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in his bosom, her conversation delighted and cap tivated his mind; and a short time after he had retired to the apartment prepared for him, the terrified Lucretia beheld him enter her room. In vain this detestable man pleaded the violence of his passion for this breach of hospitality, and this deviation, from what was right; for the alarmed Lucretia preserved her purity until the mönster presented a dagger to her breast, and swore by all the gods that he was determined to gratify his inclinations; and, that he would then kill her and one of Collatinus's slaves, and afterwards place him by the side of the injured Lucretia, and inform her husband that he had murdered both, in consequence of having discovered them in the act of committing the crime, The dread of having her memory tarnished by so yile an aspersion at length induced the terrified Lucretia to consent to his desires; but the next morning she despatched a messenger to her father and her husband, requesting them immediately to repair to Rome. They obeyed the summons with pleasure and alacrity, at the same time they were anxious, to know the cause of this singular request; but, when they beheld the object of their solicitude, a thousand apprehensions took possession of their breasts. Instead of being welcomed with smiles of pleasure, the countenance of Lucretia was bathed in tears, her hair was dishevelled, her garments of the deepest sable, and her whole figure displayed the image of despair. After describing, in the most eloquent terms, the outrage that had been committed upon her person, she implored them to avenge the insult she had received; and, at the same time drawing forth a dagger, which she had concealed for the purpose, declared her resolution of not surviving her shame; and, before they were able to prevent the horrid purpose, buried the weapon in her heart,

The horror and despair of these dear connec tions were indescribable. Brutus, one of her relations, drew the reeking weapon from her bosom, and, with all the energy of true feeling, swore he would avenge her fate! I swear by this blood, once so pure," said he, "and which nothing but the villany of a Tarquin could have polluted, that I will pursue Lucius Tarquinius the Proud, his wicked wife and their children, with fire and sword; nor will I ever suffer any of that family, or any other, henceforward to reign in Rome! And I now call all the gods to witness, that I will most sacredly fulfil my oath.biz, (alour,

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| founded, in consequence of the outrage on the chaste Lucretia and her heroic death. I 992

If the most poignant grief had taken possession of the minds of those who witnessed the dreadful catastrophe which had recently happened, astonishment for a moment banished the impression, at the firmness and energy of the noble Roman's words; who, until that moment, had assumed the appearance of idiotism, to avoid the suspicions, of Tarquin the Proud. Roused into action by the affecting scene before him, the hatred which he had long nourished burst into flame, and he executed the vengeance he had threatened. The Tarquins were expelled from Rome, the kingly government was overthrown, and the Republic

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An inscription is said to have been seen at Rome, in the diocese of Viterbo, composed by Collatinus, in honour of Lucretia, to the following purport Collatinus Tarquinius, to his most dear and incomparable wife, honour of chastity, glory of women. She who was most dear to me, lived two-and-twenty years, three months, and six days?rovided bomitato yung et enft dead Hold to quid aw of parts Jodt sbrocor hot telt bombob clerol to a PosedoM. of boirrum wils,b siel. Ha rovo beomp dollw only a qu zajed Tonsbhaly oval Re doua euw auƆ MEROE, A WOMAN famed by the ancients for her extraord dinary learning, and particularly remembered for her hymn to Neptune. She was a native of Greece; but her birthplace is not known.

yuqob ani na. 5411975 cawelo 26 37.W Soda Bier to MAKEDA, voinu LOR, as she is called by the Arabians, BALKISI queen of Sheba, famous for her visit to Solomon, was probably queen of Abyssinia, or of that part of Arabia Felix which was inhabited, by the Sabeans, where women were admitted to governa Josephus says that she reigned over Egypt and Ethiopia. According to the Abyssinian historians, Balkis was a pagan when she undertook the jours ney; but struck by the grandeur and wisdom of Solomon, she became a convert to the true reli gion. They also state that she had a son by Solomon, named David by his father, but called Menilek, that is, another self, by his mother. This son was sent to the court of Solomon to be educated, and returned to his own country accompanied by many doctors of the law, who introduced the Jew ish religion into Abyssinia, where it continued till the introduction of Christianity, ou qu

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The compilers of the Universal History are of opinion, and so is Mr. Bruce, that the queen of Sheba was really sovereign of Ethiopia. They say that Ethiopia is more to the south of Judea, than the territory of the kingdom of Saba in Arabia Felix, consequently had a better claim than that country to be the dominions of the princess whom our S Saviour calls "the Queen of the South." One thing is certainfrom a far a queen came country to hear the wisdom of Solomon;" while there is no record that any king sought to be instructed in the truths of his philosophy, or to be enlightened by his wisdom. Why was this, unless the mind of the woman was more in harmony with this wisdom than were the minds of ordinary men? So it should be, if our theory of the intuitive culty of woman's soul be true; for Solomon's wisdom was thus intuitive; the gift of God, not the result of patient reflection and logical reasoning. The mind of the queen was undoubtedly gifted with that refined sensi sensibility the high subjects discussed which stood to her in place of t of the learning of the schools. And as she came to prove Solomon with "hard questions," she might have been, also, a scholar. She has left proof of her genius and delicate tact in her beautiful address

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before presenting her offering to the wise king. Herod's remorse and grief were so great, that he See I. Kings, chap. x. became for a time insane.

MANDANE,

DAUGHTER of Astyages and wife of Cambyses, receives her highest honour from being the mother of Cyrus the Great. Herodotus asserts that the birthright and glory of Cyrus came from his mother, and that his father was a man of obscure birth. This is partly confirmed by history, which records that Astyages, who was king of Media, dreamed that from the womb of his daughter Mandarne, then married to Cambyses, king of Persia, there sprung up a vine which spread over all Asia. Cyrus was such a son as must have gladdened his mother's heart; and we must believe his mother was worthy of him. She lived B. C. 599.

MARIA,

WIFE of Zenis, who governed Ætolia, as deputy under Pharnabazus, a satrap of Persia, about B. C. 409. Having lost her husband, she waited on the satrap, and entreated to be entrusted with the power which had been enjoyed by Zenis, which she promised to wield with the same zeal and fidelity. Her desire being granted, she effectually fulfilled her engagements, and acted on all occasions with consummate courage and prudence. She not only defended the places committed to her charge, but conquered others; and, besides paying punctually the customary tribute to Pharnabazus, sent him magnificent presents. She commanded her troops in person, and preserved the strictest discipline in her army. Pharnabazus held her in the highest esteem.

At length, her son-in-law, Midias, mortified by the reproach of having suffered a woman to reign in his place, gained admittance privately to her apartments, and murdered both her and her son.

MARIAMNE,

DAUGHTER of Alexander and wife of Herod the Great, tetrarch or king of Judæa, and mother of Alexander and Aristobulus, and of two daughters, was a woman of great beauty, intelligence, and powers of conversation. Her husband was so much in love with her that he never opposed her or denied her any thing, but on two occasions. When he left her on dangerous errands, he gave orders with persons high in his confidence, that she should not be allowed to survive him. Mariamne was informed of these orders, and conceived such a dislike to her husband, that on his return she could not avoid his perceiving it; nor would her pride allow her to conceal her feelings, but she openly reproached Herod with his barbarous commands. His mother and his sister Salome used every means to irritate him against his wife, and suborned the king's cup-bearer to accuse Mariamne of an attempt to poison her husband; she was also accused of infidelity to him. Herod, furious at these charges, had her tried for the attempt to poison him, and she was condemned and executed. Mariamne met death with the greatest firmness, without even changing colour; but after her execution, which took place about B. C. 28,

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Lord Byron in his poem "Herod's Lament," &c., has given expression to this agony of the royal murderer's mind:

"O Mariamne! now for thee

The heart for which thou bled'st is bleeding; Revenge is lost in agony,

And wild remorse to rage succeeding.

Oh, Mariamne! where art thou?

Thou canst not hear my bitter pleading: Ah, couldst thou-thou wouldst pardon now, Though heaven were to my prayer unheeding."

MEDEA,

DAUGHTER of Etes, king of Colchis, assisted Jason in carrying off the Golden Fleece from her father. When Medea ran away with Jason, Ætes pursued her, but, to retard his progress, she tore Absyrtus, her brother, to pieces, and strewed his limbs in the way. Jason afterwards divorced Medea, and married Glauce, daughter of the king of Corinth. She lived about B. C. 1228.

Euripides has written a fine tragedy on this story, in which Medea ascribes the crimes and misfortunes of her sex to laws, which obliged women to purchase husbands with large fortunes, only to become their slaves and victims.

MEGALOSTRATA,

A GRECIAN poetess, a friend of Alcman, a Spartan lyric poet, flourished in the twenty-seventh Olympiad, about B. C. 668. None of her poems remain, but there are satires written against her, which prove her talents were known and envied.

MERAB,

ELDEST daughter of king Saul, and promised by him to David in reward for his victory over Goliath; but Saul gave her to Adriel instead, by whom she had six sons, whom David gave up to the Gibeonites to be put to death, in expiation of some cruelties Saul had inflicted on them.

MICHAL,

Mi

DAUGHTER of king Saul, fell in love with David, which Saul took advantage of to require proofs of valour from David, hoping he would fall by the hands of the Philistines. But David doubled what Saul required, and obtained Michal. Saul afterwards sent messengers to seize David at night, but Michal let him down out of the window, and placed a figure in David's bed to deceive the people. chal excused herself to her father by saying that David threatened to kill her if she did not assist him in his escape. Saul afterwards gave Michal to Phalti or Phaltiel, son of Laish; but when David came to the crown, he caused Michal to be restored to him. Some time after, Michal, seeing David from a window, dancing before the ark, when it was brought from Shiloh to Jerusalem, upbraided him on his return, for dancing and playing among his servants, acting rather like a buffoon than a king. David vindicated himself and reproved her. Michal bore David no children, which the Scripture seems to impute to these reproaches. This was B. C. about 1042.

MIRIAM,

SISTER of Aaron and Moses, was daughter of Amram and Jochebad. Her name-Miriam, "the star of the sea," (according to St. Jerome, "she who brightens or enlightens")—may have been given from a precocious exhibition of the great qualities which afterwards distinguished her. That it was rightly given, her history proves. Our first view of her is when she is keeping watch over the frail basket, among the flags on the banks of the Nile, where Moses, her baby-brother, lay concealed. Miriam was then thirteen years old, but her intelligence and discretion seem mature. Then, when the time came for the redemption of Israel from the house of bondage, Moses was not alone; Aaron his brother and Miriam his sister were his coadjutors.

"It is certain," says Dr. Clarke (a learned and pious expounder of the Old Testament) "that Miriam had received a portion of the prophetic spirit; and that she was a joint leader of the people with her two brothers, is proved by the words of the prophet Micah ;- For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and I sent before thee Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam ;"—which would not have been said if she had not taken a prominent post in the emigration. Probably she was the leader of the women; as we find after the miraculous passage of the Red Sea, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, when Moses, to celebrate the great events, sung his glorious 'Song,' the earliest recorded poetry of the world, that his sister came forward and gave her beautiful and spirit-thrilling response.

"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances.

"And Miriam answered them, 'Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.""

It is sad that we must record the fall of Miriam from the high pinnacle which her faith, energy, and genius had won. What her crime was is not fully stated, only that she and Aaron "spake against Moses" because "he had married an Ethiopian woman." Perhaps Miriam disliked her sister-in-law; though it appears she and Aaron disparaged the authority of Moses; it might be from envy of his favour with the Lord. Her sin, whatever passion prompted it, was soon exposed and punished. God smote her with leprosy; and only at the earnest intercession of Moses, healed her, after seven days. The camp moved not while she was shut out; thus the people testified their reverence and affection for her. She lived nineteen years after this, but her name is mentioned no more till the record of her death. She died a short time before her brother Aaron, in Kadesh, when the children of Israel were within sight of the promised land. Eusebius asserts that her monument stood near the city of Petræ, and was considered a consecrated spot when he lived and wrote, in the fourth century. Her death occurred B. C. 1453, when she was about one hundred and

thirty-one years old, so that her life was prolonged beyond the term of either of her brothers. She has left a beautiful example of sisterly tenderness, and warm womanly participation in a holy cause. In genius, she was superior to all the women who preceded her; and in the inspiration of her spirit (she was a "prophetess" or poet,) none of her contemporaries, male or female, except Moses, was her equal. That she was too ambitious is probable, and did not willingly yield to the authority with which the Lord had invested her younger brother, who had been her nursling charge. From this portion of her history, a warning is sounded against the pride and self-sufficiency which the consciousness of great genius and great usefulness is calculated to incite. Woman should never put off her humility. It is her guard as well as ornament.

MONIMA,

WIFE of Mithridates the Great, was a native of Salonica. Her husband loved her devotedly, but when he was defeated by Lucullus, he caused her and all his other wives to be put to death, lest they should fall into the hands of the enemy. Some years after, Mithridates was killed at his own request, to avoid a similar fate, B. C. 64.

MYRTIS,

A GREEK Woman, distinguished for her poetical talents. She lived about B. C. 500, and instructed the celebrated Corinna in the art of versification. Pindar also is said to have been one of her pupils.

N. NAOMI,

AND her husband Elimelech, went to the land of Moab, because of a famine in Canaan. After about ten years, her husband and two sons died, leaving no children. Naomi then returned with Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, to her own country, poor and humble. Yet it speaks well for the character and consistency of Naomi, that she so thoroughly won the love and respect of her | daughters-in-law. And not only this, but she must have convinced them, by the sanctity of her daily life, that the Lord whom she worshipped was the true God. Her name, Naomi, signifies beauty ; and we feel, when reading her story, that, in its highest sense, she deserves to be thus characterized.

After Ruth married Boaz, which event was brought about, humanely speaking, by Naomi's wise counsel, she appears to have lived with them; and she took their first-born son as her own, "laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him." This child was Obed, the grandfather of David. Well might the race be advanced which had such a nurse and instructress. These events occurred about 1312, B. C.

NITOCRIS,

MENTIONED by Herodotus, is supposed by some to have been the wife or at least the contemporary

of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria. She contri- | to his own daughter, and declared him heir to the buted much to the improvement of Babylon, and empire. But he died early, not without suspicion built a bridge to connect the two parts of the of being poisoned by Livia, wife of Augustus. city divided by the Euphrates, and also extensive His mother sank under this blow, and mourned embankments along the river. She gave orders bitterly for him till her death. there should be an inscription on her tomb, signifying that her successors would find great treasures within, if they were in need of money; but that their labour would be ill repaid if they opened it without necessity. Cyrus opened it from curiosity, and found within it only these words: "If thy avarice had not been insatiable, thou never wouldst have violated the monuments of the dead!"

Other historians suppose her to have been the wife of Evil-Merodach, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, who also governed during the lunacy of his father. She was a woman of extraordinary abilities, and did all that she could by human prudence to sustain a tottering empire. She lived in the sixth century before Christ.

Virgil wrote in honour of this youth an eulogy in the conclusion of the sixth Eneid; and it is said that Octavia fainted on hearing him read it, but rewarded the poet afterwards with ten sesterces for each verse, of which there are twenty-six. Octavia died B. C. 11, leaving two daughters whom she had by Antony. Great honours were paid to her memory by her brother and the Senate.

So destitute was she of all petty jealousy, that after the death of Antony and Cleopatra, when their children were brought to Rome to grace her brother's triumph, she took them under her protection, and married the daughter to Juba, king of Mauritania.

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0. OCTAVIA,

DAUGHTER of Caius Octavius, and sister to Augustus Cæsar, was one of the most illustrious ladies of ancient Rome. She was first married to Claudius Marcellus, who was consul. She bore this husband three children. After his death she married Antony, and in this way brought about a reconciliation between Antony and her brother Octavianus, afterwards the emperor Augustus Cæsar. These nuptials were solemnized B. C. 41. Three years after, Antony went with his wife to spend the winter at Athens. Here, becoming again exasperated against Augustus by evil reports, he sailed for Italy; but Octavia a second time induced a réconciliation between them.

Antony went to the East soon afterwards, leaving Octavia in Italy; and though she discovered that he did not intend to return, she remained in his palace, continuing to take the same care of everything as though he had been the best of husbands; acting the part of a kind mother to the children of his first wife. She would not consent that Antony's treatment of her should cause a civil war. At length she was ordered to leave the house by Antony, who sent her at the same time a divorce. This treatment of Octavia exposed Antony to the hatred and contempt of the Romans, when they saw him prefer to her a woman of Cleopatra's abandoned character, who had no advantage of her rival either in youth or beauty. Indeed, Cleopatra dreaded Octavia's charms so much that she had recourse to the most studied artifices to persuade Antony to forbid Octavia to come to him; and she accompanied him wherever he went.

After Antony's death, fortune seemed to flatter Octavia with the prospect of the highest worldly felicity. The son she had by her first husband, Marcellus, was now about twelve, and was a boy of great genius, and of an unusually cheerful, dignified and noble disposition. Augustus married him

OLYMPIAS,

DAUGHTER of the king of Epirus, married Philip, king of Macedonia, by whom she had Alexander the Great. Her haughtiness and suspected infidelity induced Philip to repudiate her, and marry Cleopatra, niece of Attalus. This incensed Olympias, and Alexander, her son, shared her indignation. Some have attributed the murder of Philip to the intrigues of Olympias, who paid the greatest honour to the dead body of her husband's murderer. Though the administration of Alexander was not altogether pleasing to Olympias, she did not hesitate to declare publicly, that he was not the son of Philip, but of Jupiter. On Alexander's death, B. C. 324, Olympias seized on the government, and cruelly put to death Aridæus, one of Philip's illegitimate sons, who had claimed the throne, and his wife Eurydice, as well as Nicanor, the brother of Cassander, with a hundred of the principal men of Macedonia. Cassander besieged her in Pydna, where she had retired, and after an obstinate defence she was obliged to surrender. Two hundred soldiers were sent to put her to death, but the splendour and majesty of the queen overawed them, and she was at last massacred by those whom she had injured by her tyranny. She died about 316, B. C.

ORPAH,

A MOABITISH damsel, who married Chillon, the youngest of the two sons of Elimelech and Naomi, Israelites from Bethlehem-judah. Her story is included in the Book of Ruth; and though but a glimpse is afforded, the character is strikingly defined. Orpah signifies, in the Hebrew, the open mouth, a name probably given her to denote her quick sensibility and lack of firmness. She was a creature of feeling, but there was wanting the strength of will to perform what she had purposed as duty. After the death of Elimelech and his two sons, Naomi, with her two young daughtersin-law, set out to return to her own land; Orpah seemingly more earnest than Ruth to accompany Naomi. But when the trials of the undertaking were set before them, Orpah "kissed" her motherin-law, and went "back to her people and her gods."

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PANTHEA,

WIFE of Abradatas, king of the Lusians, was taken prisoner by Cyrus the Great. Though the most beautiful woman of her time, Cyrus treated her with a delicacy and forbearance very unusual in those times, and permitted her to send for her husband. Out of gratitude to Cyrus, Abradatas became his ally, and was slain while fighting for him against the Egyptians. Panthea killed herself on the dead body of her husband, and was buried in the same grave.

PARYSATIS,

WIFE of Darius Nothus, who ascended the throne of Persia in the year 423 B. C., was the mother of Artaxerxes Mnemon and Cyrus. Her partiality for Cyrus led her to commit the greatest injustice and barbarities; and she poisoned Statira, the wife of Artaxerxes.

PENELOPE,

DAUGHTER of Icarus, married Ulysses, king of Ithaca, by whom she had Telemachus. During the absence of Ulysses, who went to the siege of Troy, and was absent twenty years, several princes, charmed with Penelope's beauty, told her that Ulysses was dead, and urged her to marry one of them. She promised compliance on condition that they would allow her to finish a piece of tapestry she was weaving; but she undid at night what she had woven in the day, and thus eluded their importunity till the return of Ulysses.

Her beauty and conjugal fidelity have won for her the praises of poets, and a warm place in the heart of every pure-minded woman. Her character and example appear most lovely when contrasted with her celebrated contemporary Helen. The character of Telemachus, as drawn by Fenelon, is such as we should imagine would be displayed by the son of Penelope,-her wise influence would be his Mentor.

PENTHESILEA,

QUEEN of the Amazons, succeeded Osythia. She fought bravely at the siege of Troy, and was killed by Achilles, B. C. 1187. Pliny says she invented the battle-axe. She must have been a real amazon.

PERILLA,

A DAUGHTER of the poet Ovid, and of his third wife, was very fond of poetry and literature, and very devoted to her father. She accompanied him in his banishment, and is supposed to have survived him. She lived in the first century after Christ. It is the best example left by Ovid, that he encouraged his daughter in her literary tastes: and well did she repay his care, in the cultivation of her mind, by her devoted attachment to him in his misfortunes.

PHÆDYMA,

DAUGHTER of Olanes, one of the seven Persian lords who conspired against Smerdis the Magian. Being married to Smerdis, who pretended to be the son of Cyrus the Great, she discovered his imposture to her father, by his want of ears, which Cambyses had cut off. She lived B. C. 521.

PHANTASIA,

DAUGHTER of Nicanchus of Memphis, in Egypt. Chiron, a celebrated personage of antiquity, asserted that Phantasia wrote a poem on the Trojan war, and another on the return of Ulysses to Ithaca, from which Homer copied the greater part of the Iliad and Odyssey, when he visited Memphis, where these poems were deposited. She lived in the 12th century before Christ.

PHERETIMA,

WIFE of Battus, king of Cyrene, and the mother of Arcesilaus, who was driven from his kingdom in a sedition, and assassinated. After her son's death, she recovered the kingdom by the aid of Amasis king of Egypt; and to avenge the murder of Arcesilaus, she caused all his assassins to be crucified round the walls of Cyrene, and she cut off the breasts of their wives, and hung them near their husbands. It is said she was devoured by worms; which probably had reference to the remorse she must have felt for her cruelties. lived about 624 B. C.

PHILISTES,

She

AN ancient queen, whose coin is still extant, but of whose life, reign, country, and government, nothing can be ascertained. Herodotus speaks of her coin, so she must have flourished before he lived, that is before B. C. 487; but says nothing else of her. Some persons think that she was queen of Sicily, others of Malta or Cossara.

PHILOTIS,

A SERVANT-MAID at Rome, saved her countrymen from destruction. After the siege of Rome by the Gauls, about 381 B. C., the Fidenates marched with an army against the capital, demanding all the wives and daughters in the city, as the

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