The North-Carolina standard., 1847-10-13
The Luxary of A1cIent Tsomlee.

The Luxury Of Ancient Rome.
% The Roman knight, a. morning, threw of the
eoyeriet, evrought with needleyvoFk at BABYLON
and raised the tapestry of Tyre, which hung be-
iore the entrance of his chamber. He entered his
bathroom, the walls of which glistened with the
marble Of Alexandria beautifully adorned with
Numidinn carvings. He ascended to his dining
room furnished with Greciaa stasuary and pictures,
sunk upon, his Persian couch, and, instead of
suing ut table like his sturdy ancestors reclined
alter the fashion of the CONQUERED East He
wrote his letters upon paper from the land of the
Phafaohs and Ptolemies, and read fto,ESl parch-
ment manufactured at Pergamus. He annointed
hlnself with the perfumes of Arabia the Happy.
The Iron Of Spain served him for weapons. His
dice were made from the ivory of India He
won his races with the horses of Epirus Around
the neck of his wife hung pearls from the German
excursion. His funeral litter was borne by slaves
from beyond the Mediteranian, and hIs lifeess
remains turned to dust n tomb of porphyry
qaarried IN the Island of the Egean. -. ID
tsf5 & Literary Reciee. =
The ST. Louis Era, by way of comment says
The luxury Of ancient Rome, if the above is
fair description of it, is not remarkably impressive
TO modern reader. Many an humble man, in
the cities Of This new world. which was unknown
TO Cicero and Cesar quite rivals the magui6cence
of the Roman knight ... .... ....7.,; ....s-.,.
Sat his morning meal, our modern imbibes the
fragrant decoction of borry unknown to the an
clients, brought 10 him from lands bevond their
OPhir, IN ships navigated by means of discovery
of which they never heard The delicious bever-
age is sweetened with preparation which they
never attained to the art Of manufacturing, borne
TO him from country Of which they never
dreamed. 3. h.s..',. a..a4 .t ...!i~
| /" While. at his dinner his own vast country
furnishes the contents of all the substantial dishes
srloins from beevcs fattened on the praires of the
| fror Iho r.
its ,eemiBg fields, and envened by the fruits of its
glowing orchards-his castors display the oil Of
Florence and the pepper of Sumatra-and his des
ser is enriched by the olives OF Seville, the rails
ins OF Malaga the gs of Greece, the dates of Syria
and the oranges of Cuba, Sicily, and the Azores
His drinks, unless he has Joined the sons Of
total abstinence, are the wines furnished by Ma:
deria, Xeres, Burgundy, and The Rhine, The
world is ransacked FOR The material of his clothing
The wool of Saxony, the fax of Ireland, the cot
ton of Texas and the Sea Islands, the silks of
China, Italy, and France the furs of Kamskacha
and the frozen zones, contribute their warmth, rich
ness and ustre, to protect and embellish his outer
man. His wife-thoHgh she neither tolls nor
spins-wns ever Solomon so arrayrd in all his
glory2 For her, hunters are chasing The al paca
on the mountains Of Peru, and the shepherd is
folding his f1ocks on The classic shores Of Iberia
for her the miner is exploring the dark caverps
Of Hungary for the topaz and ruby, and troops ol
blackamoors are washing the diamond earth Of
Brazil Cor her tho divers Of Ormus and Cahfor-
mia are plunging into ftighifni ocean depths fol
pearls, and the looms of Lyons and Manchester
orc weaving their gay and gorgeous fabrics HeI
shoulders are wrapped in shawls from Cashmere
her bosom covered with lace from Honitu and
her feet buried in the rich pile Of carpets from
Brussels. She also bathes her limbs in reservoirs
cut out Of marble which once lay in the unsunned
depths of Poros or PenIellicus, and then perfumes
her person with ottar extracted from The gardens
Of Gul in their bloom I'D @ -
j" His furniture is Of wood, taken from the shaft
which once rose majesticaly in the forests Of San
Domingo, Hawaii, or Ceylon. He fights with q
weapon forged from the iron that daIkened the re.
cess of the mountains OF Dalecarlia; fills bis teeth
with the gold Of Potosi or the pla,ina Of The UraI
and sports carriage lackered with the resins
from the islands Of India and glisening with silver
from the mines of Guadalajnra. g When sick, his
attendant is some polished physician familiar with
the hospitals of England and France, who de-
pletes him with lancet fabricated in Germany,
;, and doses him with calomel from the mines ol
Spain with jaIap from q neighborhood which has
been immortalized by the exploits OF Gen Pillow,
and with quiniue FROM Brazil. When he dies,
mahogany from Hayti composes his coffin, which
is put into a hearse over which wave plumes
from Araby, md is thence transferred 10 a grave
distinguished by monument of marble from Italy
or Egypt. ...t.,.t...
Il So that, all thing. considered, it does not ap.
pear that the luxury and magnfcrnee of an an
cient Roman noble so far exceeded the sumtuous-
ness of modern American citizen as TO make it
worthy Of very spesiaI or admiriag comments"
Il .- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T7-7-- t.nE e So.