ance, a supper consisting of every delicacy in season. But alas! the meat was painted wood, the fruit was wax, and instead of wine the vases contained only coloured water. Still the courses were served in regular succession, the emperor pressed them to do honour to the entertainment; and after going through all the forms of a sump tuous feast, they were dismissed supperless!" You must perceive that this was excellent satire a proper reproof to those whose customary words, appearing to be respectful and benevolent, proceeded only from habit and selfishness, without any of the sentiment of esteem and sincere kindness. Salire-a species of ridicule which pretends to make contemptible things important, and by giving them an air of affected dignity, to make their real worthlessness apparent. Libation. When wine or milk was poured out in honour of the gods, and the act was accompanied by a prayer, the ceremony was a libation. Drama, a story not related but enacted by several persons. A drama consists of dialogues or conversations, in which each individual's discourse relates in some way or other to the chief persons concerned in the story. The Drama is sometimes written in poetry, and sometimes in prose. A drama which excites fear and pity is a Tragedy. Shakspeare's King Lear is a tragedy. A drama which induces laughter is a Comedy. As You Like It, is a comedy. The persons who perform or enact plays, are called in English, Comedians; the Romans called them Mimes. Comedians wore a low heeled shoe, called a sock: which merely covered the foot: tragedians, a high buskin that reached the middle of the leg: when people speak of the sock and buskin, it is a figurative manner of saying comedy and tragedy. The building where plays are represented is commonly a Theatre. The place where the actors perform their several parts is the Stage. The sides of the stage are large sliding pictures, called scenes, which may be pushed forward and shown, or drawn back and hidden. The scenes describe the places which the persons of the drama are supposed to be in: they sometimes represent the country, sometimes the streets of a city, and sometimes the inside of buildings. The company who attend the theatre is the Audience or hearers. The mode of dressing used by actors is called the theatrical costume. Costume is a French word, but in our large towns in the United States, we have adopted it into our language: it signifies a fashion of dress :-the Grecian costume, the Roman costume, mean the dresses of the Greeks and the Romans. Pantomime is one kind of play, it is all performed by action without words, as the mute converse together. Opera is a modern sort of play, in which all the action is accompanied with music. Farce, a short comic piece, designed to display wit, and excite mirth. ROMAN DRESS. Toga, A long and loose robe, worn by both sexes at Rome. The toga was a very full drapery of woollen cloth, without sleeves, gathered up on the shoulders. That of the more humble 'citizens was coarse and unadorned; that of the magistrates was of a purple stuff ornamented with embroidery, and sometimes embossed with gold. 2. It is supposed that this purple was not our modern compound colour of blue and red, but a rich deep rose colour-the most beautiful in the world, because it is, in some of its shades, that colour of the animated human countenance, which is produced by lively feeling, and a susion of blood. Milton's "celestial rosy red," and Gray's "purple light of love," are the same fine huethat which belongs to "the queen of all the flowers." The finest purple of ancients was the Tyrian, a dye originally given to the manufactures of Tyre in Asia. "To assume the purple," is a figurative phrase, signifying to put on the dignity of an emperor, because the Roman emperors wore a purple mantle or robe. : 3. Roman children were clothed in a vest with sleeves this was called the pretextan-robe., The females wore it till they were married; the boys till they were clothed in the toga, sometimes called the manly-gown. 4. At seventeen years of age the toga was put on, for the first time, and the day of investing the young citizen was celebrated by religious ceremonies and a festival. His parents assembled their relatives, with the dependants and servants of the family; and in their presence the boy was stripped of his pretextan-robe, and clothed with a toga of pure white without ornament. The company then attended him to the capitol, where prayer and sacrifices were offered to the gods; thence he was taken to the forum, and afterwards returned to his father's house, where the day concluded with a feast. 5. The toga was not worn in the house, and common people often appeared abroad without it. Underneath the toga a close woollen vest called a tunic was worn. The tunic of the females had sleeves, and fell to the feet; that of the men was shorter and without sleeves. The tunic was fastened round the waist with a girdle which it was considered slovenly to be without. 6. The Roman ladies, after the nation became more attentive to style in every thing, grew fashionable, and often changed the form of their garments they laid aside the toga and ornamented the robe which was afterwards called the stola, and they added a train which was suffered to flow upon the ground. Milton must have had a Roman lady in his mind, when he describes melancholy : "All in a robe of darkest grain, Over her decent shoulders drawn.” Milton's goddess is clothed in black; the colour and ornaments of the garments worn by the Roman ladies were doubtless adapted to the age, the taste, and the fortune of the wearer : white was for a long time most fashionable. Silk was procured in small quantities at Rome, and was always an ar ticle of great expence. Linen made of flax was first brought from Egypt during the time of the Androcles from his injured lord in dread weary frame, |