The skin of a tiger, a bow, a quiver, were all my attire. My nymphs imitated my example, and I went with them to encounter savage beasts in their wildest haunts. Sometimes I pursued them on foot; sometimes in a car drawn by hinds: this mode of life rendered me still more ferocious. One day I was bathing in a sequestered spot with my companions, when the young hunter, Acteon, came accidentally upon my retirement; he saw-what no mortal ought to behold! To-day I pity bim for this involuntary crime, but then I punished him. The unhappy man was turned into a stag, and torn to pieces by his own dogs. While I triumphed in this cruel act, Calisto, one of my favourite nymphs, was seated upon the bank of the stream, and refused to bathe. Vexed at her refusal, I examined, with a suspicious eye, the circumference of her waist : one glance convinced me that she had been loved by Jupiter. This was sufficient for me; I drove her from my presence, and gave her up to the jealous fury of Juno. The miserable Calisto gave birth to Arcas, and was then transformed into a bear. "In process of time Arcas grown a mighty hunter, encountered his poor mother, pursued, and aimed his javelin at her panting side. My vengeance was on the point of being amply || satiated, when the Gods prevented the matricide, by transporting both son and mother to the heavens, and changed them into constellations. "Sworn enemy to love, my beauty was useless to me. Nevertheless, I was jealous of the charms of others. Chiona, grand-daughter of the Morning, had a complexion more brilliant than that of Aurora herself. She knew this dazzling advantage, and compared her attractions with mine. This temerity cost her dear; I pierced her to the heart with one of my arrows. Dedalus, her father, threw himself from a rock, and was turned into a sparrowhawk by Apollo. Meanwhile my fame and my exploits filled the universe; the woods and the mountains submitted to my sway; temples were elevated to my honour in every city; that of Ephesus was worthy of my renown; never did human genius give birth to so beautiful a work! In Taurida the inhabitants burnt incense, and sprinkled human blood upon my altars. The Athenian girls consecrated their virginity to me: I was at the summit of glory, yet I still desired more. I have since learned the true reason of this fantastic longing; the loudest bursts of admiration fatigue women after a single day's continuance; vanity tickles the ear, but leaves the heart unsatisfied. Near the city of Heraclea, I saw the shepherd Endymion: he was young; his eyes were as soft as the sentiment they inspired. He ventured not to raise himself to me, but I descended to him. Learn this, my child; it is in vain that we would arm ourselves with ideas of our rank; the same arrow with which Cupid strikes a heart, brings it down to the level of the object beloved. Mystery watched over our happiness, but even Mystery sometimes betrays Love. When I was near Endymion I trembled lest any one should discover the motive of my retirement from others. Chance, however, happily befriended me. My brother, Apollo, weary by enlightening the world all day, told the master of the Gods, that he could not fulfil the same office during the night. My brother had his secret reasons for this refusal; Thetis allured him towards her abode; but that which thwarted his passiou might be favourable to mine. I presented myself then, and demand|| ed the honour which Apollo resigned. Jupiter accorded it, placed a crescent upon my head, and surnamed me Phœbé. Quickly I mount the chariot of the Moon, seize the reins, and drawn by my black and white steeds, run over the universe. Each night my car stops upon the summit of Mount Latmos. It is there that I find my dear Endymion; then descending from my chariot, a dark cloud conceals my absence from the eyes of mortals. In the dead of night, in these vast solitudes, Nature aids Love with her silence; all things sleep; our hearts alone wake in the universe. To this hour we are happy, and our mutual affection has not been steril. Every year the God of Marriage has granted a child to our prayers, and thanks to him, I have this year completed the half hundred. "Go then," continued Diana, "go, my sweet girl, dread my wrath no longer; keep your girdle, and make use of these flowers to crown your Endymion, adieu."-At these words she disappeared. Diana had certainly full leisure for reflec tion, for a Goddess is always beautiful; but you, my Emilia, who at blooming eighteen, refuse to bend before the saffron-robed deity, oh! do not forget that you are mortal! (To be continued.) Bb 2 THE MIRROR OF FASHION. IN A SERIES OF LETTERS FROM A GENTLEMAN OF RANK AND TASTE, TO A LADY OF QUALITY. LETTER III. (Continued from Page 133) IN introducing your Ladyship to the wardrobe of au Israelitish woman of fashion, I lay before your eyes garments of more gracefu! form and costly fabric than it would be in the power of all the milliners from Cheapside to Hyde-Park Corner to display. Both men and women wore their hair in Juxuriant length and thickness; and we find from Josephus, that the guard de corps of the magnificent King Solomon powdered their heads with gold dust, so that their locks emulated the tresses of the fabled deity of the Sun, whose tresses gleamed with yellow radiance. The vestments of the Jewish ladies were of the most splendid materials. We find in many passages of their sacred records mention made of "their robes of gold of Ophir," their "raiment of needle-work," their "party-coloured tunics and embroidery," and their " azure sandals." Among the ornaments belonging to the belles of Solomon's court, looking-glasses are enumerated. At least so the Vulgate translates the answering word in Isaiah; but by the connection in which it stands it should rather mean some kind of vestures, and it is so explained in the Septuagint by garments that one inight see through. Such a garment Meander (a certain Greek poet) denominates a transparent vest; the Latias call it a glassy vestment; and Horace informs us it was made from a manufacture of Coos, and so very thin that the person wearing it appeared almost naked. Your Ladyship must be aware that it is not now necessary to send to the Isle of Coos for these cob-web veils, "Which would conceal and yet all charms reveal." Our gauzes, laces, patent-nets, fine muslins, and a thousand other gossamer caprices of the loom, are more thas sufficient to prove that our fair ones need not travel to Greece for Cypress lawns to shade yet discover their beauties. Lady Wortley Montague mentions the existence of this garmeut of transparency when she was in the East; she tells that it was a kind of chemise, made of fiue white silk gauze, clasped at the neck with a jewel, but it was so thin that both the shape and colour of the bosom were distinctly seen beneath its surface. The fair Israelites also wore trowsers, like the Turkish ladies, of fine cotton, of purple or rose-colour, brocaded with gold or silver | flowers. The tunic, of variegated stuffs and embroidery, covered this part of the dress; and then came the tablet (as our translators term it), or girdle, which was usually set with precious stones. Above all, as occasion required, they wore a loose mantle of purple or scarlet, reaching to the feet, and often training on the ground. The veils with which these Eastern beauties shaded their charms were sometimes composed of opaque materials, so as to baffle the curi ous eye. In this case their texture was fine linen, or cotton, covered with the most magnificent needle-work; but at other times their veils resembled the transparent garment of Coos, and rather softened than obscured the brilliance of their beauty. A lover of Palestine sings of his mistress, when covered with one of these filmy head-dresses:-"Thine eyes are like those of a dove behind thy veil!" Mufflers, or murlins, were a species of veil which wrapped the body from head to foot. It was very graceful because of the elegance of its folds; but, like the mantilla of the Spanish dames, might often be the means of paying clandestine visits inimical to the purity of the wearer. Hence we wonder not at the displea sure which the prophet Isaiah manifests at this part of the Jewish enrobing. Braiding, curling, and plaiting the hair was practised by the fair of Palestine, as much as it is the style of your Ladyship's dressingroom. Their fiue tresses were interwoven with head-bands or ribbons, with strings of pearls and thick threads of gold. Crisping pins, or rather bodkius of gold or silver surmounted with jewels, fastened the locks up which wẹ would confine with combs. Kerchiefs, cawls, turbans, and mitres, usually finished this fair foundation; and by turning to your Ladyship's repository of fashion, you can easily explain the different head-dresses by drawing forth its likeness. You have kerchiefs of the same form and material with those worn by the loveliest daughter of Solomon. They were of fine embroidery in pattern and border; the cawls were gold or silver nets, which gracefully confined the hair; the turban is the same as we see on the heads of our own fair habited a la Turque; aud toe mire is nothing more than th tiara, or diadem, decorated with jewels of every hue and clime. Borders, or rows of gold or jewels, is men. tioned as "the adornment of the cheeks of the Jewish bride." They were like the strings of pearls which the Persian ladies wear, beginning on the forehead, and descending the cheeks and under the chin, as if their whole faces were set in pearls. You must remember the style of head-dress of the time of Henry VIII. exhibited in the beautiful portrait of your lovely relative and likeness, Anne Bullen, at your father's house. The pearls in that coiffure almost form a frame to the face, and, I should suppose, must have been much in the taste of this Jewish and Persian fashion. The shoes, or sandals, were an essential part of the fair Israelite's dress, They consisted of a sole, often edged with gold, and strapped on the foot with azure straps, embroidered or thickly studded with sparkling gems These splendid dames also wore jeweled bracelets for the aucles, hung with little silver spangles of a form and consistency to strike on each other in moving, and so make a tinkling or music when they stepped. In short, the dress of one Jewish lady of quality would have been sufficient to have made the fortune of any modern vender of jewellery. They wore nose-rings, ear-rings, bracelets, armlets, anclelets, girdles, fillets, necklaces, &c. &c. and all of the most dazzling and costly stones. One ornament of theirs was particularly extravagant and graceful three strings, or chains, pendent from round their neck, even to their feet. In one lady of high rank we read that the first chain was of large pearls, the second of emeralds of the finest green, and the third of alternate dia The Jewish ladies, like our modern fair, knew not the use of pockets, but appropriated for the purpose of holding their handkerchief and purse an einbroidered bag, which their writers call a scrip, but we a ridicule. In many respects these fair daughters of the Jordan resembled those of the Thames; bat in one adherence to nature they certainly exceeded the sincerity of our belles. They never used paint of any description, except dying the eye-lids, as is yet the practice in Turkey. Like them, my lovely Countess, you are content to display the rosy or the lillied cheek; and secure in the native lustre of your polished skin, in the divine brightness of your dove-eyes shining behind the veil of your jetty locks, you need not the factitious aids of art. In my next I shall present to your Ladyship the virgins of more northern nations; but meanwhile I must intreat you to believe that no virgins, not even those of Mahomet's paradise, can draw one moment from your feet your faithful (To be continued.) PARIS. THE NEW SYSTEM OF BOTANY, WITH PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF FLORA, &c. &c. &c. (Continued from Page 152.) THE season is now sufficiently advanced for those even of the most tender frame to emerge from the sheltered alleys of the shrubbery, and to ramble over the gay parterre, whose thousand perfumes are wafted by the vernal breeze around. Amidst such a variety as now present themselves to our choice, is there one to which we can more aptly call the attention of the British fair than to the LILY, ter, or more happily has in the bosom of domestic and rural retirement spent those hours which others kill in town, let her, starting from her couch, where she would have justifi. ed the exclamation of our immortal poet, -Cytherea, "How bravely thou becom'st thy bed! fresh lily! "And whiter than the sheets! that I might touch! "But kiss, one kiss!" so emblematic of their own purity and elegance. Let then the timid yet elegant fair Let her start forth to hail the morning's dawn, one, who has perchance escaped at this early and pluck the wreath of rosy health from the season from the dissipation of a London win-jocund mountain's top. So shall she inhale fresh spirits for her placid domestic duties, || tive Shakespear considers it as so exquisitely beautiful, that he ranks any attempt to improve it, amongst things unnecessary if not impracticable. and secure that salubrious frame which shall continue her a blessing to all around; nor shall it be said of her, -Yet a virgin, "A most unspotted lily shall she pass [her! "To the ground, and all the world shall mourn Amongst the various flowers which press upon her sight, there is none at this season more attractive than that which Spenser in his Faery Queene calls the "lily, lady of the flowering field;"-to it then we shall direct our attention. Its name has suffered but little change in the lapse of ages; by the Greeks it was called leirion; by Pliny and other Roman authors, lilium. With the modern classifiers it ranks in the HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA, and is of the natural order of Coronaria. It deserves particular notice, that in generic character, this flower has no calyx; the corolla is six petalled, bell shaped; the petals upright incumbent, obtusely carinated on the back, with thick reflex, obtuse tips; its nectary is a longitudinal tubular line engraven on each petal from the base to the middle; the stamen has six filaments; the germ oblong, style cylindric; capsule oblong and six furrowed; and seed numerous and it must be noted that the petals in some specimens are revolute, but not in all. In essential character the corolla is six petalled, and the capsule has the valves connected by cancellated hairs. Though the common white lily is that of most frequent culture, yet there are eleven species in all: these are the Japan white hily; Catesby's, orange, pomponian, scarlet, yellow, purple, Canadian, and Philadelphian martagon lilies; and a variety called the Kamschatka lily. || oh, sweetest, fairest lily! My brother wears thee not one half so well "As when thou grewest thyself.” Whilst considered so lovely to the sight, it is not surprizing that its other qualities should have been magnified; accordingly we find that its flowers were considered as anodyne and antiepileptic. It was also very natural for those young ladies whose lovers compared them to the lily, to wish to resemble it more closely; we need not be surprized, therefore, that it should have been distilled as a cosmetic; we are, however, still of opinion, that those ambitious fair ones, who wish to rival its purity, will find a little spring water the greatest beautifier. Indeed it is not possible that any distillation should preserve its specific qualities, if it possessed any, as its effluvia are so volatile, as even to evaporate in drying; nor do the flowers yield any portion of essential oil. We have four varieties of the white sort, some of which have not been long in common cultivation; that with the purple stripes was only brought here in the early part of the last century, and is not considered as of any peculiar beauty; those with the yellow stripes, however, are now more deserving of notice, as with care they may be preserved in sheltered situations all the winter months, their leaves broadly edged with yellow, spreading themselves on the ground, when all other verdure is filed; and it also flowers the earliest of any in the spring. The Though several species of this genus are found wild in the northern parts both of Asia and America, yet the common white lily was brought to us from the warmer regions of the Levant, and is supposed by Linnæus to have been originally and solely a native of Syria; but this must be incorrect, for Thunberg asserts that he has seen it as far north as Japan, and that the corolla is there nearly a span in length! It has indeed been said by Haller, that it is also indigenous in Switzerland; but judicious botanists are of opinion that the specimens he met with must have been produced by seeds carried from a garden; of course it ought not to have a place in his Swiss Flora. That it was early brought into Eng-species with double flowers is curious, but land, however, perhaps as carly as the Cru-requires much trouble, as its flowers will saces, is extremely probable; and it was in seldom blow fully, except under glasses; and common cultivation as far back as the reign of they are totally devoid of perfume. Elizabeth, as Gerard peaks of it as generally rarity, indeed, perhaps the pendulous species found in our gardens. Our elegantly descrip- "is the most curious; it has a very slender stalk, As a poets alone that it has been immortalized ; our inimitable countryman has availed himself of it for one of his most elegant similes→→→ Imogen, and its leaves are few and narrow; nor are its flowers as large as the others, but hanging downwards, and the petals are more contracted at their bases. The species to which || Arviragus exclaims over the dead body of Catesby, the florist of Carolina has given his name, is extremely small when cultivated here, and perhaps requires a moister soil than we give it, for he found them growing luxuriantly in the swampy savannabs of the new world. The orange lily is now known to be indigenons in Europe; is frequently found growing wild in Italy, Greece, and Austria, and has even been seen in Siberia as well as in Japan : it is therefore, perhaps, the best adapted of all to brave the rigours of our severe winters. thou shalt not lack "The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose; nor "The azur'd harebell like thy veins." This species indeed may well be supposed to have existed even as early as the time of Cymbeline, and to be indigenous here; and thus some of our earliest botanists call it the English hyacinth, and speak of it as growing wild in most parts of our island; and Gerard hyacinth, or blue harebell. We have reason inmore particularly gives it the name of English deed to believe that the white and carnation To enumerate all the varieties of the martagon lily, would far exceed our possible limits; that, however, called the pomponian lily, is deserving of attention, as it often produces from sixty to one hundred flowers, and being a native of the Pyrennees as well as of Siberia, Italy, &c. as well as in the oriental regions. is well adapted to our climate. From the contemplation of this elegant floweret, we turn to one even more classical; one too that with us is indigenous, for our harebell is a species of the HYACINTH, hyacinths are indigenous here, though they are not so frequently met with in a wild state; the varieties too, are found in France, Spain, With us its early blowing affords great delight to the lover of rural rambles, who finds every hedge-row, coppice, and wood enlivened with its tints, and perfumed with its odour. We had also a later blowing hyacinth, with its blue flowers hanging from all sides of the stalk; but there is reason to believe that this is not indigenous but a native of Spain; it is now, however, seldom met with, the elegant varieties of the oriental hyacinths having superseded it in modern cultivation, though in some gardens in the ancient style it may still be found. We are principally indebted, however, to the Dutch florists for the many varieties of this flower which adorn our gardens and our bugh-pots, Which has afforded the amorous Ovid a subject for one of his most elegant metamorphoses. Our fair readers must all recollect that in the interior of the garden byacinth, the Greek letters A 1, may be discovered on the petals, the first letters of the name of Ajax, who is said to have killed himself in despair at not having obtained the armour of Achilles in preference to his rival Diomede. It will be remembered that the hyacinth is fabled to have sprung up where the blood flowed; and also that it is said to have sprung from the blood of the youth Hyacinthus, accidentally slain by the God Apollo with a quoit. It is, however, with some probability derived from the Greek IA, a violet, and Cynthus, one of the many names given by the poets to the before-mentioned deity. Theophrastus, Dios-intelligent botanist of our own country, but corides, and all the other Greek naturalists, call it hyacinthus; and as Pliny gives it the same name, it is evident that it was so called by the Romans, and is therefore a very ancient family name amongst the floral pedigrees. The peculiarity we have mentioned, however, is confined to what has by some been called the Hyacinthus poeticus; for our harebell does not possess it; and the latter has therefore received from Dodonæus the fanciful name of non scriptus, the unwritten or unlettered hyacinth. It is not, however, by ancient It is to their assiduous cultivation too that we are indebted for the double flowers, which are much larger than the others, and have much stronger plants. Yet it is a curious fact that the hyacinth was cultivated for many years in Holland before any peculiar value was set upon the double flowers. An whose works are too voluminous to be in common reference, tells us that the only objects attended to by the Haarlem gardeners, were the uniformity of the tints, and the equal size and regular distribution of the petals; and also that the most famous cultivator of them (Voorhelm) was long accustomed to throw all the double ones out of his garden. Having been prevented, however, for some time by a fit of sickness, from pursuing his favourite employment, he, by accident, was attracted by the beauty of one of his double |