1 7 o THE OLIVE LEAF. CHAP. 



restrained from giving for the stuff which they brought 

 was more than sufficient for the purpose. Foremost 

 among these princely givers were the women. As on a 

 previous occasion they were most conspicuous in devot- 

 ing their personal ornaments to the service of idolatry 

 for the construction of the golden calf, so now they 

 were the most large-hearted and open-handed in giving 

 up their bracelets, ear-rings, rings, and jewels of gold 

 for the construction of the tabernacle. These personal 

 ornaments, which if worn by themselves would have 

 enhanced their own charms, they gladly sacrificed for 

 the adornment of the costly shrine in which the God 

 of their fathers was to be worshipped in the beauty of 

 holiness. 



Even their much-valued mirrors were not withheld. 

 Unlike our looking-glasses made of silvered glass r 

 which did not come into use till the thirteenth century, 

 these primitive looking-glasses were made chiefly of an 

 alloy of copper, tin, and lead, wrought with such admir- 

 able skill that it was capable of receiving the highest 

 and most enduring polish. The mirror itself was a 

 round or pear-shaped plate, often encircled with a 

 wreath of leaves, or adorned with figures engraved 

 upon the rim; and it was attached to a handle often 

 carved with some elegant form of life. Numerous 

 specchi of this kind have been found in Etruscan tombs, 

 retaining their polish so brightly as sometimes to fit 

 them for their original purpose; and having on their 

 disks scenes of Etruscan life and manners, and repre- 

 sentations or symbols of the national faith, illustrated 



