The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Part 172

[265] "In this thicket upon the banks of the Jordan several sorts of wild beasts are wont to harbor themselves, whose being washed out of the covert by the overflowings of the river, gave occasion to that allusion of Jeremiah, _he shall come up like a lion from the smelling of Jordan_."--_Maundrell's "Aleppo."_

[266] "This wind (the Samoor) so softens the strings of lutes, that they can never be tuned while it lasts."--_Stephen's Persia_.

[267] "One of the greatest curiosities found in the Persian Gulf is a fish which the English call Star-fish. It is circular, and at night very luminous, resembling the full moon surrounded by rays."--_Mirza Abu Taleb_.

[268] Some naturalists have imagined that amber is a concretion of the tears of birds.--See _Trevoux, Chambers_.

[269] "The bay Kieselarke, which is otherwise called the Golden Bay, the sand whereof s.h.i.+nes as fire."--_Struy_.

[270] "The application of whips or rods."--_Dubois_.

[271] Kempfer mentions such an officer among the attendants of the King of Persia, and calls him "_formae corporis estimator_." His business was, at stated periods, to measure the ladies of the Haram by a sort of regulation-girdle whose limits it was not thought graceful to exceed. If any of them outgrew this standard of shape, they were reduced by abstinence till they came within proper bounds.

[272] "Akbar on his way ordered a fort to be built upon the Nilab, which he called Attock, which means in the Indian language Forbidden; for, by the superst.i.tion of the Hindoos, it was held unlawful to cross that river."--_Dow's_ Hindostan.

[273] "The inhabitants of this country (Zinge) are never afflicted with sadness or melancholy; on this subject the Sheikh _Abu-al-Kheir-Azhari_ has the following distich:--

"'Who is the man without care or sorrow, (tell) that I may rub my hand to him.

"'(Behold) the Zingians, without care and sorrow, frolicsome with tipsiness and mirth.'"

[274] The star Soheil, or Canopus.

[275] "The lizard Stellio. The Arabs call it Hardun. The Turks kill it, for they imagine that by declining the head it mimics them when they say their prayers."--_Ha.s.selquist_.

[276] "As you enter at that Bazar, without the gate of Damascus, you see the Green Mosque, so called because it hath a steeple faced with green glazed bricks, which render it very resplendent: It is covered at top with a pavilion of the same stuff. The Turks say this mosque was made in that place, because Mahomet being come so far, would not enter the town, saying it was too delicious."--_Thevenot_.

[277] Nourmahal signifies Light of the Haram. She was afterwards called Nourjehan, or the Light of the World.

[278] "The rose of Kashmire for its brilliancy and delicacy of odor has long been proverbial in the East."--Foster.

[279] "Tied round her waist the zone of bells, that sounded with ravis.h.i.+ng melody."--_Song of Jayadeva_.

[280] "The little isles in the Lake of Cachemire are set with arbors and large-leaved aspen-trees, slender and tall."--_Bernier_.

[281] "The Tuckt Suliman, the name bestowed by the Mahommetans on this hill, forms one side of a grand portal to the Lake."--_Forster_.

[282] "The Feast of Roses continues the whole time of their remaining in bloom."--See _Pietro de la Valle_.

[283] "Gul sad berk, the Rose of a hundred leaves. I believe a particular species."--_Ouseley_.

[284] A place mentioned in the Toozek Jehangeery, or Memoirs of Jehan- Guire, where there is an account of the beds of saffron-flowers about Cashmere.

[285] "It is the custom among the women to employ the Maazeen to chant from the gallery of the nearest minaret, which on that occasion is illuminated, and the women a.s.sembled at the house respond at intervals with a ziraleet or joyous chorus."--_Russel_.

[286] "The swing is a favorite pastime in the East, as promoting a circulation of air, extremely refres.h.i.+ng in those sultry climates."-- _Richardson_.

[287] At the keeping of the Feast of Roses we beheld an infinite number of tents pitched, with such a crowd of men, women, boys, and girls, with music, dances, etc."--_Herbert_.

[288] "An old commentator of the Chou-King says, the ancients having remarked that a current of water made some of the stones near its banks send forth a sound, they detached some of them, and being charmed with the delightful sound they emitted, constructed King or musical instruments of them,"--_Grosier_.

[289] In the wars of the Divs with the Peris, whenever the former took the latter prisoners, "they shut them up in iron cages, and hung them on the highest trees. Here they were visited by their companions, who brought them the choicest odors."--_Richardson_.

[290] In the Malay language the same word signifies women and flowers.

[291] The capital of Shadukiam.

[292] "Among the birds of Tonquin is a species of goldfinch, which sings so melodiously that it is called the Celestial Bird. Its wings, when it is perched, appear variegated with beautiful colors, but when it flies they lose all their splendor."--_Grosier_.

[293] "As these birds on the Bosphorus are never known to rest, they are called by the French '_les ames d.a.m.nees_.'"--_Dalloway_.

[294] "You may place a hundred handfuls of fragrant herbs and flowers before the nightingale, yet he wishes not in his constant heart for more than the sweet breath of his beloved rose."--_Jami_.

[295] "He is said to have found the great _Mantra_, spell or talisman, through which he ruled over the elements and spirits of all denominations."--_Wilford_.

[296] "The gold jewels of Jinnie, which are called by the Arabs El Herrez, from the supposed charm they contain."--_Jackson_.

[297] "A demon, supposed to haunt woods, etc., in a human shape."-- _Richardson_.

[298] The name of Jehan-Guire before his accession to the throne.

[299] "Hemasagara, or the Sea of Gold, with flowers of the brightest gold color."--_Sir W. Jones_.

[300] "This tree (the Nagacesara) is one of the most delightful on earth, and the delicious odor of its blossoms justly gives them a place in the quiver of Camadeva, or the G.o.d of Love."--_Id_.

[301] "The Malayans style the tuberose (_polianthes tuberosa_) Sandal Malam, or the Mistress of the Night."--_Pennant_.

[302] The people of the Batta country in Sumatra (of which Zamara is one of the ancient names), "when not engaged in war, lead an idle, inactive life, pa.s.sing the day in playing on a kind of flute, crowned with garlands of flowers, among which the globe-amaranthus, a native of the country, mostly prevails,"--_Marsden_.

[303] "The largest and richest sort (of the Jambu or rose-apple) is called Amrita, or immortal, and the mythologists of Tibet apply the same word to a celestial tree, bearing ambrosial fruit."--_Sir W. Jones_.

[304] Sweet Basil, called Rayhan in Persia, and generally found in churchyards.

[305] "In the Great Desert are found many stalks of lavender and rosemary."--_Asiat. Res_.

[306] "The almond-tree, with white flowers, blossoms on the bare branches."--_Ha.s.selquist_.

[307] An herb on Mount Liba.n.u.s, which is said to communicate a yellow golden hue to the teeth of the goat and other animals that graze upon it.

[308] The myrrh country.

[309] "This idea (of deities living in sh.e.l.ls) was not unknown to the Greeks, who represent the young Nerites, one of the Cupids, as living in sh.e.l.ls on the sh.o.r.es of the Red Sea."--_Wilford_.

[310] "A fabulous fountain, where instruments are said to be constantly playing."--_Richardson_.

[311] "The Pompadour pigeon is the species, which, by carrying the fruit of the cinnamon to different places, is a great disseminator of this valuable tree."--See _Brown's_ Ill.u.s.tr. Tab. 19.

[312] "The Persians have two mornings, the Soobhi Kazim and the Soobhi Sadig, the false and the real daybreak. They account for this phenomenon in a most whimsical manner. They say that as the sun rises from behind the Kohi Qaf (Mount Caucasus), it pa.s.ses a hole perforated through that mountain, and that darting its rays through it, it is the cause of the Soobhi Kazim, or this temporary appearance of daybreak. As it ascends, the earth is again veiled in darkness, until the sun rises above the mountain, and brings with it the Soobhi Sadig, or real morning."--_Scott Waring_.