espondents gives an account
of the "_Origin_ of _wearing_ the veil," in which he attributes it to
Penelope, the beautiful wife of Ulysses. Now, for my own part, I feel
inclined to query this statement of C.K.W. first by his own account of
the origin, and second by Scripture.

Your Correspondent, speaking of the decision which the wife of Ulysses
was to give, says, "the beautiful Penelope finding herself in this
dilemma, _blushed_, and without making the least reply, drew _her_ veil
over her face," &c. By this I think it is clearly understood that veils
were common in Greece when this occurrence took place; or why say "_her_
veil," which readily implies, that it was customary to wear them, and
also that it was near her at the time; although, perhaps, she _might_
have been the first to use it upon such an occasion, namely, to hide her
blushes from the observation of her father when she decided upon
accompanying her husband in preference to staying with her parent. 2nd.
In Scripture we find the veil used in Moses' time, and even by Moses
himself,[3] 1491 years before Christ; but the earliest _mention_ of it
which I can find in the Old Testament is in Genesis, xxiv. 65, (before
Christ 1857 years,) where it says "Rebekah took a veil when she saw
Isaac coming towards her, and covered herself;" it being customary even
in those early times to wear them, especially with brides. Now, by
referring to the History of Greece, it appears that Sparta, near which
this scene of Penelope's is said to have taken place, was not _founded_
or instituted till about A.M. 2650, or before Christ 1354, which alone
makes a difference of 500 years, setting aside the time from the
foundation of Sparta to the period in which Ulysses lived.

[3] Exodus, xxxiv. 33, 34, and 35.

I therefore come to the conclusion that your Correspondent is mistaken
with regard to the origin of wearing the veil; for it is allowed by all
that the Bible is the most ancient work extant, therefore to that we
must go for such information as cannot be derived from any other source.
I beg leave to conclude this paper with a few observations, and some
extracts from different writers, on the veils worn in the East, which
may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to your numerous readers.

By perusing the various accounts given us by travellers in the East, it
appears that great importance is attached to the veil. The strictness
with which the ladies keep their faces covered and hi