Jewish women are still very fond of jewels and ornaments of every kind, and, wherever they dwell, are usually as much celebrated for the costliness and splendour of their dress as for their great beauty.

Since the dispersion of the Jews over almost every nation of the globe, they have, as might be imagined, very much adopted the costume of the countries in which they reside. The only peculiarity to which they still strictly adhere in some countries, is in wearing their beards as long and flowing as in the time of the patriarchs. The Jews, however, do not wear their beards exactly of the form followed by the Christians and Mussulmans; for to distinguish themselves from the rest of mankind, they allow two tufts of hair to hang over the ears. The Jews of Arabia dare not wear a turban, but are obliged to be contented with a small bonnet, and they are only allowed to dress in blue habits, generally made of cloth; they are also forbidden to use the jambea. Indeed, in most countries, some mark of contempt and contumely have ever been assigned to this wandering race, to distinguish them from the people among whom they reside. A brimless hat marks the Jew in Turkey; at Algiers their heads are wrapped in a black silk cloth; at Tunis they have a black turban; at Tripoli a silk parti-coloured turban; and in old times in England they were obliged to wear a yellow cap of a high square form. The Jewish women at Tripoli bind a riband round their brows, and suspend from it pieces of money; sometimes the whole fortune of the husband is thus worn on the wife's forehead.

We must give the description of a court-dress, which is exactly according to the Jewish fashion, and

is borrowed from the "Tale of Zillah," which, though a novel, abounds in interesting and faithful records of the manners, costumes, fashions, and many other details of the Holy City.

"She accordingly wore the parti-coloured robe, which she had herself embroidered with flowers and gold thread, and of which the sleeves were of the richest gauze, decorated with ribbons and facings, curiously sewed together. These were blue, which, being a celestial colour, was in high favour, and much used for cuffs and trimmings; though it was not deemed decorous to have the whole apparel of this hue, since none more was used about the curtains and veils of the tabernacle. Her under-garment, of fine linen, reaching to the ankles, and bordered also with blue, had been decorated by her own skilful needle with clouded colours, which bore the name of feather-work. Across her bosom was a pectoral of byssus, a sort of silk of a golden yellow, formed from the tuft that grows on a large shellfish of the mussel species, found on the coasts of the Mediterranean, for the great men of the earth had not then begun to rob the silkworm of its covering. Her sandals were of badger-skin leather, secured with golden clasps. Her head-dress was of simple and, according to modern notions, of not very becoming form; for her black and luxuriant locks, being drawn behind the head, were divided into several tresses, their beauty consisting in their length and thickness, and the extremity of each being adorned with pearls and jewels, or ornaments of silver and gold, of which latter metal she also wore narrow plain circlets around her wrists and ankles."

In a work published in 1819, called "Letters from Palestine," we read: "The female costume of Palestine is not particularly graceful. The outward robe consists of a loose gown, the skirts of which appear as if hanging from the shoulder-blades; the arms, wrists, and ankles are bound with broad metal rings, and the waist is encircled by a belt, profusely studded with some shining substance, intended, probably, to resemble precious stones. The crown of the head is covered with a compact sort of network, interwrought with plates of gold and silver, so arranged as to conceal a part only of the hair, which flows in profuse ringlets over the neck and shoulders; yet even this natural ornament is much injured by a custom very prevalent, of interweaving the extremities with silk ribbons, that descend in twisted folds to the feet. The supplemental tresses would inevitably trail on the ground were it not for the high clogs, or rather stilts, on which women of condition are always raised when they appear in public; many of these are of an extravagant altitude, and, if the decorations of the head were of correspondent dimensions, a lady's face would seem as if fixed in the centre of her figure. The impression made on a stranger by such an equipage is certainly very ludicrous. There is,

indeed, a whimsical fantasy here, almost universal in its application, which seems utterly irreconcilable with all ideas of female delicacy. Not only are the cheeks plastered with vermilion, the teeth discoloured, and the eyebrows dyed, but the lips and chin are tinged with a dark indelible composition, as if the fair proprietors were ambitious of the ornament of a beard."

The haick forms the principal garment of the

modern inhabitants of Palestine. It is of different sizes and degrees of fineness, usually six yards long, and five or six yards broad, serving frequently for a garment by day and a bed and covering by night. It is very troublesome to manage, often falling upon the ground; so that the person who wears it is every moment obliged to tuck it up, and fold it anew about the body.

Jewish females in the East do not wear stockings, and generally use slippers of a red colour, embroidered in gold. They are very much addicted to the use of ornaments. From the lower part of the ears they suspend large gold ear-rings, and three small ones, set with pearls, on the upper part. They load their necks with beads, and their fingers with rings; their wrists and ankles also are adorned with bracelets and anklets of solid silver, and long gold chains hang from their girdles.

"The dress of the Arabs in Syria," says Dr. Clarke, "is simple and uniform. It consists of a

blue shirt, descending below the knees, the legs and feet being exposed, or the latter sometimes covered with the ancient cothurnus or buskins."

Near Jerusalem the ancient sandal is frequently met with, exactly as it is seen on Grecian statues.

"A cloak," continues Dr. Clarke, "is worn, of very coarse and heavy camel's-hair cloth, almost universally decorated with broad black and white stripes, passing vertically down the back. This is of one square piece, with holes for the arms." In this we probably behold the form and material of our Saviour's garment, for which the soldiers cast lots, being without seam, woven from the top throughout. It was the most ancient dress of the inhabitants of this country.

The women of Syria do not veil their faces so closely as those of Palestine. They wear robes with very long sleeves, hanging quite to the ground; this garment is frequently striped in gaudy colours.