what they signify. After ALMAMON had opened it, men entered into it for many years, and descended by the slippery passage which is in it; and some of them came out safe, and others died."-Greaves's Pyramidographia.

The living carbuncle.-P. 21.

The Carbuncle is to be found in most of the subterranean palaces of Romance. I have no where seen so circumstantial an account of its wonderful properties as in a passage of Thuanus, quoted by Stephanius in his Notes to Saxo Grammaticus.

"Whilst the King was at Bologna, a stone, wonderful in its species and nature, was brought to him from the East Indies, by a man unknown, who appeared by his manners to be a Barbarian. It sparkled as though all burning with an incredible splendour, flashing radiance, and shooting on every side its beams, it filled the surrounding air to a great distance, with a light scarcely by any eyes endurable. In this also it was wonderful, that being most impatient of the earth, if it was confined, it would force its way, and immediately fly aloft; neither could it be contained by any art of man, in a narrow place, but appeared only to love those of ample extent. It was of the utmost purity, stained by no soil nor spot. Certain shape it had none, for its figure was inconstant and momentarily changing, and though at a distance it was beautiful to the eye, it would not suffer itself to be handled with impunity, but hurt those who obstinately struggled with it, as many persons before many spectators experienced. If by chance any part of it was bro

ken off, for it was not very hard, it become nothing less. *Thuanus, lib. 8.

In the Mirror of Stones, Carbuncles are said to be male and female. The females throw out their brightness the stars appear burning within the males.

Like many other jewels, the Carbuncle was supposed to be an animal substance, formed in the serpent. The serpent's ingenious method of preserving it from the song of the charmer is related in an after note. Book 9.

Yet innocent it grew.-P. 21.

Adam, says a Moorish author, after having eaten the forbidden fruit, sought to hide himself under the shade of the trees that form the bowers of Paradise: the Gold and Silver trees refused their shade to the father of the human race. God asked them why they did so? because, replied the Trees, Adam has transgressed against your commandment. Ye have done well, answered the Creator; and that your fidelity may be rewarded, 'tis my decree that men shall hereafter become your slaves, and

* Since this note was written, I have found in Feyjoo the history of this story. It was invented as a riddle or allegory of fire, by a French physician, called Fernelio by the Spanish author, and published by him in a Dialogue, De abditis rerum causis. From hence it was extracted, and sent as a trick to Mizaldo, another physician, who had written a credulous work, De Arcanis NATURE; and a copy of this letter came into the hands of Thuanus. He discovered the deception too late, for a second edition of his history had been previously published at Frankfort.

that in search of you they shall dig into the very bowels of the earth.-Chenier.

The black-lead of Borrodale is described as lying in the mine in the form of a tree; it hath a body or root, and veins or branches fly from it in different directions: the root or body is the finest black-lead, and the branches at the extremities the worst the farther they fly. The veins or branches sometimes shoot out to the surface of the ground.-Hutchinson's Hist. of Cumberland.

They have founde by experience, that the vein of golde is a living tree, and that the same by all waies that it spreadeth and springeth from the roote by the softe pores and passages of the earth, putteth forth branches, even unto the uppermost parts of the earth, and ceasseth not untill it discover itself unto the open aire: at which time it sheweth forthe certaine beautiful colours in the steede of floures, rounde stones of golden earth in the steede of fruites; and thinne plates insteede of leaves. They say that the roote of the golden tree extendeth to the center of the earth, and there taketh norishment of increase: for the deeper that they dig, they finde the trunkes thereof to be so much the greater, as farre as they may followe it, for abundance of water springing in the mountaines. Of the branches of this tree, they finde some as small as a thread, and others as bigge as a man's finger, according to the largeness or straightnesse of the riftes and cliftes. They have sometimes chanced upon whole caves, sustained and borne up as it were with golden pillers, and this in the waies by the which the branches ascende: the which being filled with the substance of the trunke creeping from beneath, the branche maketh itself waie by whiche it maie pass out. It is oftentimes divided, by encountring with some kinde of harde stone; yet is it in other

cliftes nourished by the exhalations and virtue of the roote.-Pietro Martire.

Metals, says Herrera, (5. 3. 15.) are like plants hidden in the bowels of the earth, with their trunk and boughs, which are the veins; for it appears in a certain manner, that like plants they go on growing, not because they have any inward life, but because they are produced in the entrails of the earth by the virtue of the sun and of the planets; and so they go on increasing. And as metals are thus, as it were, plants hidden in the earth; so plants are animals fixed to one place, sustained by the aliment which Nature has provided for them at their birth: And to animals, as they have a more perfect being, a sense and knowledge hath been given, to go about and seek their aliment. So that barren earth is the support of metal, and fertile earth of plants, and plants of animals; the less perfect serving the more perfect.

The fine gold net-work, &c.-P. 22.

A great number of stringy fibres seem to stretch out from the boughs of the Palm, on each side, which cross one another in such a manner, that they take out from between the boughs a sort of bark like close net-work, and this they spin out with the hand, and with it make cords of all sizes, which are mostly used in Egypt. They also make of it a sort of brush for clothes.-Pococke.

Crouch'd at this Nimrod's throne.-P. 22.

Shedad was the first King of the Adites. I have ornamented his palace less profusely than the Oriental writers who describe it. In the notes to the Bahar-Danush

is the following account of its magnificence from the Tofet al Mujalis.

A pleasant and elevated spot being fixed upon, Shuddaud dispatched an hundred chiefs to collect skilful artists and workmen from all countries. He also commanded the monarchs of Syria and Ormus to send him all their jewels and precious stones. Forty camel-loads of gold, silver, and jewels, were daily used in the building, which contained a thousand spacious quadrangles of many thousand rooms. In the areas were artificial trees of gold and silver, whose leaves were emeralds, and fruit clusters of pearls and jewels. The ground was strewed with ambergris, musk, and saffron. Between every two of the artificial trees was planted one of delicious fruit. This romantic abode took up five hundred years in the completion. When finished, Shuddaud marched to view it; and, when arrived near, divided two hundred thousand youthful slaves, whom he had brought with him from Damascus, into four detachments, which were stationed in cantonments prepared for their reception on each side of the garden, towards which he proceeded with his favourite courtiers. Suddenly was heard in the air a voice like thunder, and Shuddaud, looking up, beheld a personage of majestic figure and stern aspect, who said, I am "the Angel of Death, commissioned to seize thy impure "soul." Shuddaud exclaimed, " Give me leisure to enter the garden," and was descending from his horse, when the seizer of life snatched away his impure spirit, and he fell dead upon the ground. At the same time lightnings flashed and destroyed the whole army of the infidel; and the rose garden of Irim became concealed from the sight of man.

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