57 



" did to eloquence. At last it was decided that this honour 

 " should devolve upon twelve of the most antient dames 

 " from the Vicus Vetulonius,* who, as an additional induce- 

 " ment, receive splendid titles. Nor are they short of that 

 " which old people so much prize — namely, money, seeing 

 '• that ambitious damsels vie with each other in obtaining 

 " their venal judgment. Instead of sceptre, fasces and axe, 

 " feathers and immense mirrors are carried before them, 

 ■' which last they keep looking into as they pass along the 

 " streets, in order to adjust their hair, their dress, and their 

 " very gait. 



Our author now approaches that province of Viraginia 

 which is called Aphrodysia, when at the distance of some 

 leagues his olfactory nerves are regaled with the most deli- 

 cious odours like those of a perfumer's shop. Here he falls 

 in with fine-looking women, who would have been beautiful 

 but for the paint which disguised them. Dressed in gos- 

 samer robes of the most gaudy tints, they were daubed with 

 rouge as thick as savages, so that they looked more like 

 pictures or painted statues, than living creatures. Though 

 these women inhabit houses constructed of glass, they are 

 never "at home," but occasionally, when they are decked-out 

 in all their finery to receive company. They are great 

 frequenters of the theatres and other public places, where 

 they conduct themselves with extreme levity. To dwell 

 longer upon their manners, or upon those of the neighbour- 

 ing inhabitants of the Insula Hermaphroditica (Petit Maitre 

 Island), would be too disgusting. Let us therefore accom- 

 pany our author to Amazonia, or the Land of Shreios. 

 " There, says he, the women wear breeches and beards, 

 " while the other sex are without beards and clothed in 

 " gowns. These latter stay in the house spinning, while 

 " the women occupy themselves in military or agricultural 



* Old womau street. 



