Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/55

 from her, and gave it to him who had corrupted him; for those places are perquisites to the su­perintendants, and depend wholly upon them. The Mother of Theodora seeing the people as­sembled one day, to behold the combat of the Beasts, presented her three Daughters before them with Crowns of Flowers upon their Heads, and Bracelets of the same, and begged of them that they would continue their Fathers office to them; but the Prasinians refused it by common consent. On the other side the Venetes having lost the officer which had the care of their Beasts, gave it to the Mother, and her three Daughters, to recompence what they had lost with the Prasinians. The Mother finding her self re-established, presented her Daughters up­on the Stage one after another, as they grew up, and occasion was offered. Comitone the eldest was already famous among the rest of the Cour­tisans; and Theodora the second, waited upon her as her Maid with little Sleeves, and short Coats, carrying her chair upon her back when her sister went into company. But when she came to maturity, and her beauty began to be celebrated, her Mother devoted her to the Thea­ter, and a while after she took her place among the Courtisans, which the Antients called the Barefeet, (for she played not upon the Flute, or any other Instrument, nor sung, but prostituted her self indifferently to all people that she met) at length she associated with a company of Play­ers, where she personated all people, and repre­sented Farces, and such kind of Comical ­tisements,