t. One oyster has been
mentioned, though I allow myself to doubt it, as having contained no
less than a hundred and fifty sharks."

"A hundred and fifty sharks!" exclaimed Ned Land.

"Did I say sharks?" said I hurriedly. "I meant to say a hundred and
fifty pearls. Sharks would not be sense."

"Certainly not," said Conseil; "but will you tell us now by what means
they extract these pearls?"

"They proceed in various ways. When they adhere to the shell, the
fishermen often pull them off with pincers; but the most common way is
to lay the oysters on mats of the seaweed which covers the banks. Thus
they die in the open air; and at the end of ten days they are in a
forward state of decomposition. They are then plunged into large
reservoirs of sea-water; then they are opened and washed."

"The price of these pearls varies according to their size?" asked
Conseil.

"Not only according to their size," I answered, "but also according to
their shape, their water (that is, their colour), and their lustre:
that is, that bright and diapered sparkle which makes them so charming
to the eye. The most beautiful are called virgin pearls, or paragons.
They are formed alone in the tissue of the mollusc, are white, often
opaque, and sometimes have the transparency of an opal; they are
generally round or oval. The round are made into bracelets, the oval
into pendants, and, being more precious, are sold singly. Those
adhering to the shell of the oyster are more irregular in shape, and
are sold by weight. Lastly, in a lower order are classed those small
pearls known under the name of seed-pearls; they are sold by measure,
and are especially used in embroidery for church ornaments."

"But," said Conseil, "is this pearl-fishery dangerous?"

"No," I answered, quickly; "particularly if certain precautions are
taken."

"What does one risk in such a calling?" said Ned Land, "the swallowing
of some mouthfuls of sea-water?"

"As you say, Ned. By the bye," said I, trying to take Captain Nemo's
careless tone, "are you afraid of sharks, brave Ned?"

"I!" replied the Canadian; "a harpooner by profession? It is my trade
to make light of them."

"But," said I, "it is not a question of fishing for them with an
iron-swivel, hoisting them into the vessel, cutting off their tails
with a blow of a chopper, ripping them up, and throwing their heart
into the sea!"

"Then, it is a question of----"

"Precisely."

"In the water?"

"I