The Greatest Gothic Classics. Оскар Уайльд

20. The muezzins 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 muezzin, or crier, to announce from it the hour of prayer. This practice has constantly been kept to this day.—D’Herbelot, p. 576.

21. Soliman Ben Daoud The name of David in Hebrew is composed of the letter ו Vau between two ד Daleths דוד; and, according to the Masoretic points, ought to be pronounced David. Having no U consonant in their tongue, the Septuagint substituted the letter B for V, and wrote Δαβιδ, Dabid. The Syriac reads Dad or Dod; and the Arabs articulate Daoud.

22. I require 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.—Bryant’s Observations, p. 279, etc.

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

24. ... 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, in carrying the fatal string.

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

26. Skulls and skeletons Both were usually added to the ingredients already mentioned. These magic rites sufficiently resemble the witch scenes of Middleton, Shakespeare, etc., 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.

27. Flagons of wine and vases of sherbet reposing 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, sorbitiunculæ delicatæ, consisted of various syrups (such as lemon, liquorice, capillaire, etc.) 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.

28. ... 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.—D’Herbelot, p. 366. Wraxall’s House of Valois.

29. Istakar 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.—D’Herbelot, p. 327.

30. 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.—D’Herbelot, p. 396. Bailly, Sur l’Atlantide, p. 147.

31. ... the talismans of Soliman The most famous talisman 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 Dissertation on the Languages, etc., of Eastern Nations, p. 272. D’Herbelot, p. 820.

32. ... pre-Adamite sultans These monarchs, which were seventy-two 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.—D’Herbelot, p. 820.

33. ... 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. Pocock 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.