have
given my father some lights.--On the contrary, my father might as well
have thought of extracting the seven cardinal virtues out of a long
beard,--as of extracting a single word out of Rubenius upon the subject.

Upon every other article of ancient dress, Rubenius was very
communicative to my father;--gave him a full satisfactory account of

The Toga, or loose gown.
The Chlamys.
The Ephod.
The Tunica, or Jacket.
The Synthesis.
The Paenula.
The Lacema, with its Cucullus.
The Paludamentum.
The Praetexta.
The Sagum, or soldier's jerkin.
The Trabea: of which, according to Suetonius, there was three kinds.--

--But what are all these to the breeches? said my father.

Rubenius threw him down upon the counter all kinds of shoes which had
been in fashion with the Romans.--

There was,
The open shoe.
The close shoe.
The slip shoe.
The wooden shoe.
The soc.
The buskin.
And The military shoe with hobnails in it, which Juvenal takes
notice of.

There were,
The clogs.
The pattins.
The pantoufles.
The brogues.
The sandals, with latchets to them.

There was,
The felt shoe.
The linen shoe.
The laced shoe.
The braided shoe.
The calceus incisus.
And The calceus rostratus.

Rubenius shewed my father how well they all fitted,--in what manner they
laced on,--with what points, straps, thongs, latchets, ribbands, jaggs,
and ends.--

--But I want to be informed about the breeches, said my father.

Albertus Rubenius informed my father that the Romans manufactured
stuffs of various fabrics,--some plain,--some striped,--others diapered
throughout the whole contexture of the wool, with silk and gold--That
linen did not begin to be in common use till towards the declension of
the empire, when the Egyptians coming to settle amongst them, brought it
into vogue.

--That persons of quality and fortune distinguished themselves by the
fineness and whiteness of their clothes; which colour (next to purple,
which was appropriated to the great offices) they most affected, and
wore on their birth-days and public rejoicings.--That it appeared from
the best historians of those times, that they frequently sent their
clothes to the fuller, to be clean'd and whitened:--but that the
inferior people, to avoid that expence, generally wore brown clothes,
and of a something coarser texture,--till towards the beginning of
Augustus's reign, when the slave dressed like his master, and almost
ever