The love of ornaments has ever been a characteristic of Abraham's chosen race. The golden earrings and bracelets that gladdened the eyes of Rebecca, when sought as the wife of the patriarch's son, have had their counterpart in many a more modern instance. It was so with Sariah's myriad daughters. Time and again we read of pride and vanity entering the hearts of the people, and of their affections being set upon their costly apparel and their ornaments of gold, of silver, of pearls, of precious things, (gems?) their bracelets, ringlets, etc. Nor would it be just to convey the idea that the gentler sex were alone guilty of these extravagances; the sacred record admits of no such conclusion. We cannot judge by the sober drabs, greys and browns with which the civilized gentleman of today clothes himself, of the colors, the styles or the fashions of the raiment of the Nephite beaux. The only safe conclusion that can be drawn is that they probably copied to some extent the gorgeousness of tropical nature by which they were surrounded. Nor is it reasonable to suppose that a single description would apply to the styles in the days of Lehi, of Benjamin and of Mormon, any more than the varied fashions of the days of the Williams, the Edwards, the Jameses and the Georges of English history could all be condensed into one sentence. It is not conceivable that dress, or anything else, remained entirely unchanged throughout a thousand years, though it is quite possible that those changes were nothing like so sudden or so radical as have been those that have taken place among the leading nations of western Europe. On these points, however, so far as the record of Mormon is concerned, we can simply surmise, as the military accoutrements, armor, etc., of the warrior are the only habiliments with regard to which he gives any particular details. It is this poverty of information on this and kindred subjects that makes it so difficult for our artists to illustrate, with any assurance of approximate correctness, scenes and incidents from Book of Mormon history. Nor can we learn much more with regard to their residences than we can concerning their dress. The most detailed account given of any man's home is that of Nephi, the son of Helaman. His house was situated on the main highway which led to the chief market place of the city of Zarahemla. In front of his house was a garden, and near the gate opening upon the highway was a tower, upon the top of which the prophet was accustomed to pray. These towers, from the numerous references made to them, either as private property or attached to their places of worship, as watch towers or as a part of their system of fortification, must have formed quite a conspicuous feature in the Nephite landscape.