[Illustration: _Jeweller_]
They now walked towards the Bazaar, and in a few minutes entered the
first room, which is sixty-two feet long, and thirty-six broad. The
walls were hung with red cloth, and at the ends were large mirrors
which reflected the surrounding objects.
"Oh, dear mamma!" exclaimed Emily, "let us stop a moment to look at
these beautiful ornaments, what a pretty gold cross and pearl chain; I
should like to buy it for baby, only that it would come to more than
all my pocket money."
"I think, papa," said Maria, "that I have read that pearls come chiefly
from Ceylon, and are taken from a particular species of oyster."
"You are right, my love," replied Mr. Durnford, "there are too
seasons for pearl fishing. The first is in March and April, and
the last in August and September, and the more rain there falls
in the year, the more plentiful are the fisheries. The method of
procuring the pearls is rather singular. The diver binds a stone six
inches thick, and a foot long under his body; which serves him as
ballast, prevents his being driven away by the motion of the water,
and enables him to walk steadily under the waves. They also tie a
very heavy stone to one foot, by which they are speedily sent to
the bottom of the sea; and as the oysters are firmly fastened to
the rocks, they arm their hands with leather mittens, to prevent
their being bruised in pulling the oysters violently off. Each diver
carries down with him a large net, tied to his neck by a long cord,
the other end of which is fastened to the side of his bark. The net
is to hold the oysters, and the cord to pull up the diver when his
bag is full. Thus equipped, he sometimes flings himself sixty feet
under water, and when he arrives at the bottom, he runs from side to
side, tearing up all the oysters he can meet with, and puts them into
his net as expeditiously as possible."
"Oh, papa! how frightened I should be of the enormous great fishes,"
said Caroline.
"They are certainly to be dreaded, my love, but the diver no sooner
perceives one of them approaching, than he pulls his cord, and the
signal is attended to immediately by those above. Look, Emily, at this
diamond, can you tell me from whence they come?"
"I believe from the East Indies, papa, and South America."
"Yes, my dear. This object of human vanity was formerly called Adamant,
being the hardest body in nature. In the East Indies, there are also
two rivers, in the sands of which are diamonds. The miners frequently
dig through rocks, till they come to a sort of mineral earth, in which
the diamonds are enclosed, and to prevent their concealing any of
them they are obliged to go naked. The largest diamond ever known to
have been found, was that in the possession of the Great Mogul, which
weighed two hundred and seventy-nine carats, each carat being four
grains."
"Diamonds are beautiful, and so are all the precious stones, but
they are too dear for me at present," said Theodore; "but with your
leave, papa, I should like to buy each of my sisters a little gold
heart to wear with their gold chains."
The hearts and some other trifling ornaments were accordingly selected;
and they next stopped to look at the contents of a