufficit videfle ;
66 fpedtatoribus, quomodo facta fint, mea cura, nec vero quo-
“ modo fiant.”
•Tavernier gives figures of the largeft pearls-he ever faw;.
among others-is-the fine pear-ibaped pearl taken in the Perfian
Gulph, and bought by the king of Perfm for 1,400,000 1-ivres, or
£■ 58,333. 6 s. 8 d. llerling; alfo the great pearl which hung
about the neck of the rich artificial peacock, which adorned the
throne o f Aurengzebe and his fucceffors, till Kouli Khan made it
part o f his vail: plunder.
T h e htftory of Tavernier merits mention, for the fidelity
of his travels into countries little known. He was by birth a
Swi/s, and the fon o f a very able geographer.: he himfelf. was
the greateft traveller of his age. Befides his European travels
in the early part of his fife, he fpent forty years in fix journies
into Turky, Perjia, and India, and entered deeply into commerce,
chiefly in that of jewels. He vifited the principal diamond
mines, and fupplied the great men in India and Perjia' with
thofe valuable articles, and every fort o f pretious ftones, and.
with pearls. The prices he gave or offered were immenfe..
He returned with vail wealth. In his advanced'age, not content
with his prodigious acquifitions, his avarice induced him to
truft a cargo of effeits bought in France, valued at £. 220,000,
to a nephew, to be difpofed' of in the Levant. This, by the
mifconduil of his relation, was loft. To repair the misfortune,
he determined on a feventh voyage, and died on the road, at
Mo/cow.
P e a r l s o f v a s t
■Si z e ,.
H i s t o r v o f
T a v e r n i e r v .