[25] Calcutta Review, lii. 112, 113.
[26] We are reminded by this extravagance of great King Arthur’s sumptuous
feast at Carlisle, as described by Mr. Frere (“Whistlecraft”):—
“They served up salmon, venison, and wild boars
By hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores.“Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard,
Muttons, and fatted beeves, and bacon swine;
Herons and bitterns, peacock, swan and bustard,
Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons, and in fine
Plum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies and custard;
And therewithal they drank good Gascon wine,
With mead, and ale, and cyder of our own;
For porter, punch and negus were not known.”[27] That is, the crooked. One of the other Puranas calls her Trivakra (or thrice-
deformed.)
[28] The Yoga philosophy prescribes about eighty-four postures. The one to
which allusion is made in the text consisted of sitting with your legs crossed
underneath you, and laying hold of your feet, on each side, with your hands.
[29] That is, the silent repetition of prayer.
[30] Others say in 479 B.C., at the age of seventy.
[31] A strong spirituous liquor, distilled from wine.
[32] In Rashiduddin’s “History of Cathay” we read: “In the reign of Din-Wang,
the twentieth King of the eleventh dynasty, Tai Shang Lao Kun was born. This
person is stated to have been accounted a prophet by the people of Khita; his
father’s name was Han; like Shak-muni (Buddha) he is said to have been
conceived by light, and it is related that his mother bore him in her womb no less
a period than eighty years. The people who embraced his doctrine were called
ش ش Shan-shan or Shin-shin.” The title used by Rashiduddin signifies “the Great
Supreme Venerable Ruler.”
[33] Robert Fortune, “Three Years’ Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of
China,” p. 170, et sqq.