A Magic Glimmering Realm

More on coral over at Google Books:

Ever since European explorers began to rove the tropic oceans, the Western world hs vaguely dis­cerned the phant­asmagoria of coral isles rising, palm-​fringed and surf-​ruffled, amid the blue des­ol­a­tion of the sea. As the cen­turies passed the image sharpened; new details emerged — of island neck­laces ringing bright tur­quoise lagoons, and many an arched beach of pastel sands. Below the sun-​spangled satin of the waters there loomed a fabulous world of living creatures, more prolific and colorful than any known to man, a magic glim­mering realm of flower­like animals, giant clams and gaudy fish with iri­des­cent scales of gold and silver, ruby and emerald, glinting among the groves and grottoes of the coral gardens.

People wrote dif­fer­ently in 1954.