ous ministers of their pleasures, they express
their affection by a tender embrace; while they proudly decline the
salutations of their fellow-citizens, who are not permitted to aspire
above the honor of kissing their hands, or their knees. As soon as they
have indulged themselves in the refreshment of the bath, they resume
their rings, and the other ensigns of their dignity, select from their
private wardrobe of the finest linen, such as might suffice for a dozen
persons, the garments the most agreeable to their fancy, and maintain
till their departure the same haughty demeanor; which perhaps might have
been excused in the great Marcellus, after the conquest of Syracuse.
Sometimes, indeed, these heroes undertake more arduous achievements;
they visit their estates in Italy, and procure themselves, by the toil
of servile hands, the amusements of the chase. [39] If at any time,
but more especially on a hot day, they have courage to sail, in their
painted galleys, from the Lucrine Lake [40] to their elegant villas
on the seacoast of Puteoli and Cayeta, [41] they compare their own
expeditions to the marches of Caesar and Alexander. Yet should a fly
presume to settle on the silken folds of their gilded umbrellas; should
a sunbeam penetrate through some unguarded and imperceptible chink, they
deplore their intolerable hardships, and lament, in affected language,
that they were not born in the land of the Cimmerians, [42] the regions
of eternal darkness. In these journeys into the country, [43] the whole
body of the household marches with their master. In the same manner
as the cavalry and infantry, the heavy and the light armed troops,
the advanced guard and the rear, are marshalled by the skill of their
military leaders; so the domestic officers, who bear a rod, as an ensign
of authority, distribute and arrange the numerous train of slaves
and attendants. The baggage and wardrobe move in the front; and are
immediately followed by a multitude of cooks, and inferior ministers,
employed in the service of the kitchens, and of the table. The main
body is composed of a promiscuous crowd of slaves, increased by the
accidental concourse of idle or dependent plebeians. The rear is
closed by the favorite band of eunuchs, distributed from age to youth,
according to the order of seniority. Their numbers and their deformity
excite the horror of the indignant spectators, who are ready to execrate
the memory of Semiramis, for the cruel art w