Chapter XXVIII: Part 28

One article in this prodigious booty, before which all others seemed to recede in comparison, was the superb and celebrated carpet of silk and gold cloth, sixty cubits in length, and as many in breadth, which decorated one of the apartments of the palace. It was wrought into a paradise or garden, with jewels of the most curious and costly species; the ruby, the emerald, the sapphire, the beryl, topaz, and pearl, being arranged with such consummate skill, as to represent, in beautiful mosaic, trees, fruits, and flowers, rivulets and fountains; roses and shrubs of every description seemed to combine their fragrance and their foliage to charm the sense of the beholders. This piece of exquisite luxury and illusion, to which the Persians gave the name of _Baharistan_ or the mansion of perpetual spring, was an invention employed by their monarchs as an artificial substitute for that loveliest of seasons. During the gloom of winter they were accustomed to regale the nobles of their court on this magnificent embroidery, where art had supplied the absence of nature, and wherein the guests might trace a brilliant imitation of her faded beauties in the variegated colours of the jewelled and pictured floor. In the hope that the eyes of the Caliph might he delighted with this superb display of wealth and workmanship, Saad persuaded the soldiers to relinquish their claims. It was therefore added to the fifth of the spoil, which was conveyed to Medina on the backs of camels. But Omar, with that rigid impartiality from which he never deviated, ordered the gaudy trophy to be cut up into small pieces, and distributed among the chief members of the Mohammedan commonwealth. Such was the intrinsic value of the materials, that the share of Ali alone, not larger than the palm of a man's hand, was afterwards sold for 20,000 drachms (L458 6s. 8d.), or, according to others, for as many dinars (L9,250). Out of this vast store the Caliph granted pensions to every member of his court in regular gradation, from the individuals of the Prophet's family to the lowest of his companions, varying from L275 to L4 11s. per annum.

The military part of the booty was divided into 60,000 shares, and every horseman had 12,000 dinars (L5,550); hence, if the army consisted of 60,000 cavalry, their united shares would amount to the incredible sum of L333,000,000 sterling.

COURTSHIP OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

The following extract from the life of the wife of the Conqueror, is exceedingly curious, as characteristic of the manners of a semi-civilized age and nation:--"After some years' delay, William appears to have become desperate; and, if we may trust to the evidence of the 'Chronicle of Ingerbe,' in the year 1047 way-laid Matilda in the streets of Bruges, as she was returning from mass, seized her, rolled her in the dirt, spoiled her rich array, and, not content with these outrages, struck her repeatedly, and rode off at full speed. This Teutonic method of courtship, according to our author, brought the affair to a crisis; for Matilda, either convinced of the strength of William's passion, by the violence of his behaviour, or afraid of encountering a second beating, consented to become his wife. How he ever presumed to enter her presence again, after such a series of enormities, the chronicler sayeth not, and we are at a loss to imagine."

BRAMA, THE HINDOO DEITY.

_Brama_, _Birmah_, or _Brouma_, is one of the three persons of the Indian Trinity, or rather the Supreme Being under the attribute of _Creator_. Brama, the progenitor of all rational beings, sprung from a golden egg, sparkling like a thousand suns, which was hatched by the motion imparted to the waters by the Supreme Being. Brama separated the heavens from the earth, and placed amid the subtle ether the eight points of the universe and the receptacle of the waters. He had five heads before Vairevert, one of Sheeva's sons, cut off one of them. He is delineated floating on a leaf of the lotus, a plant revered in India. The Bramins relate, that the fifteen worlds which compose the universe were each produced by a part of Brama's body. At the moment of our birth he imprints in our heads, in characters which cannot be effaced, all that we shall do, and all that is to happen to us in life. It is not in our power, nor in that of Brama himself, to prevent what is written from being fulfilled.

Brama.]

Brama, according to the vulgar mythology, takes but little notice of human affairs. Identified with the sun, he is adored by the Bramins in the _gayatri_, the most sacred passage of the _vedas_ (or sacred books), which is itself ranked among the gods, and to which offerings are made. One of the most important attributes of Brama is that of father of legislators; for it was his ten sons who diffused laws and the sciences over the world. He is considered as the original author of the _vedas_, which are said to have issued from his four mouths; though it was not till a later period, that is, about fourteen hundred years before Christ, that they were collected and arranged by Vyasa, the philosopher and poet. The laws which bear the name of Menu, the son of Brama, and the works of the other _richeys_, or holy persons, were also re-copied, or perhaps collected from tradition, long after the period when they are said to have been published by the sons of Brama.

Brama, the father of the legislators of India, has a considerable resemblance to the Jupiter of the Greek poets, the father of Minos, whose celebrated laws were published in the very same century that Vyasa collected the _vedas_. Jupiter was worshipped as the sun, by the name of _Anxur_ or _Axur_, and Brama is identified with that luminary. The most common form in which Brama is represented, is that of a man with four heads and four hands; and it is remarkable that the Lacedaemonians gave four heads to their Jupiter. Lastly, the title of Father of Gods and Men is equally applicable to Brama and to Jupiter.

Brama is delineated, as in the engraving, holding in one hand a ring, the emblem of immortality; in another, fire, to represent force; and with the other two writing on _olles_, or palm-leaves, the emblem of legislative power.

JAMES II. AND THE CHURCH OF DONORE.

Church of Donore.]

The annexed engraving represents a celebrated locality. It is the ruin of the little church on the hill at Donore, in the county of Meath, the spot where James II. was stationed when he beheld the overthrow of his army and the ruin of his cause at the battle of the Boyne, Tuesday, July 1st, 1690. The Boyne is a very beautiful and picturesque river; it winds through the fertile valleys of Meath, and from its richly-wooded banks the hills rise gradually; there are no lofty mountains in the immediate neighbourhood. The depth, in nearly all parts, is considerable, and the current, consequently, not rapid; its width, near the field of battle, varies little, and is seldom less than fifty or sixty yards. James had the choice of ground, and it was judiciously selected. On the south side of the river, in the county of Meath, his army was posted with considerable skill: on the right was Drogheda; in front were the fords of the Boyne, deep and dangerous, and difficult to pass at all times; the banks were rugged, lined by a morass, defended by some breastworks, with "huts and hedges convenient for infantry;" and behind them was an acclivity stretching along the whole of "the field." James fixed his own tent upon the summit of a hill close to the little church of Donore, now a ruin; it commanded an extensive view of the adjacent country, and the opposite or south side of the river--the whole range, indeed, from Drogheda to Oldbridge village--and looked directly down upon the valley, in which the battle was to be fought, and the fords of the Boyne, where there could be no doubt the troops of William would attempt a passage. From this spot, James beheld his prospering rival mingling in the thick of the _melee_, giving and taking blows; watched every turn of fortune, as it veered towards or against him; saw his enemies pushing their way in triumph, and his brave allies falling before the swords of foreigners--a safe and inglorious spectator of a battle upon the issue of which his throne depended. The preceeding night he had spent at Carntown Castle, from whence he had marched, not as the leader, but as the overseer, of the Irish army; having previously given unequivocal indications of his prospects, his hopes, and his designs, by despatching a commissioner to Waterford, "to prepare a ship for conveying him to France, in case of any misfortune."

HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON.

When Babylon the Great was in the zenith of her glory, adjoining the grand palace, and within the general enclosure, the Hanging Gardens were constructed by the king to gratify his wife Amytis, who being a native of Media (she was the daughter of Astyages, the king of Media), desired to have some imitation of her native hills and forests.

"Within the walls was raised a lofty mound,
Where flowers and aromatic shrubs adorn'd
The pensile garden. For Nebassar's queen,
Fatigued with Babylonia's level plains,
Sigh'd for her Median home, where nature's hand
Had scooped the vale, and clothed the mountain's side
With many a verdant wood: nor long she pined
Till that uxorious monarch called on Art
To rival Nature's sweet variety.
Forthwith two hundred thousand slaves uprear'd
This hill--egregious work; rich fruits o'erhang
The sloping vales, and odorous shrubs entwine
Their undulating branches."

These gardens, as far as we learn from ancient accounts, contained a square of above 400 feet on each side, and were carried up in the manner of several large terraces, one above the other, till the height equalled that of the walls of the city. The ascent from terrace to terrace was by stairs ten feet wide. The whole pile was sustained by vast arches, raised on other arches one above another, and was defended and condensed by a wall, surrounding it on every side, of twenty-two feet in thickness. On the top of the arches were first laid large flat stones, sixteen feet long and four broad; over these was a layer of weeds mixed and cemented with a large quantity of bitumen, on which were two rows of bricks closely cemented together with the same material. The whole was covered with thick sheets of lead, on which lay the mould of the garden. And all this floorage was so contrived as to keep the moisture of the mould from running away through the arches. The earth laid thereon was so deep that large trees might take root in it: and with such the terraces were covered, as well as with the [...] plants and flowers proper to adorn an eastern pleasure-garden. The trees planted there are represented to have been of various kinds. Here grew the larch, that, curving, flings its arms like a falling wave; and by it was seen the grey livery of the aspen; the mournful solemnity of the cypress and stately grandeur of the cedar intermingled with the elegant mimosa; besides the light and airy foliage of the silk-tasselled acacia, with its vast clusters of beauteous lilac flowers streaming in the wind and glittering in the sun; the umbrageous foliage of the chesnut, and ever-varying verdure of the poplar; the birch, with its feathered branches light as a lady's plumes--all combined with the freshness of the running stream, over which the willow waved its tresses.--

"And the jessamine faint, and the sweet tuberose,
The sweetest flower for scent that blows;
And all rare blossoms from every clime
Grew in that garden in perfect prime."

All these varied delights of nature were ranged in rows on the side of the ascent as well as on the top, so that at a distance it appeared to be an immense pyramid covered with wood. The situation of this extraordinary effort of human skill, aided by human wealth and perseverance, adjoining the river Euphrates, we must suppose that in the upper terrace was an hydraulic engine, or kind of pump, by which the water was forced up out of the river, and from thence the whole gardens were watered, and a supply of the pure element furnished to the fountains and reservoirs for cooling the air. In the spaces between the several arches, on which the whole structure rested, were large and magnificent apartments, very lightsome, and commanding the most beautiful prospects that even the glowing conceptions of an eastern imagination could dream to exist.

THE GREAT BELL OF BURMAH.

At a temple in the environs of Amarapoora, the capital of Burmah, there is an enormous bell, which is thus described by Captain Yule:--"North of the temple, on a low circular terrace, stands the biggest bell in Burmah--the biggest in the world, probably, Russia apart. It is slung on a triple beam of great size, cased and hooped with metal; this beam resting on two piers of brickwork, enclosing massive frames of teak. The bell does not swing free. The supports were so much shaken by the earthquake, that it was found necessary to put props under the bell, consisting of blocks of wood carved into grotesque figures. Of course no tone can now be got out of it. But at any time it must have required a battering-ram to elicit its music. Small ingots of silver (and some say pieces of gold) may still be traced, unmelted, in the mass, and from the inside one sees the curious way in which the makers tried to strengthen the parts which suspend it by dropping into the upper part of the mould iron chains, round which the metal was run. The Burmese report the bell to contain 555,555 viss of metal (about 900 tons). Its principal dimensions are as follow:--External diameter at the lip, 16 feet 3 inches; external diameter 4 feet 8 inches above the lip, 10 feet; interior height, 11 feet 6 inches; exterior ditto, 12 feet; interior diameter at top, 8 feet 6 inches. The thickness of metal varies from six inches to twelve, and the actual weight of the bell is, by a rough calculation, about eighty tons, or one-eleventh of the popular estimate. According to Mr. Howard Malcolm, whose authority was probably Colonel Burney, the weight is stated in the Royal Chronicle at 55,500 viss, or about ninety tons. This statement is probably, therefore, genuine, and the popular fable merely a multiplication of it by ten."

This monster Burmese bell is, therefore, fourteen times as heavy as the great bell of St. Paul's, but only one-third of that given by the Empress Anne to the Cathedral of Moscow.

BANDOLIERS.

Bandoliers.]

We here engrave a set of bandoliers, a species of weapon much in vogue about the close of the sixteenth century. The specimen before us consists of nine tin cases covered with leather, with caps to them, each containing a charge of powder, and suspended by rings from a cord made to pass through other rings. The caps are retained in their places by being contrived so as to slip up and down their own cords. Two flaps of leather, on each side, are intended to protect the bandoliers from rain, and attached to one of these may be perceived a circular bullet-purse, made to draw with little strings. This specimen was buckled round the waist by means of a strap; others were worn round the body and over the shoulder. The noise they made, agitated by the wind, but more especially the danger of all taking fire from the match-cord, occasioned their disuse, as Sir James Turner tells us, about the year 1640.

TOMB OF DARIUS.

Among the most remarkable tombs of the ancients, may be noticed the sepulchre carved out of the living rock, by order of Darius, the warrior and conqueror king of Persia, for the reception of his own remains; and which is existing to this day at Persepolis, after a duration of twenty-three centuries.

The portico is supported by four columns twenty feet in height, and in the centre is the form of a doorway, seemingly the entrance to the interior, but it is solid; the entablature is of chaste design. Above the portico there is what may be termed an ark, supported by two rows of figures, about the size of life, bearing it on their uplifted hands, and at each angle a griffin--an ornament which is very frequent at Persepolis. On this stage stands the king, with a bent bow in his hand, worshipping the sun, whose image is seen above the altar that stands before him, while above his head hovers his ferouher, or disembodied spirit. This is the good genius that in Persian and Ninevite sculpture accompanies the king when performing any important act. On each side the ark are nine niches, each containing a statue in bas-relief. No other portion of the tomb was intended to be seen, excepting the sculptured front; and we must, therefore, conclude that the entrance was kept secret, and that the avenues were by subterranean passages, so constructed that none but the privileged could find their way. We are told by Theophrastus, that Darius was buried in a coffer of Egyptian alabaster; and also that the early Persians buried their dead entire, preserving their bodies with honey or wax.

THE GATE ON OLD LONDON BRIDGE.

Gate on Old London Bridge.]

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, a strongly embattled gate protected the entrance from Southwark to Old London Bridge, and it was usually garnished with traitors' heads in "rich abundance," as may be seen in the accompanying cut, which is copied from Visscher's view, in 1579. The bridge was at that period covered with houses, a narrow road passing through arcades beneath them, and they abutted on props over the river on either side. The bridge was proudly spoken of by our ancestors. Thus, in the translation of Ortelius, published by J. Shaw, in 1603, he says of the Thames:--"It is beautified with statelye pallaces, built on the side thereof; moreover, a sumptuous bridge sustayned on nineteen arches, with excellent and beauteous housen built thereon." Camden, in his great work, the "Britannica," says, "It may worthily carry away the prize from all the bridges in Europe," being "furnished on both sides with passing faire houses, joining one to another in the manner of a street."

EXTRAORDINARY PONDS AND FISH.

The ponds in the department of Ain in France are 1667 in number. The industry and ingenuity of man have converted the marshes into fertile plains and productive ponds, by constructing dykes from one hill to the other, for the plateaux are covered with small hills. When the proprietor of one of these ponds wishes to cultivate it, he draws off the water into the dyke attached to it. Wheat, barley, and oats are then sown, and the seed thus fertilised by the slime produces a crop double that produced by the land in the vicinity. After the harvest is collected, the water is permitted to return to its former bed, and carp, tench, and roach are then thrown into it. Some of these ponds will support 100,000 of carp, and 100 pounds of little tench and roach. In the course of two years these carp, which weighed only one ounce and a-half, will have attained the size of two pounds and a half. The fishing begins in April, and is continued until November. The increase of the fish is as one to five.

THE CEREMONIAL OF MAKING THE KING'S BED.

The following account of the old ceremony of making the King's bed in the time of Henry the Eighth, was sent to the Society of Antiquaries, in 1776, by Mr. J. C. Brooke, of the Heralds' College, F.S.A. &c. In a letter to the president, he says,--

"It is extracted from an original manuscript, elegantly written, beautifully illuminated, and richly bound, which was some time in the library of Henry, Duke of Norfolk, earl marshal of England, to whom it came by descent from Thomas, the great Duke of Norfolk, beheaded in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; who married Mary, daughter and coheir of Henry Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, lord chamberlain to King Henry the Eighth. It contains the whole duty of the lord chamberlain, and of the officers in his department; is the original copy kept for the information of that earl; and had been compiled by order of, and approved by, the King himself in council."

"_The oolde ordre of Makynge the Kynges Bedd not to used nor done, but as Hys Grace woll comaund and apoynte from tyme to tyme herafter._

"_Furste_, a groome or a page to take a torche, and to goo to the warderobe of the kynges bedd, and bryng theym of the warderobe with the kynges stuff unto the chambr for makyng of the same bedde. Where as aught to be a gentylman-usher, iiii yomen of the chambr for to make the same bedde. The groome to stande at the bedds feete with his torch. They of the warderobe openyng the kinges stuff of hys bedde upon a fayre sheete, bytwen the sayde groome and the bedds fote, iii yeomen, or two at the leste, in every syde of the bedde; the gentylman-usher and parte commaundyng theym what they shall doo. A yoman with a dagger to searche the strawe of the kynges bedde that there be none untreuth therein. And this yoman to caste up the bedde of downe upon that, and oon of theym to tomble over yt for the serche thereof. Then they to bete and tufle the sayde bedde, and to laye oon then the bolster without touchyng of the bedd where as it aught to lye. Then they of the warderobe to delyver theym a fustyan takyng the saye therof. All theys yomen to laye theyr hands theroon at oones, that they touch not the bedd, tyll yt be layed as it sholde be by the comaundement of the ussher. And so the furste sheet in lyke wyse, and then to trusse in both sheete and fustyan rownde about the bedde of downe. The warderoper to delyver the second sheete unto two yomen, they to crosse it over theyr arme, and to stryke the bedde as the ussher shall more playnly shewe unto theym. Then every yoman layeing hande upon the sheete, to laye the same sheete upon the bedde. And so the other fustyan upon or ii with such covervnge as shall content the kynge. Thus doon, the ii yomen next to the bedde to laye down agene the overmore fustyan, the yomen of the warderobe delyverynge theym a pane sheete, the sayde yoman therewythall to cover the sayde bedde. And so then to laye down the overmost sheete from the beddes heed. And then the sayd ii yomen to lay all the overmost clothes of a quarter of the bedde. Then the warderoper to delyver unto them such pyllowes as shall please the kynge. The sayd yoman to laye theym upon the bolster and the heed sheete with whych the sayde yoman shall cover the sayde pyllowes. And so to trusse the endes of the sayde sheete under every ende of the bolster. And then the sayd warderoper to delyver unto them ii lyttle small pyllowes, werwythall the squyres for the bodye or gentylman-ussher shall give the saye to the warderoper, and to the yoman whych have layde on hande upon the sayd bedde. And then the sayd ii yomen to lay upon the sayde bedde toward the bolster as yt was bifore. They makyng a crosse and kissynge yt where there handes were. Then ii yomen next to the feete to make the feers as the ussher shall teche theym. And so then every of them sticke up the aungel about the bedde, and to lette down the corteyns of the sayd bedde, or sparver.

"Item, a squyer for the bodye or gentylman-ussher aught to sett the kynges sword at hys beddes heed.

"Item, a squyer for the bodye aught to charge a secret groome or page, to have the kepynge of the sayde bedde with a lyght unto the time the kynge be disposed to goo to yt.

"Item, a groome or page aught to take a torche, whyle the bedde ys yn makyng, to feche a loof of brede, a pott wyth ale, a pott wyth wine, for them that maketh the bedde, and every man.

"Item, the gentylman-ussher aught to forbede that no manner of man do sett eny dysshe upon the kynge's bedde, for fere of hurtying of the kynge's ryche counterpoynt that lyeth therupon. And that the sayd ussher take goode heede, that noo man wipe or rubbe their handes uppon none arras of the kynges, wherby they myght bee hurted, in the chambr where the kynge ys specially, and in all other."

ORIGIN OF SANDWICHES.

To the memory of "Lord Sandwich" belongs the name of that edible. Being, during his administration (as was very usual with him), at a gambling-house, he had, in the fascination of play, for more than five and twenty hours forgotten fatigue and hunger, when suddenly, feeling disposed to break his fast, though still riveted to the table, he called to bid some one bring anything that was to be had to eat, which happened to prove a slice of beef, and two pieces of bread. Placing them together for the sake of expedition, he devoured them with the greatest relish. The most ecstatic encomiums published his discovery, and giving it his name, bequeathed it as a memento to his country, as one of the most important acts of his administration.

THE TREATY-STONE AT LIMERICK.

The city of Limerick is very famous in history. Before it, in 1651, Ireton "sate down;" there he continued to "sit" for six months; and underneath its walls the fierce republican died of plague. Greater celebrity, and higher honour, were, however, obtained by Limerick in 1690. Early in August, William summoned it to surrender; the French general, Boileau, who commanded the garrison--"rather for the King of France than the King of England"--returned for answer, that "he was surprised at the summons, and thought the best way to gain the good opinion of the Prince of Orange was to defend the place for his master King James." The siege was at once commenced. The flower of the Irish army were within its walls, or in its immediate neighbourhood; the counties of Clare and Galway were open to them, from which to draw supplies; and a French fleet rode triumphantly in the Shannon. The garrison, however, were little disposed to act in concert: the jealousy of the commanders of the French and Irish had spread to their troops; and they cherished feelings of contempt or hatred towards each other, that argued ill for their success in opposing the steady and disciplined forces of William.

Treaty-Stone at Limerick.]

Yet the Irish succeeded; the siege was raised on the 30th of August. But, in the autumn of 1691, it endured a second, which occupied about six months; when the garrison, wearied of a struggle from which they could derive nothing but glory, on the 23rd of September, a cessation of hostilities took place; an amicable intercourse was opened between the two armies; and articles of capitulation were, after a few brief delays, agreed upon. The "violated treaty" was signed on the 3rd of October, 1691; it consisted of two parts, civil and military. It is said to have been signed by the several contracting parties on a large stone, near to Thomond Bridge, on the county of Clare side of the river. The stone remains in the position it occupied at the period, and is an object of curiosity to strangers, as well as of interest to the citizens of Limerick. We, therefore, thought it desirable to procure a drawing of the relic, which retains its name of "the Treaty Stone."

THE TEMPLARS' BANNER CALLED BEAUSEANT.

When Constantine the Great was on the eve of a battle with Maxentius, we are told that a luminous standard appeared to him in the sky with a cross upon it, and this inscription:--"_In hoc signo vinces_--By this sign you shall conquer;" and that this sign so encouraged Constantine and his soldiers that they gained the next day a great victory.

When Waldemar II. of Denmark was engaged in a great battle with the Livonians in the year 1219, it is said that a sacred banner fell from heaven into the midst of his army, and so revived the courage of his troops, that they gained a complete victory over the Livonians; and in memory of the event, Waldemar instituted an order of knighthood, called "St. Danebrog," or the strength of the Danes, and which is still the principal order of knighthood in Denmark. Now, taking these legends for as much as they are worth, and no more; what do they prove? Not that this miraculous standard and cross came to the assistance of Constantine; not that this miraculous banner came to the aid of Waldemar; but they prove that such was the paramount importance attached to the sacred banner among the forces, that wherever it was present, it was a great means of inspiriting the men with increased confidence and courage, and so contributed to the victory.

Beauseant.]

The great importance attached to the banner in the middle ages is not to be wondered at, when we consider that it was a kind of connecting link between the military and the clergy; it was a religious symbol applied to a military purpose, and this was the feeling which animated the Crusaders and the Templars in their great struggle against the enemies of Christianity. The contest then was between the crescent and the cross--between Christ and Mahomet. The Knights Templars had a very remarkable banner, being simply divided into black and white, the white portion symbolising peace to their friends, the black portion evil to their enemies, and their dreaded war cry, "BEAUSEANT."

SWORD-FISH _v._ WHALES.

So boundless is the sword-fish's rage and fury against whales in particular, that many observers imagine his sallies against rocks and timber to originate in an error of judgment, that all these lunges are intended to punish leviathan, and are only misdirected in consequence of the imperfect vision which prevents this scomber, like many of his family, from accurately distinguishing forms. Whenever a supposed whale is descried, our savage _sabreur_ rushes forward to intercept his progress, and suddenly flashing before his victim, either alone or in conjunction with some other unfriendly fish, instantly proceeds to the attack. Relations of such sea-fights, attested by credible eye-witnesses, are not uncommon; we content ourselves with the citation of one of unimpeachable accuracy. Captain Crow, cited by Mr. Yarrell, relates that in a voyage to Memel, on a calm night, just off the Hebrides, all hands were called up to witness a strange combat between some thrashers (carcharias vulpes) and a sword-fish leagued together against a whale; as soon as the back of the ill-starred monster was seen rising a little above the water, the thrashers sprang several yards into the air, and struck him with their descending tails, the reiterated percussions of which sounded, we are told, like a distant volley of musketry. The sword-fish meanwhile attacked the whale from below, getting close under his belly, and with such energy and effect that there could be little doubt of the issue of a fray, which the necessity of prosecuting their voyage prevented the crew from watching to its close. The sword-fish is not less remarkable for strength than pugnacity, the depot of its great physical powers being, as in most scombers, in the tail.

WEALTH OF SPAIN UNDER THE MOORS.

The Moors, whose conquest and expulsion were attended with such atrocities, and such triumphs to the Catholic church, were by far the most industrious and skilful part of the Spanish population, and their loss was a blow to the greatness and prosperity of that kingdom from which it has never recovered. The literary activity and commercial enterprise of the Arabs, which the wise policy of their Caliphs encouraged, contributed both to enrich and adorn their adopted country. Cordova, the seat of the Ommiades, was scarcely inferior, in point of wealth and magnitude, to its proud rival on the banks of the Tigris. A space of twenty-four miles in length, and six in breadth, along the banks of the Guadalquiver, was occupied with palaces, streets, gardens, and public edifices; and for ten miles the citizens could travel by the light of lamps along an uninterrupted extent of buildings. In the reign of Almansor it could boast of 270,000 houses, 80,455 shops, 911 baths, 3,877 mosques, from the minarets of which a population of 800,000 were daily summoned to prayers. The seraglio of the Caliph, his wives, concubines, and black eunuchs, amounted to 6,300 persons; and he was attended to the field by a guard of 12,000 horsemen, whose belts and scimitars were studded with gold. Granada was equally celebrated for its luxury and its learning. The royal demesnes extended to the distance of twenty miles, the revenues of which were set apart to maintain the fortifications of the city. Of the duty on grain, the king's exchequer received about L15,000 yearly, an immense sum at that time, when wheat sold at the rate of sixpence a bushel. The consumption of 250,000 inhabitants kept 130 water-mills constantly at work in the suburbs. The population of this small kingdom under the Moors is said to have amounted to 3,000,000, which is now diminished perhaps to one-fifth of that number. Its temples and palaces have shared the same decay. The Alhambra stands solitary, dismantled, and neglected. The interior remains of the palace are in tolerable preservation, and present a melancholy picture of the romantic magnificence of its former kings. Seville, which had continued nearly 200 years the seat of a petty kingdom, enjoyed considerable reputation as a place of wealth and commerce. The population in 1247 was computed at 300,000 persons, which, in the sixteenth century, had decreased one-third. It was one of the principal marts for olives in the Moorish dominions; and so extensive was the trade in this article alone that the _axarafe_, or plantations round the suburbs, employed farm-houses and olive-presses to the amount of 100,000, being more than is now to be found in the whole province of Andalusia.

THE FIRST OPERA.

The first composer who tried his hand at setting an opera to music was Francisco Bamirino, an Italian artist; and the piece to which he lent the charm of a melodious accompaniment, was the "Conversion of St. Paul," which was brought out at Rome in 1460.

RUINS OF EUROPA.

Lady Sheil, in her "Life in Persia," thus describes some wonderful ruins which she saw about thirty miles from Tehran:--

"From near Verameen a most remarkable antiquity still survives the lapse of twenty centuries, that is, if what we hear be true. It consists of an immense rampart, twenty or thirty feet in height, and of proportional thickness, including a space of about half a mile in length and nearly the same in breadth. It is in the form of a square; the rampart is continuous, and at short intervals is strengthened by bastions of prodigious size. The whole is constructed of unbaked bricks of large dimensions, and is in a state of extraordinary preservation. The traces of a ditch of great size, though nearly filled up, are evident in front of the rampart. No buildings are found inside, where nothing is visible excepting a few mounds,--not a single habitation or human being. The solitude of this striking vestige of antiquity adds to its solemnity. It stood alone; Elboorz, distant only a few miles, gazing down on its hoary walls, with Demawend, in its garments of snow, to complete the scene. From no place have I had a finer view of this grand mountain, which seemed to lie exactly to the north. I am informed that these magnificent ruins represent Europa, a city built by Seleucus, which, if true, would make it upwards of two thousand years old. On seeing the perfect state of the ruins, and the materials of which they are composed, one feels no hesitation in crediting so venerable an antiquity. Seleucus chose the spot well. The district of Verameen is renowned for its fertility, though not at this period for the salubrity of its climate. The surrounding country is covered with earthen mounds, denoting former edifices, which, if explored, might reveal objects worthy of the erudition and intellect of even Sir Henry Rawlinson."

CELEBRATED GUN.

Gun of Charles IX. of France.]

The gun, of which the annexed is a sketch, is one of the many curiosities of the Londesborough Museum. It once formed part of the collection of Prince Potemkin, and was originally the property of Charles IX. of France; it is traditionally reported to have been the gun he used in firing on his Huguenot subjects, from one of the windows of the Louvre, during the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The barrel is richly chased in high relief, with a stag-hunt amid foliage. The stock is inlaid with ivory, sculptured into a series of hunting scenes, knights on horseback.

The dreadful massacre of Saint Bartholomew commenced at Paris on the night of the festival of that saint, August 24th, 1572. Above 500 persons of rank, and 10,000 of inferior condition, perished in Paris alone, besides those slaughtered in the provinces. The king, who had been persuaded that the destruction of the Huguenots to the last man was necessary to the safety of his throne, beheld the slaughter from a window, and being carried away by the example of those whose murderous doings he witnessed, ordered some long arquebusses to be brought, and on their being loaded, and handed to him one after another, he for some time continued to fire on the unfortunate fugitives as they passed, crying at the same time with a loud voice, "Kill, kill." He afterwards went and inspected the bodies of the slain, and expressed his satisfaction at the effective manner in which his orders had been executed.

TOMB OF RAFFAELLE.

The great painter Raffaelle died at Rome, April 7th 1520, at the early age of thirty-seven. He was buried in the Pantheon, in a chapel which was afterwards called Raffaelle's Chapel. For more than a century and a half his tomb had only a plain epitaph, but Carlo Maratti desired to place a more striking memorial of Raffaelle's resting-place than the simple inscription, and accordingly, in the year 1764, a marble bust of the painter, executed by Paolo Nardini, was placed in one of the oval niches on each side of the chapel. The epitaph to Maria Bibiena (Raffaelle's betrothed) was removed to make way for Maratti's new inscription; and it was currently believed that the skull of Raffaelle was removed; at least such was the history given of a skull shown as the painter's, religiously preserved by the Academy of St. Luke, and descanted on by phrenologists as indicative of all the qualities which "the divine painter" possessed. But scepticism played its part; doubts of the truth of this story led to doubts of Vasari's statement respecting the exact locality of Raffaelle's tomb. Matters were brought to a final issue by the discovery of a document proving this skull to be that of Don Desiderio de Adjutorio, founder of the society called the Virtuosi, in 1542. Thereupon, this society demanded the head of its founder from the Academy of St. Luke; but they would neither abandon that, nor the illusion that they possessed the veritable skull of the great artist. Arguments ran high, and it was at length determined to settle the question by an examination of the spot, which took place on the 13th of September 1833, in the presence of the Academies of St. Luke and of Archaeology, the Commission of the Fine Arts (including Overback and others), the members of the Virtuosi, the governor of Rome (Monsignor Grimaldi), and the Cardinal Zurla, the representative of the pope.

Tomb of Raffaelle.]

The result will be best given in the words of an eye-witness, Signor Nibby (one of the Commission of Antiquities and Fine Arts), who thus described the whole to M. Quatremere de Quincy, the biographer of Raffaelle:--"The operations were conducted on such a principle of exact method as to be chargeable with over nicety. After various ineffectual attempts in other directions, we at length began to dig under the altar of the Virgin itself, and taking as a guide the indications furnished by Vasari, we at length came to some masonry of the length of a man's body. The labourers raised the stone with the utmost care, and having dug within for about a foot and a half, came to a void space. You can hardly conceive the enthusiasm of us all, when, by a final effort, the workmen exhibited to our view the remains of a coffin, with an entire skeleton in it, lying thus as originally placed, and thinly covered with damp dust. We saw at once quite clearly that the tomb had never been opened, and it thus became manifest that the skull possessed by the Academy of St. Luke was not that of Raffaelle. Our first care was, by gentle degrees, to remove from the body the dust which covered it, and which we religiously collected, with the purpose of placing it in a new sarcophagus. Amongst it we found, in tolerable preservation, pieces of the coffin, which was made of deal, fragments of a painting which had ornamented the lid, several bits of Tiber clay, formations from the water of the river, which had penetrated into the coffin by infiltration, an iron stelletta, a sort of spur, with which Raffaelle had been decorated by Leo X, several _fibulae_, and a number of metal _anelli_, portions of his dress." These small rings had fastened the shroud; several were retained by the sculptor Fibris, who also took casts of the head and hand, and Camuccini took views of the tomb and its precious contents; from one of these our cut is copied.

On the following day the body was further examined by professional men: the skeleton was found to measure five feet seven inches, the narrowness of the coffin indicated a slender and delicate frame. This accords with the contemporary accounts, which say he was of a refined and delicate constitution; his frame was all spirit; his physical strength so limited that it was a wonder he existed so long as he did. The investigation completed, the body was exhibited to the public from the 20th to the 24th, and then was again placed in a new coffin of lead, and that in a marble sarcophagus presented by the pope, and taken from the antiquities in the Museum of the Vatican. A solemn mass was then announced for the evening of the 18th of October. The Pantheon was then illuminated, as for a funeral; the sarcophagus, with its contents, was placed in exactly the same spot whence the remains had been taken. The presidents of the various academies were present, with the Cavalier Fabris at their head. Each bore a brick, which he inserted in the brickwork with which the sepulchre was walled in. And so the painter awaits "the resurrection of the just," and the fellowship of saints and angels, of which his inspired pencil has given us the highest realisation on earth.

ANTIMONY.

The origin of the use of _anti-moine_, or antimony, is a remarkable circumstance. Basil Valentin, superior of a college of religionists, having observed that this mineral fattened the pigs, imagined that it would produce the same effect on the holy brotherhood. But the case was seriously different; the unfortunate fathers, who greedily made use of it, died in a short time, and this is the origin of its name, according to the pure French word. In spite of this unfortunate beginning, Paracelsus resolved to bring this mineral into practice; and by mixing it with other preparations make it useful. The Faculty at Paris were on this occasion divided into two parties, the one maintaining that antimony was a poison; the other affirmed that it was an excellent remedy. The dispute became more general, and the Parliament and the College of the Sorbonne interfered in the matter; but sometime afterwards people began to judge rightly concerning this excellent mineral; and its wonderful and salutary effects have occasioned the Faculty to place it among their best medicines.

PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF MAHOMET.

For the personal appearance and private life of Mahomet, we must rely on the Arabian writers, who dwell with fond and proud satisfaction on the graces and intellectual gifts with which nature had endowed him. He was of a middle stature, of a clear, fair skin, and ruddy complexion. His head and features, though large, were well proportioned; he had a prominent forehead, large dark-brown eyes, an aquiline nose, and a thick bushy beard. His mouth, though rather wide, was handsomely formed, and adorned with teeth white as pearls, the upper row not closely set, but in regular order--which appeared when he smiled, and gave an agreeable expression to his countenance. He had a quick ear, and a fine sonorous voice. His dark eyebrows approached each other without meeting. His hair fell partly in ringlets about his temples, and partly hung down between his shoulders. To prevent whiteness, the supposed effect of Satanic influence, he stained it, as the Arabs often do still, of a shining reddish colour. His frame was muscular and compact--robust rather than corpulent. When he walked, he carried a staff, in imitation of the other prophets, and had a singular affectation of being thought to resemble Abraham. The assertion of the Greeks and Christians, that he was subject to epilepsy, must be ascribed to ignorance or malice.

STIRRUPS.

From every information we have been able to collect, we believe that the appendage of stirrups were not added to saddles before the sixth century. It is said, that previous to the introduction of stirrups, the young and agile used to mount their horses by vaulting upon them, which many did in an expert and graceful manner; of course, practice was essential to this perfection. That this should be afforded, wooden horses were placed in the Campus Martius, where this exercise was performed of mounting or dismounting on either side; first, without, and next with arms. Cavalry had also occasionally a strap of leather, or a metallic projection affixed to their spears, in or upon which the foot being placed, the ascent became more practicable. Respecting the period of this invention, Montfaucon has presumed that the invention must have been subsequent to the use of saddles; however, opposed to this opinion, an ingenious argument has been offered, that it is possible they might have been anterior to that invention; because, it is said, they might have been appended to a girth round the body of the horse. Both Hippocrates and Galen speak of a disease to which the feet and ancles were subject, from long riding, occasioned by suspension of the feet without a resting-place. Suetonius, the Roman, informs us that Germanicus, the father of Caligula, was wont to ride after dinner, to strengthen his ancles, by the action of riding affording the blood freer circulation in the part.

THE GREAT SHOEMADOO PAGODA.

Great Shoemadoo Pagoda.]

The Buddhist temple of which we here give an engraving is the great Shoemadoo Pagoda at Pegu. Among other things it is interesting as being one of the earliest attempts at that class of decoration, which consists in having at the base of the building a double range of small pagodas, a mode of ornamentation that subsequently became typical in Hindu architecture; their temples and spires being covered, and indeed composed of innumerable models of themselves, clustered together so as to make up a whole.

The building stands on two terraces, the lower one about 10 ft. high, and 1391 ft. square: the upper one, 20 ft. in height, is 684 ft. square; from the centre of it rises the pagoda, the diameter of whose base is 395 ft. The small pagodas are 27 ft. high, and 108 or 110 in number; while the great pagoda itself rises to the height of 331 ft. above its terrace, or 361 ft. above the country, thus reaching a height nearly equal to St. Paul's Cathedral; while the side of the upper terrace is only 83 ft. less than that of the great Pyramid.

Tradition ascribes its commencement to two merchants, who raised it to the height of 12 cubits at an age slightly subsequent to that of Buddha himself. Successive kings of Pegu added to this from time to time, till at last it assumed its present form, most probably about three or four centuries ago.

PEST HOUSE DURING THE PLAGUE IN TOTHILL FIELDS.

Pest House in Tothill Fields.]

Tothill Fields, a locality between Pimlico and the Thames, was anciently the manor of Tothill, belonging to John Maunsel, chancellor, who in 1256, entertained here Henry III. and his court at a vast feast in tents and pavilions. Here were decided wagers of battle and appeals by combat. Necromancy, sorcery and witchcraft were punished here; and "royal solemnities and goodly jousts were held here." In Culpeper's time the fields were famous for parsley. In 1642 a battery and breastwork were erected here. Here also were built the "Five Houses," or "Seven Chimneys," as pest-houses for victims of the plague. One of these pest-houses is given in the above engraving, taken from an old print. In the plague time of 1665, the dead were buried "in the open Tuttle Fields." In Queen Anne's reign here was William Well's head garden on the site of Vincent-square. The Train Bands were drawn out here in 1651. In the last century the fields were a noted duel-ground, and here, in 1711, Sir Cholmeley Deering, M.P., was killed by the first shot of Mr. Richard Thornhill, who was tried for murder and acquitted, but found guilty of manslaughter and burnt in the hand.

THE THUGS.

The following account of these horribly extraordinary men is taken from Dr. Hooker's Himalayan Journals; writing at Mirzapore, he says:--"Here I had the pleasure of meeting Lieutenant Ward, one of the suppressors of Thuggee (_Thuggee_, in Hindostan, signifies a deceiver; fraud, not open force, being employed). This gentlemen kindly showed me the approvers, or king's evidence of his establishment, belonging to those three classes of human scourges, the Thug, Dakoit, and Poisoner. Of these the first was the Thug, a mild-looking man, who had been born and bred to the profession: he had committed many murders, saw no harm in them, and felt neither shame nor remorse. His organs of observation and destructiveness were large, and the cerebellum small. He explained to me how the gang waylay the unwary traveller, enter into conversation with him, and have him suddenly seized, when the superior throws his own girdle round the victim's neck and strangles him, pressing the knuckles against the spine. Taking off his own girdle, he passed it round my arm, and showed me the turn as coolly as a sailor once taught me the hangman's knot. The Thug is of any caste, and from any part of India. The profession have particular stations, which they generally select for murder, throwing the body of their victim into a well.

"Their origin is uncertain, but supposed to be very ancient, soon after the Mahommedan conquest. They now claim a divine original, and are supposed to have supernatural powers, and to be the emissaries of the divinity, like the wolf, the tiger, and the bear. It is only lately that they have swarmed so prodigiously--seven original gangs having migrated from Delhi to the Gangetic provinces about 200 years ago, from whence all the rest have sprung. Many belong to the most amiable, intelligent, and respectable classes of the lower and even middle ranks: they love their profession, regard murder as sport, and are never haunted with dreams, nor troubled with pangs of conscience during hours of solitude, or in the last moments of life. The victim is an acceptable sacrifice to the goddess Davee, who by some classes is supposed to eat the lifeless body, and thus save her votaries the necessity of concealing it.

"They are extremely superstitious, always consulting omens, such as the direction in which a hare or a jackal crosses the road; and even far more trivial circumstances will determine the fate of a dozen of people, and perhaps of an immense treasure. All worship the pickaxe, which is symbolical of their profession, and an oath sworn on it binds closer than on the Koran. The consecration of this weapon is a most elaborate ceremony, and takes place only under certain trees. The Thugs rise through various grades: the lowest are scouts; the second, sextors; the third, are holders of the victim's hands; the highest, stranglers.