the etiquette constantly observed on entering the Divan. Arab. Nights, vol. iv. p. 36; Herbelot, p. 912.

The prime vizir. Vazir, vezir, or as we express it, vizir, literally signifies a porter, and by metaphor the minister who bears the principal burthen of the state.

P. 18. The Indian, being short and plump, collected himself into a ball, &c. Happy as Horace has been in his description of the wise man, the figurative expressions which finish the character are literally applicable to our author's Indian :—

in seipso totus, teres atque rotundus ; Externi ne quid valeat per læve morari : In quem manca ruit semper fortuna.

P. 19. The Meuzins and their minarets. Valid, the son of Abdalmalek, was the first who erected a minaret or turret, and this he placed on the grand Mosque at Damascu3, for the meuzin or crier to announce from it the hour of prayer. Herbelot, p. 576.

P. 22. The subterranean palace of fire. Of this palace, which is frequently mentioned in Eastern romance, a full description will be found in the sequel.

P. 23. I require the blood of fifty of the most beautiful sons of the vizirs. Amongst the infatuated votaries of the powers of darkness, the most acceptable offering was the blood of their children; if the parents were not at hand to make an immediate offer, the magistrates did not fail to select those who were most fair and promising, that the demon might not be defrauded of his dues. On one occasion two hundred of the prime nobility were sacrificed together. Bryant's Observations, p. 279, &c.

P. 26. Give them me, cried the Indian. In the story of Codadad and his brother, we read of a black like this who fed upon human blood. Arab. Nights, vol. iii. p. 199.

P. 27. With the grin of an ogre. Thus in the History of the Punished Vizir: "The prince heard enough to convince him of his danger, and then perceived that the lady who called herself the daughter of an Indian king was an ogress, wife to one of those savage demons called an ogre, who stay in remote

places, and make use of a thousand wiles to surprise and devour passengers." Arab. Nights, vol. i. p. 56.

Bracelet. The bracelet, in the East, was an emblem of royalty. Herbelot, p. 541.—For want of a more proper term to denominate the ornament serkhooj, the word aigret is here used,

P. 29. Mutes. It has been usual in eastern courts from time immemorial, to retain a number of mutes; these are not only employed to amuse the monarch, but also to instruct his pages in an art to us little known, of communicating everything by signs, lest the sounds of their voices should disturb the sovereign. Habesci's State of the Ottoman Empire, p. 164.The mutes are also the secret instruments of his private vengeance.

P. 30. Prayer announced at break of day. The stated seasons of public prayer in the twenty-four hours were five daybreak, noon, mid-time between noon and sunset, immediately as the sun leaves the horizon, and an hour and half after it is down.

P. 31. Mummies. Moumia (from Moum, wax and tallow) signifies the flesh of the human body preserved in the sand, after having been embalmed and wrapped in cerements; they are frequently found in the sepulchres of Egypt, but most of the oriental mummies are brought from a cavern near Abin, in Persia. Herbelot, p. 647.

Rhinoceros' horns. Of their extraordinary qualities and application a curious account may be seen in the Bibliothèque Orientale, and the Supplement to it.

Skulls and Skeletons. Both were usually added to the ingredients already mentioned. These magic rites sufficiently resemble the witch scenes of Middleton, Shakespeare, &c., to show their oriental origin; nor is it to be wondered if, amongst the many systems adopted from the East, this should have been in the number. It may be seen from the Arabian Tales that magic was an art publicly taught; and Father Angelo relates of a rich enchanter whom he knew at Bassora, that his pupils were so numerous as to occupy an entire quarter of the city.

P. 36. Flagons of wine, and vases of sherbet floating on

snow.

Sir John Chardin speaks of a wine much admired in the East, and particularly in Persia, called roubnar, which is made from the juice of the pomegranate, and sent abroad in large quantities. The oriental sherbets, styled by St. Jerome sorbitiuncula delicatæ, consisted of various syrups (such as lemon, liquorice, capillaire, &c.) mixed with water; to these Hasselquist adds several others, and observes that the sweet-scented violet is a flower greatly esteemed, not only for its smell and colour, but especially for its use in sherbet, which, when the Easterns intend to entertain their guests in an elegant manner, is made of a solution of violet sugar. Snow, in the rinfrescos of a hot climate, is almost a constant ingredient; thus in the Arabian Nights, Bedreddin Hassan, having filled a large porcelain bowl with sherbet of roses, put snow into it. A lamb stuffed with pistachios. The same dish is mentioned in the Tale of the Barber's Sixth Brother.

A parchment. Parchments of the like mysterious import are frequent in the writings of the Easterns. One in particular amongst the Arabians is held in high veneration; it was written by Ali and Giafar Sadek in mystic characters, and is said to contain the destiny of the Mahometan religion, and the great events which are to happen previous to the end of the world; this parchment is of camel's skin; but it was usual with Catherine of Medicis to carry about her person a legend in cabalistic characters, inscribed on the skin of a dead-born infant. Herbelot, p. 366; Wraxall's House of Valois.

Istakhar. This city was the ancient Persepolis and capital of Persia, under the kings of the three first races. The author of Lebtarikh writes that Kischtab there established his abode, erected several temples to the element of fire, and hewed out for himself and his successors sepulchres in the rocks of the mountain contiguous to the city. The ruins of columns and broken figures which still remain, defaced as they were by Alexander, and mutilated by time, plainly evince that those ancient potentates had chosen it for the place of their interment; their monuments however must not be confounded with the superb palace reared by queen Homai in the midst of Istakhar, which the Persians distinguish by the name of Tchilminar, or the forty watch-towers. The origin of this city is

ascribed by some to Giamschid, and others carry it higher; but the Persian tradition is that it was built by the peris or fairies when the world was governed by Gian ben Gian. Herbelot, p. 327.

Gian Ben Gian. By this appellation was distinguished the monarch of that species of beings whom the Arabians denominate gian or ginn, that is genii, and the Tarikh Thabari, peris, feez, or fairies; he was renowned for his warlike expeditions and stupendous structures; according to oriental writers the pyramids of Egypt were amongst the monuments of his power. The buckler of this mighty sovereign, no less famous than that of Achilles, was employed by three successive Solimans to achieve their marvellous exploits; from them it descended to Tahamurath, surnamed Divbend, or Conqueror of the Giants. This buckler was endowed with most wonderful qualities, having been fabricated by talismanic art, and was alone sufficient to destroy all the charms and enchantments of demons or giants, which on the contrary were wrought by magic. Hence we are no longer at a loss for the origin of the wonderful shield of Atlante. The reign of Gian Ben Gian over the peris is said to have continued for two thousand years, after which Eblis was sent by the Deity to exile them on account of their disorders, and confine them in the remotest region of the earth. Herbelot, p. 396; Bailly sur l'Atlantide, p. 147.

The talismans of Soliman. Amongst the most famous talismans of the East, and which could control even the arms and magic of the dives or giants, was mohur Solimani, the seal or ring of Soliman Jared, fifth monarch of the world after Adam; by means of it the possessor had the entire command, not only of the elements, but also of demons and every created being. Richardson's Dissertat. p. 272; Herbelot, p. 820.

Preadamite Sultans. These monarchs, which were seventytwo in number, are said to have governed each a distinct species of rational beings prior to the existence of Adam. Amongst the most renowned of them were Soliman Raad, Soliman Daki, and Soliman Di Gian Ben Gian. Herbelot, p. 820.

Beware how thou enterest any dwelling. Strange as this injunction may seem, it is by no means incongruous to the customs of the country. Dr. Pococke mentions his travelling

with the train of the governor of Faiume, who, instead of lodging in a village that was near, passed the night in a grove of palm trees. Travels, vol. i. p. 56.

P. 37. Every bumper, which they ironically quaffed to the health of Mahomet. There are innumerable proofs that the Grecian custom, συμπιειν κυαθιζομενους, prevailed amongst the Arabs; but, had these been wanted, Carathis could not be supposed a stranger to it; the practice was to hail the gods in the first place, and then those who were held in the highest veneration; this they repeated as often as they drank; thus St. Ambrose: "Quid obtestationes potantium loquar? quid memorem sacramenta, quæ violare nefas arbitrantur? Bibamus, inquiunt, pro salute imperatorum; et qui non biberit, sit reus indevotionis."

The ass of Balaam, the dog of the seven sleepers, and the other animals admitted into the paradise of Mahomet. It was a tenet of the Mussulman creed that all animals would be raised again, and many of them honoured with admission to paradise. The story of the seven sleepers, borrowed from Christian legends, was this: In the days of the Emperor Decius there were certain Ephesian youths of a good family, who, to avoid the flames of persecution, fled to a secret cavern, and there slept for a number of years. In their flight towards the cave they were followed by a dog, which, when they attempted to drive him back, said: "I love those who are dear unto God; go sleep therefore, and I will guard you." For this dog the Mahometans retain so profound a reverence, that their harshest sarcasm against a covetous person is, "he would not throw a bone to the dog of the seven sleepers." It is even said, that their superstition induces them to write his name upon the letters they send to a distance, as a kind of talisman to secure them a safe conveyance. Religious Ceremonies, vol. vii. p. 74, n.; Sale's Koran, ch. xviii. and notes.

Painting the eyes of the Circassians. It was an ancient custom in the East, and still continues, to tinge the eyes of women, particularly those of a fair complexion, with an impalpable powder prepared chiefly from crude antimony, and called surmeh. Ebni'l Motezz, in a passage translated by Sir