The
conversation which took place between the Empress Julia and the wife of
a Caledonian chief, as related by Xiphilin, certainly evinces a
grossness and indelicacy in the amours of the British ladies, if true;
but it appears to be a reply where wit and reproof were more aimed at
than truth. The case of the Empress Cartismandua shows the nice feeling
of the Britons as to the propriety of female conduct. The respect of the
Germans for their females, and the severity with which they visited a
deviation from virtue, have been described; and the further testimony of
Tacitus may be adduced, who says that but very few of the greatest
dignity chose to have more than one wife, and when they did it was
merely for the honor of alliance. It may be here stated that the Ga?«ls
have no word to express cuckold, and that prostitutes were, by Scots'
law, like that of the ancient Germans, thrown into deep wells; and a
woman was not permitted to complain of an assault if she allowed more
than one night to elapse before the accusation."--_Logan's Scottish
Ga?«l_, 5th Am. edition, p. 472.[5]
Indeed, whatever may have been the real state of morality among the
ancient Scotch and Irish--and it is quite probable that it has been
unfairly depicted by casual and prejudiced observers--the ancient custom
of bundling, which has been handed down from earliest times, has not
greatly contaminated their descendants of the present day.
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