as
to leave in sight the rich bracelets that they wore around their legs.
But the matrons lengthened the ordinary tunic by means of a plaited
furbelow or flounce (_instita_), edged, sometimes, with golden or purple
thread. In such case, it took the name of _stola_, and descended to
their feet. They knotted it at the waist, by means of a girdle
artistically hidden under a fold of the tucked-up garment. Below the
tunic, the women when on the street wore, lastly, their _toga_, which
was a roomy mantle enveloping the bosom and flung back over the left
shoulder; and thus attired, they moved along proudly, draped in white
woollens.

At length, the wife of Paratus is completely attired; she has drawn on
the white bootees worn by matrons; unless, indeed, she happens to prefer
the sandals worn by the libertinae,--the freedwomen were so
called,--which left those large, handsome Roman feet, which we should
like to see a little smaller, uncovered. The selection of her jewelry is
now all that remains to be done. Sabina owned some curious specimens
that were found in the ruins of her house. The Latins had a discourteous
word to designate this collection of precious knick-knackery; they
called it the "woman's world," as though it were indeed all that there
was in the world for women. One room in the Museum at Naples is full of
these exhumed trinkets, consisting of serpents bent into rings and
bracelets, circlets of gold set with carved stones, earrings
representing sets of scales, clusters of pearls, threads of gold
skilfully twisted into necklaces; chaplets to which hung amulets, of
more or less decent design, intended as charms to ward off ill-luck;
pins with carved heads; rich clasps that held up the tunic sleeves or
the gathered folds of the mantle, cameoed with a superb relief and of
exquisite workmanship worthy of Greece; in fine, all that luxury and
art, sustaining each other, could invent that was most wonderful. The
Pompeian ladies, in their character of provincials, must have carried
this love of baubles that cost them so dearly, to extremes: thus, they
wore them in their hair, in their ears, on their necks, on their
shoulders, their arms, their wrists, their legs, even on their ankles
and their feet, but especially on their hands, every finger of which,
excepting the middle one, was covered with rings up to the third
joint, where their lovers slipped on those that they desired to
exchange with them.

[Illustration: Neckl