The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-02-13 00:00:00

A ROMAN TOILETTE.

The history of the toilette and its revolutions, being one of
the attributes of the Court Journal, a short chapter upon the
mysteries of that mundus muliebris of imperial Rtime,.may, with
propriety, find a space in its columns.
In the luxurious ages of Rome, the haughty patricians would
have blushed to have pointed like Cornelia, the mother of the
Gracchi, to their children as their brightest ornaments. Their
toilettes were furnished with everything that could heighten the
lustre of beauty, or repair the defects of nature: false hair,
false eyebrows, false hips, false teeth, rouge, and every. other"
mysterious appendage of the toilette table, were contained in
vases of the most costly materials. ,
The Roman ladies generally passed from the .couch to .the
bath; some merely washed the feet, but others extended its-use
to the whole body, which was rubbed with pumice-stone to
soften the skin, anif afterwards with oils and the richest per-
fumes of Arabia.

Under the empire, luxury had so multiplied the number of
female attendants, that every one had a distinct office, hence
the names of cosmetce, psecades, and ornatrices, that so frequently
occur in the writings of the poets. Some of them had no other
office than to give their opinion, and formed a species of cabinet
conncil, iu which the great interests of the toilette were as
gravely discussed as a question of life and death, or of what to
woman is of more consequence tlfan either—her reputation.
Lucian tells us that the Rowan ladies passeda great portion
of the day at their toilette, surrounded by their women, and
enumerates the different perfumes, dyes, and cosmetics used on
the occasion, not forgetting the powder of gold (lest with which
they used to powder their hair, to imitate_ the golden tresses of
the British and German beauties, which so captivated the young
pretoriaus. The fashion of wearing the hair, ton, from a pas-
sage in Suctonius, it appears was continually varyiug,, who like-
wise tells us that the curling irons used in his day consisted but
of one leg which was heated, and round which the lock was
rolled; they were afterwards.emitined with hair-pins. and ar-
ranged with consummate art.. TU ornament one head, the spoiis
of several were taken ; so much so, that Tertullian reproaches
his countrywomen, thathey did not blush to wear the hair even
of slaves. Sometimes the coifii4re was quite military, arranged
in the form of a helmet .or shield. Recourse was also had to
entire artificial head-dresses fabricated by men, who acquired a
great reputation for their skill,—the Hippolytes and Truefits of
the Roman world.
•
No less care was bestowed upon the face than upon the hair;
the rouge made use of to brighten their natural completion, in
colour approached to rose-pink, and was composed of a fine
species of chalk, dissolved in a strong purple dye of the 'murex.
The greatest attention was likewise paid to the teeth, which
were only washed in pure spring water. But the great desidera-
tum appears to have been to correct the defects of nature; thus,
those who were hollow-eyed used a powder which was burnt,
the vapour or perfume of which acted upon the eyes, causing
• them to distend and appear more salient. " Ocalos fuligire
porregunt."
Such arc the mysteries of the toilette of a Roman belle,
which have survived the wreck of the records of the domestic
manners of that wonderful people who so long ruled the destinies
of mankind.

Sir Frederick Trench, M.P. for Scarborough, has been ap-
pointed secretary to the Master-General of the Ordnance.
THE DISASTER IN DONEGAL BAY.—It has been lately an-
pounced, through the newspapeis, that a number of 'boats, -en-
gaged in herring fishery in the has' of Donegal, were lost in a
'storm on the morning of the 19th ;January,' and that the crews,
amounting to between 200 and 320 men, had perished. The
circumstance of bouts being lost is:unfortunately too true; but
owing to the merciful intervention of Providence, the calamity
has not been near so extensive as. from the violence and sudden-
ness of the gale was for some days apprehended. The facts are
thus---Ihree boats were lost on the day alluded to, and a few
days previously another sunk, containing -altogether twenty-four
persona, and -leaving eleven widows and fifty orphans entirely
destitute, and without any 'means of support; besides the old
and helpless parents of several of the sufferers in the same for-
lorn and bereaved situation. The bsnefits resultint, froth the
herring fishery on this part of the coast of Donegal have these
last two years been widely extended into many parts of the
kingdom. It deserves every encouragement, and it is earnest-
ly hopedthat a generolis public will evince their disposition to'
do so, in that most effectual manner, namely, affording the
means of existence and support to the destitute families of tliose
biave and industrious fishermen, whose lives fell a sacrafice to
their peiilous exertions, on a former calamity of the same sort
occurring a few years ago on the same coast. Still more disas- •
-trims in its results, an appeal was thus made to the public, and
nobly (Rd they iespond to the call; a large sum was procured,
sufricient to support 3J widows and 102 Orphans, until the latter
become of sufficient age to be independent of any further aid
than their own industry and exertions, £lBOO having been dis-
tributed among the different families according to their num-
bers arid necessities. A committee, consisting of the Rev.
Alexander Montgomery, Rector of Inver; Richard Nesbitt,
Esq.; Rev. George Studdart, Rector of Killybegs; Captain
Lay-ton, it.N., inspecting commander coast guards, and James
:Hamilton, Esq., Vidtona, near Killybegs, have been appointed
to collect subscriptions, and manage the funds; by whom
contributions will be most gratefully received, as well as at the
Bank of Messrs. Ball and-Co., 'litblin, and At the.prcivinclal
banks of Derry and Sligo.