BELTS AND GIRDLES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2137, 17 May 1889, Page 2

BELTS AND GIRDLES.

The TCgypUaiiß, whoea history as reootded on their monuments aud Id their writings is Ihn moat nncleni of bpt with which we are acqualntod, habitually wire broad belta of one Itlnd or ano her. T lese t^irdloo wbTo nsad hv both lexri, and we are inform ad by P.ofeisor *.VLao< Hater, were worn tight, t. la being apporoctly the o»us> of *ha rprmrtabjy slim walets which are so character'ntfo a f«a tiro of tho Boulptu-f/B and paintings of the ano'ont Egyptians. The bread' h of their girdles varied consldeaably, bob they w<iro uaually brosd and wad* of Ik'tvj. The women ippear to hava frequently wrro two dtst»oot girdle*, one hi^h op, immediately below the bosom, while the other w»s pl*ced lo*er, jmt above the hip-bones. Th w is no ro»aor» to s ipp->ae that rhe one ri a d the waist propur waa aatd to eupp >v any part of the clothing. Tho Semitic raoas, who derivad their civilizatioQ mainly fr»m the BgyptlaDa, a co wore girdles as part of their ordinary oootume. With regard to the Jews and P» OBQioians, we may remark that girdles, which were worn by both sexes were reoogniaed as being of benefit m assisting aotive exertion, fi aan instance of this, the ottSß of Blij ih may be q noted — Seoond Kings, XVIil., 46 - where ids stated that the prophet ' girded up bis lions ' to run before Ahab. ■d iv mentioned elsewhere m eoriptnre, Elijah wore a leather gi'dle, and the words m the original, which had been translated • gilded up,' ehould be rather ' tightened up,' aud oan be rendered more exaotly by th 3 Latin fortiter constrinxit than ths usual English translation, which might might lead to the erroneous impression that pulling up of the skirts wa» rnoant. The KirdlDg op of the loJns rpforred to elsewhere In the Old T-swment— for example, with regard to the aeremoulet observed at the fetst of the Passover has the same signification, and expresao* also the connection, between such girding and aotive exurtlon. The Arab tribes of our day w.*ar girdles from their earliest infancy, and we are informed by Profeitor Robertson Smith that io the o*8» of the Bedouins th*y are worn tight as a nutter of respectability. He further tells us that <rhon he himself travelled In an Arab dress be was Instructed to always draw his girdle tight, « loose girdle being regarded (n the Eait, at the present day, aa ohar&o'erlstlo of a dhaolute, luxurious person. In the privacy of home life the virdle Is either lootenod or removed. Many similar examples oould be given with regard to o*hoe fctomitio racei. --"The National Review."