One day, when Vishnu, to deceive Sheeva, had assumed the figure of a beautiful young female, Manmadin discharged an arrow, which pierced the heart of the formidable deity, and inflamed it with love of the nymph. The latter fled, and at the moment when Sheeva had overtaken her, Vishnu resumed his proper form. Sheeva, enraged at the trick played upon him, with one flash of his eyes burned and consumed the imprudent Manmadin, who hence received the name of Ununga. He was restored to life by a shower of nectar, which the gods in pity poured upon him: but he remained without body and is the only Indian deity who is accounted incorporeal. Camdeo is particularly worshipped by females desirous of obtaining faithful lovers and good husbands.
OLD DIAL AND FOUNTAIN IN LEADENHALL-STREET.
The above sketch is taken from an old work on astronomy and geography by Joseph Moxon, and printed by him, and sold "at his Shop on Cornhill, at the signe of Atlas, 1659." We cannot do better than give Moxon's own words with reference to the dial:—"To make a dyal upon a solid ball or globe, that shall show the hour of the day without a gnomon. The equinoctial of this globe, or (which is all one) the middle line must be divided into 24 equal parts, and marked with 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., and then beginning again with 1, 2, 3, &c. to 12. Then if you elevate one of the poles so many degrees above an horizontal line as the pole of the world is elevated above the horizon in your habitation, and place one of the twelves directly to behold the north, and the other to behold the south, when the sun shines on it, the globe will be divided into two halfs, the one enlightened with the sunshine, and the other shadowed; and where the enlightened half is parted from the shadowed half, there you will find in the equinoctial the hour of the day, and that on two places on the ball, because the equinoctial is cut in two opposite points by the light of the sun. A dyal of this sort was made by Mr. John Leak and set up on a composite columne at Leadenhall Corner, in London, in the majoralty of Sir John Dethick, knight. The figure whereof I have inserted because it is a pretty peece of ingenuity, and may, perhaps, stand some lover of the art in stead either for imitation or help of invention."
MAGNIFICENCE OF MADYN, THE CAPITAL OF PERSIA, WHEN INVADED BY THE SARACENS, A.D. 626.
The invaders could not express their mingled sensations of surprise and delight, while surveying in this splendid capital the miracles of architecture and art, the gilded palaces, the strong and stately porticoes, the abundance of victuals in the most exquisite variety and profusion, which feasted their senses, and courted their observation on every side. Every street added to their astonishment, every chamber revealed a new treasure; and the greedy spoilers were enriched beyond the measure of their hopes or their knowledge. To a people emerging from barbarism, the various wonders which rose before them in all directions, like the effect of magic, must have been a striking spectacle. We may therefore believe them when they affirm, what is not improbable, that the different articles of merchandise—the rich and beautiful pieces of manufacture which fell a prey on this occasion—were in such incalculable abundance, that the thirtieth part of their estimate was more than the imagination could embrace. The gold and silver, the various wardrobes and precious furniture, surpassed, says Abul-feda, the calculation of fancy or numbers; and the historian Elmacin ventured to compute these untold and almost infinite stores at the value of 3,000,000,000 pieces of gold.
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 (£458 6s. 8d.), or, according to others, for as many dinars (£9,250). 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 £275 to £4 11s. per annum.
The military part of the booty was divided into 60,000 shares, and every horseman had 12,000 dinars (£5,550); hence, if the army consisted of 60,000 cavalry, their united shares would amount to the incredible sum of £333,000,000 sterling.
COURTSHIP OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.