peculiar vesture she wore, as by having no covering upon her head, and her eye-brows painted with stibium, which dilated the hair, and made the eyes look black and beautiful. In the days of Jacob, the harlot seemed ta have been distinguished by her veil, and by wrapping herself in some peculiar manner; for these are the circumstances that induced Judah to consider Tamar his daughter-in-law, as a woman of this character: "She put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath." When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot, because she had covered her face. It may be justly inferred from this passage, that mo dest women did not constantly wear a veil in those days. Rebecca, indeed, put a veil upon her face when she met Įsaac in the field: but it was a part of the marriage ceremony to deliver the bride covered with a veil, from head to foot; and Rebecca, in this instance only followed the established custom of her country." Had it been the practice of modest women in that age to cover their faces, in the presence of the other sex, she would not have needed to veil herself when her future hushand met her in the field. She seems to have had no veil when Abraham's servant accosted her at the well; nor, for any thing that can be discovered, was Rachel veiled at her first interview with Jacob; or if they did appear in veils, these prevented not a part of the face from being seen. The practice of wearing veils, except at the marriage ceremony, must, therefore, be referred to a later period, and was perhaps not introduced till after the lapse of several ages. These u Russel's Hist. of Aleppo, vol. ii, p. 80.--/ Harmer's Observ. vol. iv, p. 253, 254,

* Gen. xxxviii, 14.

observations may serve to illustrate the address of Abimelech to Sarah: "Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee; and with all other."w Sarah, you have not been used to wear the veil constantly when at home, as a person of your beauty and accomplishments should do, and by that circumstance we were tempted; but now I insist that you wear a covering, which, by concealing your beautiful countenance, may prevent such desires; and henceforth be correct, (as the word may be rendered, that is, circumspect,) and do not shew yourself; or, as in our translation, thus she was corrected, reproved, by a very handsome compliment paid to her beauty, and a very handsome present paid to her brother, as Abraham is sarcastically termed by Abimelech.*

In modern times, the women of Syria never appear in the streets without their veils. These are of two kinds, the furragi and the common Aleppo veil; the former being worn by some of the Turkish women only, the latter indiscriminately by all. The first is in the form of a large cloak, with long strait sleeves, and a square hood hanging flat on the back; it is sometimes made of linen, sometimes of shawl or cloth. This veil reaching to the heels, conceals the whole of the dress, from the neck downwards; while the head and face are covered by a large white handkerchief over the head-dress and forehead, and a smaller one tied transversely over the lower part of the face, hanging down on the neck. Many of the Turkish women, instead of the smaller handkerchief, use a long piece of black crape stiffened, which, sloping a little from the forehead, leaves room to breathe more freely. In this last way, the ladies are completely disguised; in the former,

Gen. xx, 16. Taylor's Calmet, vol. iii.

* Ibid.

the eyes and nose remaining visible, they are easily known by their acquaintances.

The radid is a species of veil, which Calmet supposes is worn by married women, as a token of their submission and dependance, and descends low down on the person. To lift up the veil of a virgin, is reckoned a gross insult; but to take away the veil of a married woman, is one of the greatest indignities that she can receive, because it deprives her of the badge which distinguishes and dignifies her in that character, and betokens her alliance to her husband, and her interest in his affections. This is the reason why the spouse so feelingly complains: "They took away my veil (777) from me."y When it is forcibly taken away by the husband, it is equivalent to divorce, and justly reckoned a most severe calamity; therefore, God threatened to take away the ornamental dresses "of the daughters of Zion," including the radidim, the low descending veils : " In that day, the Lord will take away

the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils."

The ordinary Aleppo veil is a linen sheet, large enough to cover the whole habit from head to foot, and is brought over the face in a manner to conceal all but one eye.a This custom is alluded to by the bridegroom, in these words: "Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes." Thy slightly opened veil, my consort, suffers only a part of thy fair countenance to be seen; yet that small part, though it be but a cheeek or an eye, ravishes my heart: yea, when the still slenderer opening of thy veil suffers but a single link of thy necklace to appear,

z Isa. iii, 18, &c.

b Song iv, 9.

J Song v, 7. a Russel's Hist. vol. ii, p. 78; and Buckingham's Trav. vol. i, p. 78.

that single link attracts my kindest regard, on account of the beauteous neck which it adorns."

In Barbary, when the ladies appear in public, they always fold themselves up so closely in their hykes, that even without their veils, one can discover very little of their faces. But, in the summer months, when they retire to their country seats, they walk abroad with less caution; though even then, on the approach of a stranger, they always drop their veils, as Rebecca did on the approach of Isaac. But, although they are so closely wrapped up, that those who look at them cannot even see their hands, still less their face, yet it is reckoned indecent in a man to fix his eyes upon them; he must let them pass without seeming at all to observe them. In allusion to this rigorous custom, Job says, "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid ?" When a lady of distinction, says Hanway, travels on horseback, she is not only veiled, but has generally a servant, who runs or rides before her, to clear the way; and on such occasions, the men, even in the market-places, always turn their backs till the women are past, it being thought the highest ill manners to look at them. A lady in the east considers herself degraded when she is exposed to the gaze of the other sex, which accounts for the conduct of Vashti in refusing to obey the command of the king. Their ideas of decency, on the other hand, forbid a virtuous woman to lay aside, or even to lift up her veil, in the presence of the other sex. She who ventures to disregard this pro hibition, inevitably ruins her character. From that mo

с

Taylor's Calmet, vol. iii.

e Trav. part iii, chap. 40, vol. i, p. 185.

d Shaw's Trav. vol. i, p. 412.

f Forbes's Orient, Mem, vol. iii, p. 194, 218, 219.

ment she is noted as a woman of easy virtue, and her act is regarded as a signal for intrigue. Pitts informs us, that in Barbary the courtezan appears in public without her veil; and in the book of Proverbs, the harlot exposed herself in the same indecent manner : "So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face," a face uncovered and shameless," said unto him, I have peaceofferings with me, this day have I paid my vows.' "g

h

The eastern females wear their hair, which the prophet emphatically calls the "instrument of their pride," very long, and divided into a great number of tresses. In Barbary, the ladies all affect to have their hair hang down to the ground, which, after they have collected into one lock, they bind and plait with ribbons; a piece of finery which the apostle marks with disapprobation: "Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel," Not that he condemns in absolute terms, all regard to neatness and elegance in dress and appearance, but only an undue attention to these things; his meaning plainly is: "Whose adorning, let it not chiefly consist in that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, but rather let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, of great price." The way in which the apostle uses the negative particle in this text, is a decisive proof that this is his true meaning; it extends to every member of the sentence; and by consequence,

Prov. vii, 13, 14.

1 Shaw's Tray. vol. i, p. 412.—The same custom prevails in Turkey; young girls have their hair, finely plaited, almost hanging to their feet. Lady M. W. Montagu's Lett. vol. i, p. 213. iĮ Pet. iii, 3.