Biaferal, which in another view will illustrate St. Matthew xi. 12. Page 32. To drink at will of the Four Fountains, which were reputed in the highest degree salubrious, and sacred to himself, or literally, to be of gold and sacred to himself. Agathocles (cited by Athenæus, 1. xi. p. 515) relates that "there were certain fountains in these regions to the number of seventy, whose waters were denominated golden, and of which it was death for any one to drink save the king and his eldest son." In this number, as appears from our author's epithet, the Four Fountains were formerly reckoned, whose waters, as Vathek had no son, were sacred to his own use. The citation from Agathocles may likewise explain the wish of King David "for water from the well of Bethlehem," unless we suppose it to have arisen from a predilection like that of the Parthian monarchs for the water of Choaspes, which was carried with them wherever they went, and from that circumstance styled by Tibullus regia lympha, and by Milton The drink of none but kings. Bowls of rock crystal. In the Arabian Nights Schemselnihar and Ebn Thaker were served by three of their attendants, each bringing them a goblet of rock crystal filled with curious wine. Accursed Giaour. Dives of this kind are frequently mentioned by Eastern writers; consult their tales in general, and especially those of the Fisherman, Aladdin, and the Princess of China. Page 32. "Drink this draught," said the stranger, as he presented a phial. A phial of a similar potion is ordered to be instantaneously drank off in one of the Tales of Inatulla. "These brewed enchantments" have been used in the East from the days of Homer. Milton in his Comus describes one of them, which greatly resembles the Indian's: And first behold this cordial julep here, That flames and dances in his crystal bounds, Is of such pow'r to stir up joy as this; To life so friendly, or so cool to thirst. Page 33. The Poets applied them as a chorus to all the songs they composed. Sir John Chardin, describing a public entertainment and rejoicing, observes that the most ingenious poets in Persia (as is related of Homer) sung their own works, which for the most part are in praise of the king, whom they fail not to extol, let him be never so worthy of blame and oblivion; the songs of this day were adapted to the occasion of the festival, which was the restoration of the prime minister to his officehe adds, "I saw one that abounded in fine and witty turns, the burthen of which was this: Him set aside, all men but equals are; E'en Sol surveyed the spacious realms of air, To see if he could find another star, A star, that like the polar star could reign, And long he sought it, but he sought in vain. 1 The ingenuity of the poet seems to consist in an allusion to the prime minister's title, Ivon Medave, or the Pole of Persia. Page 34 Bababalouk, the chief of his eunuchs. As it was the employment of the black eunuchs to wait upon and guard the sultanas, so the general superintendence of the harem was particularly committed to their chief. Habesci's State of the Ottoman Empire, pp. 155, 6. Page 35. The Divan. This was both the supreme council and court of justice, at which the caliphs of the race of the Abassides assisted in person to redress the injuries of every appellant. Herbelot, p. 298. The officers arranged themselves in a semicircle. Such was the etiquette constantly observed on entering the Divan. Arab. Nights, vol. iv. p. 36; Herbelot, p. 912. The prime vizier. Vazir, vezir, or as we express it, vizier, literally signifies a porter, and by metaphor the minister who bears the principal burthen of the state. Page 36. The Indian being short and plump, collected him 1 See Lloyd's Introduction to a Collection of Voyages and Travels never before published in English, p. 21. self 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. Page 38. 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 Damascus, for the meuzin or crier to announce from it the hour of prayer. Herbelot, p. 576. Page 41. The subterranean palace of fire. Of this palace, which is frequently mentioned in Eastern romance, a full description will be found in the sequel. Page 42. Irequire the blood of fifty of the most beautiful sons of the viziers. 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. Byrant's Observations, p. 279, &c. Page 45. 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. Page 46. With the grin of an ogre. Thus in the History of the Punished Vizier: "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. Page 48. 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. Page 50. 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 a half after it is down. 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. Page 51. 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. Page 56. 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 delicata, consisted of various syrups (such as L lemon, liquorice, capillaire, &c.) mixed with water; to these Hasselquist adds several others, and observes that the sweetscented 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. Page 57. 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 denomi |