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 depôt 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 £15,000 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."