Note 6 — Chapter II · The Arena

The extravagance in which Samaritana indulged contributed in no small degree to the decline and fall of her husband’s house. Her taste for jewellery was of a most ridiculous—not to say vulgar order. She heaped on jewels in profusion and would not put on her stockings unless they too were decorated with precious stones! She also excited the indignation of contemporary chroniclers by her insistance in sending to Ostiglia for some special unguents which she deemed necessary for beautifying her hair, and which were conveyed to this port on the Po at great expense from distant towns.