Jewelry was popular with both men and women, even the poor being adorned with necklaces, bracelets, anklets. Shoes and sandals were seldom worn in the southern kingdom. In Assyria, naturally a colder climate brought about some variations of dress. High boots and leather breeches were worn by the soldiers of later periods; shoes were needed to protect the feet from frosty ground, and cloaks were required in addition to the usual robe. Embroidered and imported robes, smart hats and other details of wearing apparel were characteristic of later periods when wealth and leisure gave opportunity for such indulgences. Certain it is that the simple tunic sufficed in early days, and rank was indicated by its greater or abbreviated length. The ancient Chaldeans or Sumerians always shaved their heads and faces. Influenced by this custom, the Babylonians did not wear long beards. The Assyrians, more purely Semitic, wore long ones and had hair dressers largely in the place of barbers, who curled both their beards and hair. A word should be said of the costumes of the priests. They may always be distinguished on the monuments by their long, flounced robes, reaching nearly to the ground. Because the goat was an animal of special sanctity, a goat-skin was invariably thrown over the shoulder--quite as the Egyptian priest wore the skin of a leopard. In connection with the jewelry worn by men, we may consider the little cylinders which served as seals. In Babylonia, because of the scarcity of stone, even tiny pebbles were valued, and it came to be the custom to have these cut in cylindrical shapes by expert stone-cutters. An opening was made throughout their length to allow a cord or chain to pass through. This attached the cylinder to the owner's wrist. Upon the round surface of the cylinder were engraved various designs and figures, and a few words explaining the identity of the wearer, name of his father and other noteworthy facts regarding him. His name was affixed, and with this he stamped his letters and all documents. To be without a cylinder was almost as inconvenient as to be without a name. The very poor, who could not afford such a seal, were obliged to make a nail-mark in the soft clay, while some one wrote the name of the person to whom that particular mark belonged. The possessor of a cylinder had only to pass it over the clay and his signature was made. Many of these little cylinders have been recovered, and some lack the name of an owner, showing that they had been made by a gem-cutter, but had not yet found a buyer. FOOD. Food was easily obtained in Mesopotamia, and consisted mainly of grains and dried fish. Cereals were made into little cakes and seasoned with dates or some other fruit. Fish and fowl were plentiful; many kinds of fruits and vegetables were grown, and wine and beer were universally used. Lacking the tomb-pictures of Egypt, we know less about the food and its preparation in the Euphrates valley. SPORTS AND PASTIMES.