44 LITERATURE AND DRAMA 



that the difference is as great as between a Greek and a Gothic 

 column. 



The p&plos was a mere shawl, exactly like the one of which 

 the tunic was formed. In Fig. 9 we have an outline from life of 

 the tunic and peplos ; the tunic has slipped a little aside off one 

 shoulder, as we see it frequently represented. 



Now my hobby has been ridden, and I must dismount : I 

 would fain persuade myself that it is a good useful hobby that 

 it may serve to robe many graceful figures in a singularly 

 becoming dress that it may amuse modern ladies to see how a 

 Greek lady, merely by undoing a button here, or tying a cord 

 there, could have a low gown or one tight round the throat ; a 

 gown with hanging sleeves or close sleeves ; a gown with long 

 sweeping folds, suited to indoor lounging on a couch, or a gown 

 kilted to the knee suited to the muddiest roads or thickest 

 heather ; a gown too that would wash and wear for years ; a 

 gown that would fit all figures and required no trying on ; a 

 gown in which there was no hem and only one seam, which 

 could be omitted if the habits of the country allowed it. I 

 should like to fancy, moreover, that an artist here and there 

 might be tempted to draw the folds which to my eye have a 

 peculiar grace. But, relinquishing such aspirations, I will 

 beg the reader to pardon this lengthy dissertation on the 

 ground that some pains really were taken to ascertain the facts 

 concerning Greek dress, however unimportant these facts may 

 now be. 



