With the advance of luxury, however, came a love of variety; and this, added to the desire for more stimulating impressions than could be derived from blank unadorned white, gradually introduced all sorts of innovations, both in form and color; though, with respect to the first, amidst all the changes through which it travelled, the old original outline still manifestly predominated. An account of the leading varieties, we find in the celebrated third chapter of Isaiah. The most opulent women of Palestine, beyond all other colors for the upper robe, preferred purple--or, if not purple throughout the entire robe, at any rate purple flowers upon a white ground. The winter clothing of the very richest families in Palestine, was manufactured in their own houses; and for winter clothing, more especially, the Hebrew taste, no less than the Grecian and the Roman, preferred the warm and sunny scarlet, the puce color, the violet, and the regal purple. [Footnote 9] Very probable it is, that the Hebrew ladies, like those of Greece, were no strangers to the half-mantle--fastened by a clasp in front of each shoulder, and suffered to flow in free draperies down the back; this was an occasional and supernumerary garment flung over the regular upper robe--properly so called. There was also a longer mantle, reaching to the ankles, usually of a violet color, which--having no sleeves--was meant to expose to view the beauty not only of the upper robe, but even of the outer tunic formerly described. By the way, it should be mentioned, that, in order to steep them in fine odor, all parts of the wardrobe were stretched on a reticulated or grated vessel--called by the Thalmud (vi. 77) _Kanklin_--from which the steams of rich perfumes were made to ascend. In what way the upper robe was worn and fastened, may be collected perhaps with sufficient probability from the modern Oriental practice, as described by travellers; but, as we have no _direct_ authority on the subject, I shall not detain the reader with any conjectural speculations. SCENE THE SIXTH. DRESS OF CEREMONY.