§98. The _diēs lūstricus_ was, however, a time of rejoicing and congratulation among the relatives and friends, and these together with the household slaves presented the child with little metal toys or ornaments in the form of flowers, miniature axes and swords, and especially figures shaped like a half-moon (_lūnulae_), etc. These, called collectively _crepundia_, were strung together and worn around the neck and over the breast (Fig. 17). They served in the first place as playthings to keep the child amused, hence the name "rattles," from _crepō_. Besides, they were a protection against witchcraft or the evil eye (_fascinātiō_), especially the _lūnulae_. More than this, they were a means of identification in the case of lost or stolen children, and for this reason Terence calls them _monumenta_. Such were the trinkets sometimes left with an abandoned child (§96), their value depending, of course, upon the material of which they were made. [Illustration: FIGURE 18. THE BULLA] [Illustration: FIGURE 19. GIRL'S NECKLACE] §99. The Bulla.--But of more significance than these was the _bulla aurea_, which the father hung around the child's neck on this day, if he had not done so at the time of the _susceptiō_. It consisted of two concave pieces of gold, like a watch case (Fig. 18), fastened together by a wide spring of the same metal and containing an amulet as a protection against _fascinātiō_. It was hung around the neck by a chain or cord and worn upon the breast. The _bulla_ came originally from Etruria,[1] and for a long time the children of patricians only were allowed to wear those of gold, the plebeians contenting themselves with an imitation made of leather, hung on a leathern thong. In the course of time the distinction ceased to be observed, as we have seen such distinctions die out in the use of names and in the marriage ceremonies, and by Cicero's time the _bulla aurea_ might be worn by the child of any freeborn citizen. The choice of material depended rather upon the wealth and generosity of the father than upon his social position. The girl wore her _bulla_ (Fig. 19) until the eve of her wedding day, laying it aside with other childish things, as we have seen (§76); the boy wore his until he assumed the _toga virīlis_, when it was dedicated to the _Larēs_ of the house and carefully preserved. If the boy became a successful general and won the coveted honor of a triumph, he always wore his _bulla_ in the triumphal procession as a protection against envy. [Footnote 1: The influence of Etruria upon Rome faded before that of Greece (§5), but from Etruria the Romans got the art of divination, certain forms of architecture, the insignia of royalty, and the games of the circus and the amphitheater.] [Illustration: FIGURE 20. CHILD IN LITTER]