The use of the word as a proper name among the early Christians was doubtless suggested by the sweet simplicity and loveliness of the pearl, and by the beautiful symbolical references to this gem in the Scriptures; and the meaning of the name has been strengthened by the pure lives and the good deeds of the many beautiful Margarets in all lands, including the virgin martyr, St. Margaret of Antioch, “the mild maid of God” referred to in the Liturgy, who, before the fifth century, was the embodiment of feminine innocence and faith overcoming evil, and who is often represented wearing a string of pearls; also St. Margaret Ætheling of the eleventh century, who endeared the name in Scotland, was canonized in 1215, and was adopted as the patron saint of Scotland in 1673; and Margaret, “Pearl of Bohemia,” so beloved by the Danes. Especially among the Germans has the name a tender significance; with them it is symbolical of maidenly sweetness and purity associated with richness of womanhood, such as was typified by Goethe in the heroine of his “Faust.” This idea may have impelled Wordsworth in the selection of a name for the lovely, girlish character in his “Excursion”; and Tennyson for his “Sweet pale Margaret,” and likewise Scott for “Ladye Margaret, the flower of Teviot.” With the memory of these lives and characters before her, many a loving mother has crystallized the hope entertained for a baby daughter by enriching her with this beautiful name. Poets seem never to tire of using the pearl as a symbol of perfection in form, in purity, in luster, and in sweetness. But probably none has made a more lovely comparison than Owen Meredith: As pure as a pearl, And as perfect: a noble and innocent girl.[349] The Oriental poets unite with those of the West in their love for this gem, and those gifted writers are lavish in its use. Let us but add the lament of Shabl Abdullah on the death of Nozami: Nozami’s gone, our fairest pearl is lost. From purest dew, kind Heaven had given her birth, And then had fashioned her the pearl supreme. She softly shone, but hidden from mankind, So God has now restored her to her shell. Far more crude, but possibly equally pathetic, is that old epitaph from Yorkshire, England: In shells and gold pearls are not kept alone, A Margaret here lies beneath a stone. In the seventeenth century, Pierre de Rosnel wrote in a burst of enthusiasm: