parental power was retained. The former kind of marriage could be contracted in any one of three different ways. Of these, the religious form was confined to the patricians; the presence of the pontifex maximus, the priest of Jupiter, and ten citizens, was necessary as witnesses; a sacred cake (far) was broken and solemnly tasted by the nuptial pair, whence this ceremony was termed confarreatio. A second manner was by purchase (coemptio), in which the father formally sold his daughter to the groom, she signifying her consent before witnesses. The third form, by prescription (usus), consisted simply in the parties having lived together for a year without being separated for three days at any time.

The marriage ceremony proper differed little in the various forms. The betrothal consisted of the exchange of the words spondesne (Do you promise?) and spondeo (I promise), followed by the gift of a ring from the groom. On the wedding-morning, the guests assembled at the house of the bride's father, where the auspices-which had been taken before sunrise by an augur or a haruspex-were declared, and the solemn marriage contract was spoken. The bride's attendant then laid her hands upon the shoulders of the newly married pair, and led them to the family altar, around which they walked hand in hand, while a cow, a pig, and a sheep were offered in sacrifice-the gall having been first extracted and thrown away, to signify the removal of all bitterness from the occasion. The guests having made their congratulations, the feast began. At nightfall the bride was torn with a show of force from her mother's arms (in memory of the seizure of the Sabine women, p. 206); two boys, whose parents were both alive, supported her by the arms; torches were lighted, and a gay procession, as in Greece, accompanied the party to the house of the groom. Here the bride, having repeated to her spouse the formula, "Ubi tu Caius, ibi ego Caia" (Where thou art Caius, I am Caia), anointed the door-posts and wound them with wool, and was lifted over the threshold. She was then formally welcomed into the atrium by her husband with the ceremony of touching fire and water, in which both participated. The next day, at the second marriage feast, the wife brought her offerings to the gods of her husband's family, of which she was now a member, and a Roman matron.

Burial.1-When a Roman died it was the duty of his nearest relative to receive his last breath with a kiss, and then to close his eyes and mouth (compare Æneid, iv. 684). His name was now called several times by all present, and, there being no response, the last farewell (vale) was said. The necessary utensils and slaves having been hired at the temple where the death registry was kept, the body was laid on the ground, washed in hot water, anointed with rich perfumes, clad in its best garments, placed on an ivory bedstead, and covered with blankets of purple, embroidered with gold.2 The couch was decorated with flowers and foliage, but upon the body itself were placed only the crowns of honor fairly earned during its lifetime; these accompanied it into the tomb. By the side of the funereal bed, which stood in the atrium facing the door, as in Greece, was placed a pan of incense. The body was thus exhibited for seven days, branches of cypress and fir fastened in front of the house announcing a mourning household to all the passers-by. On the eighth morning, while the streets were alive with bustle, the funeral took place. Behind the hired female mourners, who sang wailing dirges, walked a band of actors, who recited scraps of tragedy applicable to the deceased, or acted comic scenes in which were sometimes mimicked his personal peculiarities.3 In front of the bier marched those who personated the prominent ancestors of the dead person. They wore waxen masks (p. 303), in which and in their dress were reproduced the exact features and historic garb of these long-defunct personages.4 The bier, carried by the nearest relatives, or by slaves freed by the will of the deceased, and surrounded by the family friends dressed in black (or, in imperial times, in white), was thus escorted to the Forum. Here the mask-wearers seated themselves about it, and one of the relatives mounted the rostrum to eulogize the deceased and his ancestors. After the eulogy, the procession re-formed, and the body was taken to

1 The Romans, like the Greeks, attached great importance to the interment of their dead, as they believed that the spirit of an unburied body was forced to wander for a hundred years. Hence it was deemed a religious duty to scatter earth over any corpse found uncovered by the wayside, a handful of dust being sufficient to appease the infernal gods. If the body of a friend could not be found, as in shipwreck, an empty tomb was erected, over which the usual rites were performed.

2 We are supposing the case of a rich man. The body of a poor person was, after the usual ablutions, carried at night to the common burial-ground outside the Esqui. line gate, and interred without ceremony.

3 At Vespasian's obsequies an actor ludicrously satirized his parsimony. "How much will this ceremony cost?" he asked in the assumed voice of the deceased emperor. A large sum having been named in reply, the actor extended his hand, and greedily cried out, "Give me the money and throw my body into the Tiber."

4 Frequently the masks belonging to the collateral branches of the family were orrowed, that a brilliant show might be made. Parvenus, who belong to all time, ere wont to parade images of fictitious ancestors.

the spot where it was to be buried or burned, both forms being used, as in Greece. If it were burned, the nearest relative, with averted face, lighted the pile. After the burning, the hot ashes were drenched with wine, and the friends collected the bones in the folds of their robes, amid acclamations to the manes of the departed. The remains, sprinkled with wine and milk, were then-with sometimes a small glass vial filled with tears-placed in the funeral urn; a last farewell was spoken, the lustrations were performed, and the mourners separated. When the body was not burned, it was buried with all its ornaments in a coffin, usually of stone. The friends, on returning home from the funeral, were sprinkled with water, and then they stepped over fire, as a purification. The house also was ceremoniously purified. An offering and banquet took place on the ninth day after burial, in accordance with Greek custom.

Dress.-The toga, worn by a Roman gentleman, was a piece of white woolen cloth about five yards long and three and a half wide, folded lengthways, so that one edge fell below the other. It was thrown over the left shoulder, brought around the back and under the right arm, then, leaving a loose fold in front, thrown again over the left shoulder, leaving the end to fall behind. Much pains was taken to drape it gracefully, according to the exact style required by fashion. A tunic, with or without sleeves, and in cold weather a vest, or one or more extra tunics, were worn under the toga. Boys under seventeen years of age wore a toga with a purple hem; the toga of a senator had a broad purple stripe, and that of a knight had two narrow stripes. The use of the toga was forbidden to slaves, strangers, and, in imperial times, to banished Romans.

The panula, a heavy, sleeveless cloak, with sometimes a hood attached, and the lacerna, a thinner, bright-colored one arranged in folds, were worn out of doors over the toga. The paludamentum, a rich, red cloak draped in picturesque folds, was permitted only to the military general-in-chief, who, in imperial times, was the emperor himself. The sagum was a short military cloak. The synthesis, a gaycolored easy robe, was worn over the tunic at banquets, and by the nobility during the Saturnalia. Poor people had only the tunic, and in cold weather a tight-fitting wool or leather cloak. When not on a journey, the Roman, like the Greek, left his head uncovered, or protected it with his toga. Rank decided the style of shoe; a consul used a red one, a senator a black one with a silver crescent, ordinary folk a plain black, slaves and poorest people wooden clogs. In the house, sandals only were worn, and at dinner even these were laid aside.

1 That from Assos in Lycia was said to consume the entire body, except the teeth, in forty days: hence it was called sarcophagus (flesh-eating), a name which came to stand for any coffin.

A Roman matron dressed in a linen under-tunic, a vest, and the stola, a long, short-sleeved garment, girdled at the waist and flounced or hemmed at the bottom. Over this, when she went out, she threw a palla, cut and draped like her husband's toga or like the Greek himation. Girls and foreign women, who were not permitted the stola, wore over the tunic a palla, arranged like the Doric chiton (p. 193). Women-who, like the men, went hatless-protected their heads with the palla, and wore veils, nets, and various light head-coverings. This led to elaborate fashions in hair-dressing. A caustic soap imported from Gaul was used for hair-dyeing, and wigs were not uncommon. Bright colors, such as blue, scarlet, violet, and especially yellow, the favorite tint for bridal veils,-enlivened the feminine wardrobe. Finger-rings were worn in profusion by both sexes, and a Roman lady of fashion luxuriated in bracelets, necklaces, and various ornaments set with diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and other jewels, whose purchase frequently cost her husband his fortune.

SCENES IN REAL LIFE..

Scene I.-A Day in Rome.-Let us imagine ourselves on some bright, clear morning, about eighteen hundred years ago, looking down from the summit of the Capitoline Hill upon the "Mistress of the World." As we face the rising sun, we see clustered about us a group of hills crowned with a vast assemblage of temples, colonnades, palaces, and sacred groves. Densely packed in the valleys between are towering tenements,1 shops with extending booths, and here and there a templed forum, amphitheater, or circus. In the valley at our feet, between the Via Sacra and the Via Nova,-the only paved roads in the whole city fit for the transit of heavy carriages,-is the Forum Romanum, so near us that we can watch the storks that stalk along the roof of the Temple of Concord.2 This Forum is the great civil and legislative heart of the city. Here are the Regia or palace of the chief pontiff, with its two adjoining basilicas; the Temple of Vesta, on whose altar burns the sacred flame; the Senate House, fronted by the Rostra, from which Roman orators address assembled multitudes; various temples, including the famous one of Castor and Pollux; and

1 Ancient authors frequently mention the extreme height of Roman houses, which Augustus finally limited to seventy feet. Cicero says of Rome that "it is suspended in the air;" and Aristides, comparing the successive stories to the strata of the earth's crust, affirms that if they were laid out on one level they "would cover Italy from sea to sea." To economize lateral space, the exterior walls were forbidden to exceed a foot and a half in thickness.

2 Storks were encouraged to build in the roof of this temple, as peculiar social instincts were attributed to them (see Steele's Popular Zoölogy, p. 146).