preferved entire by Aulus Gellius. This philofopher went to pay the wife of one of his fcholars, who was a woman of diftinguifhed rank, a lying in-vifit. After the first compliments, he took upon him to afk the mother of the lady, if her daughter intended to nurfe her child herself. "God forbid !" anfwered the mother," after my daughter has fuffered fo much, would you have her charged with further cares or troubles ?" "Ah! Madam," replied the philofopher, "let not your daughter content herself with being half a mother, and, after having borne nine months in her belly, and nourished with her own blood, a being the neither faw nor knew, refufe the milk which Nature has given her to a creature that the fees, that looks upon her with its eyes, and implores her fuccour with the most pathetic cries *." Next in rank to the nurfe are the flaves and maid- fervants. Phedria, in one of Terence's comedies, fays to Thais his miftrefs, "Did not I, when you told me that you wanted an Ethiopian girl, neglect every other bufinefs to hunt for one? Then you wished for a Eunuch, becaufe none but princelles have eunuchs. I procured you a eunuch †." Thus the Greek ladies of antiquity, we fee, had not only flaves, but eunuchs, a fpecies of creatures now reserved for the fervice of the Turks. The female flaves among the Greeks are now treated, as they were of old, with great lenity and kindness, and, after a certain time, are indulged with their freedom. The Greeks too have what they call the girl of their foul, (Pfychopedi, pficopela) whom they adopt very young. <. Such was the fair Melantho, whom Penelope," fays Homer, "had taken very young, and brought up as her own daughter, indulging her in every pleasure suited to her age." The maid-fervants or flaves work at embroidery with their miftreffes, as they did antiently, and do all the interior business of the house. Ariadne, when abandoned by Thefeus, cries, in her diftrefs, that he was willing to fubmit to the condition of her maid-fervants. She confents, like a flave, to make the *This paffage is very beautiful in Gellius. Alife in utero fan. guine fuo nefcio quid, quod non videret; non altre nunc fuo lacte quod videat, jam viventem, jam hominem, jam matris officia implorantem. Aul. Gell. Noct. Att. 1. 12. C. I. Nonne, mihi uti dixti cupere te ex Æthiopia Quæfivi? Eunuchum porro dixti velle te, Eun. A&t. 2. Sc. 2. beds, beds, to carry the heaviest pitchers, and to bring her dear Thefeus water to wath before he fits down to table *. Sometimes a female flave is not only a confidant, like the nurie, but even confulted and advited with on occafions of confequence. Agreeably to this, Phocylides fays, "Refufe not to hear and confult your flave, if you know him to be capable of giving you good counfel." The female fervants never ftay at home, when their mistress goes abroad. They are obliged to follow her, and this cuftom likewife is very ancient among the Greeks. In one of Terence's comedies, a flave, informing his matter what ladies were arrived, afks, whether he does not know them by their train of maid-forvants. Ancillarum gregem ducunt fecum. In Plautus, a woman who is going no farther than her next neighbour's, bids her fervants follow her. And it is obvious, from other paflages of antiquity, that this was not only meant as a mark of confequence and confideration, but that it was alfo prefcribed by decency and a regard for reputation, and distinguished the woman of honour from the courtefan †. One cannot here omit a curious circumftance relative to female trains, recorded by Plutarch in the life of Phocion. "When the Athenians were affembled at the theatre to fee a new tragedy, one of the principal actors, who was to play the part of a princefs, juft as he should have come upon the stage, demanded a royal mafk and a magnificent train. As Melanthius, who defrayed the expences of the evening, had not provided thefe, he gave himfelf airs, and made the people wait, for without his retinue the player would not appear. Melanthius, tired with his impertinent difficulties, forcibly pufhed him on the ftage, crying, You fee the wife of Phocion, attended only by one maid, and do you want to make a parade, to corrupt the manners of the women? This, which was heard all over the theatre, was received with univerfal applaufe.” Zaleucus, the difciple of Pythagoras, and the famous lawgiver of Locris, to reprefs the vanity and the luxury of his times, ordered that no freewoman fhould be attended by more than one maid-unless he wore drunk ‡ ! The retinue of flaves and followers that attends a Greek woman in the ftreets is the fame mark of diftinction that a fine equipage is with us; but with this difference, that, among the *Adferre aquam fuperconalem. + Adftat ea in via fola Nonn. 1. xxvii. v. 390. Profibulum fané eft. Plaut. Amph. See Diod. 1. 12. It is remarkable, that the celebrated legislator of Bath wrote his rules quite in the tafte of the Locrian philofopher.. Greeks, Greeks, no woman of character can go out of her house without having at least one fervant with her. Those of superior rank, who have a mind to fhew their opulence or their vanity, are followed by numbers. The young Greek women rarely used to go out, never to church, till they were married. The latter custom, though of great antiquity, is not now observed with the fame feverity. Nevertheless, they are as much confined as they were anciently. They never venture to fhew themselves in the company of men, unless the father or the mother be prefent, or it be with their approbation. Young Nauficaa fays to Ulyffes, "Which of us would appear in public with a man, without the permiffion of our fathers and mothers, before we are married *." Such wisdom and fimplicity had the manners of ancient times! How far are we from them! The Greek ladies have always been fond of covering themfelves with precious ftones. The buckles of their girdles, their necklaces, their bracelets, are all fet off with them; and tho' they delight in fimpler ornaments, and adorn their hair with the fair flowers of the Spring, ftill the diamond must shine in the midft of jafmine and roles. They often dress without going from home, without any intention to be feen, merely to please themselves. They never lay afide their ornaments, except on fome occafion of fevere forrow or mourning. One cannot poffibly fpeak of the ornaments of the Greek ladies, without recollecting an anecdote recorded by Plutarch +. An Ionian lady, a friend of Phocion's fecond wife, took a pleafure in fhewing her her jewels, which confifted of bracelets and necklaces, adorned with gold and precious ftones; "for my part," faid her friend, "my only ornament is Phocion, who has for twenty years been general of the Athenians." One might ftill find the fame fentiments among the modern Greeks, could one find Phocions. To form an idea of the excefs to which the Greek women carried their luxury, we need only attend to St. John Chryfoftom, when he delaims against its progrefs in his time. "Befide ear-rings, fays he, they have other ornaments for the extremities of their cheeks. Their eyelids and the whole countenance is painted; their petticoats are interwoven with thread of gold their necklaces are gold: they wear plates of gold upon their fleeves: their fhoes are black and fhining, and terminate in a point: they ride in chariots drawn by white mules, * Odyff, 1. 6. + Plut. in Vit. Phoc. with with a numerous retinue of chambermaids and other maid-fervants +." The modern Greek women, when they go to any great distance, never fhew their jewels by the way: they are carried along with them: they put them on before they enter the houfe whither they are going; and, when their vifit is ended, put them off before they return. This likewife is an ancient cuftom. The maid-servant of Thais, in Terence, fays of her mistress," She has privately taken off her jewels and given me them to carry this, I know, is a fign that she will go as foon as she can ‡." Madam Dacier remarks on this paffage, that courtezans were not allowed to wear gold or jewels in the streets. But the truth is, and the prefent cuftom confirms it, that Thais, like other Greek ladies, had her jewels carried backward and forward, only that they might appear with greater fplendor at the place of entertainment §.' The origin of the veil is of remote antiquity; for we have it as high as Abraham, but the Greeks afcribe it to the natural effect of modesty. Paufanias has recorded a delicate little story on this fubject. At the diftance of thirty furlongs from the city of Sparta, fays he, is a ftatue of Modefty, which was erected there by Icarius for the following reafons: Icarius, having married his daughter to Ulyffes, endeavoured to prevail on his fon-in-law to fix his refidence at Sparta; but his endeavours were vain. As these hopes proved ineffectual, he applied to his daughter, and conjured her not to abandon her father. At the moment she was about to depart for Ithaca he redoubled his intreaties; and, when the actually fet off, followed her carriage. Ulyffes at length, tired of his importunities, told his wife, that he might make her choice between her father and her husband, and that he left it to her own pleasure, whether he would go with him to Ithaca, or return to Sparta with her father. Then, it is faid, the fair Penelope blufhed, and made no other anfwer than by throwing a veil over her countenance. Icarius understood + See Montfaucon's extract from the works of St. John Chryfo ftom. Interea aurum fibi clam mulier Demit, dat mihi ut auferam. Hoc eft figni; ubi primum poterit, Sefe illinc fubducet, fcio. Eunuch. A&. 4. Sc. 1. This fhews to what unwarrantable affertions the indulgence of conjecture will frequently lead commentators. For our parts we believe with Mr. Guys, that this was the cuftom then, as it is now. what 2 what this answer meant, and left her at liberty to go with her hufband; but, affected with the emparraflment in which he had feen his daughter, he erected a ftatue to MODESTY, in the place where Penelope had thrown a veil over her blushes, that, in imitation of her, all women might wear a veil." Agreeably to this tradition, Homer reprefents Penelope followed by two of her women, and her visage covered with a magnificent veil. The veil ftill worn by the Greek ladies is of muslin, with gold tiffue at the extremities. That of their women is all of a piece, and without gold. It is always white, fuch as Homer and the ancient monuments reprefent the veils of Helena and Hermione.' From the above quotations the Reader will perceive in what manner M. Guys has made the ancient and modern customs mutually illuftrate each other, and at the fame time will acknowledge the utility of this kind of writing. All we have to obferve further, is, that those who read for fentiment and erudition will be better fatisfied with thefe volumes, than thofe who open them in purfuit of curiofities. AR T. II. L Hiftoire de l'Academie Royale de Sciences, &c.-The History of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, for the Year 1766. Continued from the Appendix to the XLIII Volume, Page 505, and concluded. HYDROSTATICS and HYDRAULICS. MEMOIR I. Reflections on fome new hydrostatical Phenomena. By the Abbé Nollet. HE paradoxical air of this article, and the fingular manner in which the phenomena related in it were first produced, induce us to give a fomewhat particular account of it. In the course of this year, the Abbé Nollet had been informed that, in Spain, water had lately been raifed to the height of 50 or 60 feet, apparently in direct violation of the established laws of hydrostatics, by means only of a fimple fucking-pump. He paid, however, little attention to this marvellous and uncircumftantial relation, till he read, in one of the Dutch prints, that the late M. Le Cat had afcertained the poffibility of the fact by actual experiments at Rouen. On his enquiring of that gentleman, by letter, whether it was really true that the laws of nature had of late undergone fome remarkable change; M. Le Cat fet the Abbé at eafe with regard to their immutability; but at the fame time affured him of the truth of the fact in general, and fent him a relation of the fingular manner in which the difcovery was originally made. |