_Page 78._ “The ārNāname of the boy was Farrukh-zād”—that is, “fortunately-born”; from _farrukh_, happy, fortunate, and _zād_, born.
_Page 81._ “An old woman beheld the Queen, as she sat alone, weeping.”—In Eastern fiction old women—and especially hypocritical devotees—are useful go-betweens for lovers, and excellent, prudent procuresses. In the present case, however, the old woman plays an unusual _rôle_: employing her sage experience and skill in reconciling husband and wife.
_Page 82._ “I have a certain talisman,” &c.—The word _talism_ is not in the lithographed text; the sentence is to this effect: “I have that which is precious, and possesses the same magical power as the precious things of Solomon, written in Greek characters and in the Syrian language”—which means, Syrian words disguised under the letters of the Greek alphabet. Among the Arabs and Persians it is a common belief that Solomon, the son of David, by virtue of a seal-ring (_Muhr-i-Sulaymāni_) sent down from heaven, had unlimited control over the good and evil spirits (_jinn_), and over birds, the winds, and beasts.[71]
The origin of Solomon’s magical signet-ring, which is so often mentioned in Oriental poetry and romance, according to Muslim legends—borrowed or adapted from the Talmudic writers—is as follows: Eight angels appeared to Solomon in a vision, saying that Allah had sent them to surrender to him the power over them and the eight winds at their command. The most exalted of the angels presented him with a jewel with this inscription: _To Allah belong greatness and might_. Whenever he raised the stone towards heaven, they would appear and do his bidding. Next four others appeared, differing from each other in form and name. One resembled an immense whale, another an eagle, the third a lion, and the fourth a serpent. These were lords of all creatures living in the earth and in the water. The angel representing the kingdom of birds gave him a jewel on which was inscribed: _All created things praise the Lord_. An angel then appeared, whose upper part looked like the earth, and the lower like water, having power over both earth and sea, and gave him a jewel with the inscription: _Heaven and Earth are servants of Allah_. A third angel surrendered to him power over the kingdom of spirits, with a jewel on which was inscribed: _There is no God but one, and Muhammad is His Messenger_.[72] Solomon caused the four jewels to be set in a signet-ring, and the first purpose to which he applied its wondrous powers was the subjugation of the demons and jinn—all but the mighty Sakhr, who was concealed in an unknown island of the ocean, and Iblīs (Satan), the monster of all evil spirits, to whom God had promised the most perfect independence till the Day of Judgment.[73] In Oriental fictions the most solemn and binding oath with Fairies is to swear by the Seal of Solomon. Readers familiar with the _Arabian Nights_ will recollect the Story of the Fisherman and the Genie (_jinnī_). A confidence in the virtue of Talismans, whether for the protection of persons, treasures, or cities, may be traced up to the earliest ages, when so many Eastern nations were of the Sabean faith, and adored the “host of heaven,” or the celestial bodies; and notwithstanding the change of religion and the prohibition of magic, even Muhammadans can reconcile to their consciences the preparation of certain amulets, after rules transmitted through the Chaldeans and Nabatheans.[74] The magic of Babylon is frequently alluded to by Muslim writers; the poets speak of the “Babylonian witchery” of a beautiful woman’s eyes; and it is believed that the two wicked angels Harūt and Marūt, mentioned in the Kur’ān (see chap. ii, and Sale’s _note_), are still hanging, head downwards, in a well at Babel, and will instruct any one in magic who is bold enough to go and solicit them. Setting idle legends aside, it is highly probable, as Sir William Ouseley remarks, in his _Persian Miscellanies_, that at Babylon the Persians learnt the arts of magical incantation from the conquered Chaldeans.