Part 69
"There was now pointed out to us by the guides a very rare and curious phenomenon, and which is particularly interesting, as it has been thought, by those who hold the igneous origin of basalt, to be a confirmation of their doctrine. Nearly opposite to the West Causeway, and within about eighty feet of the top of the cliff, is found to exist a quantity of slags and ashes, unquestionably the production of fire. On ascending to this spot, which can be easily done, I found the slags and ashes deposited in a sort of bed about four feet thick, and running horizontally along the face of the basaltic precipice twenty or thirty feet. The ashes are in general observed to lie undermost, and the slags above them. They are covered with a considerable quantity of earth and stones, which all consist of basalt, are of a large size, some of them three or four feet or more in diameter, and the ashes likewise rest on the same sort of materials. What struck me here was, that these ashes and slags are entirely unconnected with any rock or formation which seems to be _in situ_, or in its original position. They are therefore, in my opinion, distinctly artificial, and nothing more than the remains of some large and powerful fire, which had been kept burning for a long while on the top of this precipice, used either as a signal, or for some other purpose which we cannot now ascertain; and that, owing to the part of the cliff on which the ashes were lying having given way and tumbled down, they have been thus buried beneath the ruins, and there remain.
"A considerable way from the repository of the ashes and slags, and to the east of the Great Causeway, is another curious appearance. Here, in the pure basalt, seventy or eighty feet from the top of the cliff, is a horizontal bed of wood coal, eight feet thick. The coal to all appearance rests immediately on the basalt below, and the ends of perpendicular basaltic columns are seen distinctly to rest on it above. The basalt is not in the least changed by the contact of the coal, nor the coal by that of the basalt. The coal is very beautiful and distinct, and in one place is seen a coalified tree, (if I may use the word,) ten or twelve inches in diameter, running directly in below the basalt.
"Within sight of this spot, and about three hundred yards to the east of it, are the beautifully conspicuous basaltic pillars, forty-five feet long, and vertical, with the longest ones in the middle, and others gradually shortening towards each side, like the columns of an organ. From this appearance they have received the appropriate name of _The Organ_.
"At the bottom of this cliff, by examining and breaking the loose columnar pieces of the rock that have fallen down, we found many fine specimens of calcedony, zeolite, and semi-opal. These occur in cavities in the basalt. Sometimes the cavity is not completely filled with the calcedony or opal; and when that is the case, the empty space is observed to be always the upper part of the cavity, while the rock is _in situ_. Moreover, the surface of the calcedony or opal, next to the empty space, is always found to be flat and horizontal, which would shew that the substance must have been filtered into its situation in a fluid state, and afterwards consolidated."
STONEHENGE,--a celebrated monument of antiquity, stands in the middle of a flat area, near the summit of a hill six miles from Salisbury. It is inclosed by a circular double bank and ditch near thirty feet broad, after crossing which, we ascend thirty yards before we reach the work. The whole fabric consisted of two circles and two ovals. The outer circle is about one hundred and eight feet diameter, consisting, when entire, of sixty stones, thirty uprights, and thirty imposts, of which remain only twenty-four uprights, seventeen standing, and seven down, three and a half feet asunder; and eight imposts. Eleven uprights have their five imposts on them by the grand entrance. These stones are from thirteen to twenty feet high. The lesser circle is somewhat more than eight feet from the inside of the outer one, and consisted of forty lesser stones (the highest six feet,) of which only nineteen remain, and only eleven standing: the walk between these two circles is three hundred feet in circumference. The adytum, or cell, is an oval formed of ten stones, (from sixteen to twenty-two feet high,) in pairs, with imposts, which Dr. Stukeley calls _trilithons_, and above thirty feet high, rising in height as they go round, and each pair separate, and not connected as the outer pair; the highest eight feet. Within these are nineteen smaller single stones, of which only six are standing. Three of the five trilithons at the west end fell flat westward, levelling also in their descent, a stone of the second circle that stood in the line of their precipitation, on the 3d of January, 1797. At the upper end of the adytum is the altar, a large slab of blue coarse marble, twenty inches thick, sixteen feet long, and four broad; pressed down by the weight of the vast stones that have fallen upon it. The whole number of stones, uprights and altar, is exactly one hundred and forty. The stones are far from being artificial, but were most probably brought from those called the Grey Weathers, on Marlborough Downs, fifteen or sixteen miles off; and if tried with a tool, they appear of the same hardness, grain, and colour, generally reddish. The heads of oxen, deer, and other beasts, have been found on digging in and about Stonehenge; and human bones in the circumjacent barrows. There are three entrances from the plain to this structure, the most considerable of which is from the north-east, and at each of them were raised, on the outside of the trench, two huge stones, with two smaller within, parallel to them.
It has long been a dispute among the learned, by what nation, and for what purpose, these enormous stones were collected and arranged. The first account of this structure we meet with, is in Geoffrey of Monmouth, who, in the reign of King Stephen, wrote the History of the Britons, in Latin. He tells us, that it was erected by the counsel of Merlin, the British enchanter, at the command of Aurelius Ambrosius, the British king, in memory of four hundred and sixty Britons, who were murdered by Hengist the Saxon. The next account is that of Polydore Virgil, who says that the Britons erected this as a sepulchral monument of Boadicea, the famous British queen. Inigo Jones is of opinion, that it was a Roman temple, from a stone sixteen feet long, and four broad, placed in an exact position to the east, altar-fashion. Mr. Charlton attributed it to the Danes, who where two years masters of Wiltshire: a tin tablet, on which were some unknown characters, supposed to be Runic, was dug up near it, in the reign of Henry VIII. but is lost.
Its common name, Stonehenge, is Saxon, and signifies a Stone Gallows, to which these stones, having transverse imposts, bear some resemblance. It is also called, in Welsh, _Choir Gawr_, or the Giant's Dance. Mr. Grose thinks that Dr. Stukeley has completely proved this structure to have been a British temple, in which the Druids officiated. He supposes it to have been the metropolitan temple of Great Britain, and translates the words _choir gawr_, the great choir, or temple. Mr. Bryant is of opinion, that it was erected by a colony of Cuthites, probably before the time of the Druids; because it was usual with them to place one vast stone upon another, for a religious memorial; and these they often placed so equally, that a breath of wind would sometimes make them vibrate. Of such stones, one remains in the pile of Stonehenge. The ancients distinguished stones erected with a religious view, by the name of Amber; by which was signified any thing solar and divine. The Grecians called them _petræ ambrosiæ_. Stonehenge, according to Mr. Bryant, is composed of these amber stones: hence the next town is denominated Ambresbury; not from a Roman Ambrosius, but from the _ambrosia petræ_, in whose vicinity it stood. Some of these were Rocking Stones; and there was a wonderful monument of this sort near Penzance, in Cornwall, which still retains the name of Main-amber, or the Sacred Stones. Such a one is mentioned by Apollonius Rhodius, supposed to have been raised in the time of the Argonauts, in the island of Tenos, as the monument of the two-winged sons of Boreas, slain by Hercules; and there are others in China, and other countries.
CHAP. LIX.
CURIOSITIES RESPECTING THE VARIOUS CUSTOMS OF MANKIND.
_Curious Demonstrations of Friendship--Singularities of different Nations in Eating--Female Beauty and Ornaments--Various Modes of Salutation--Maiden--Lady of the Lamb--Curious Custom respecting Catching a Hare--Extraordinary Ancient Custom._
Customs, Though they be never so ridiculous, Nay, let e'm be unmanly, yet are follow'd. _Shakspeare._
CURIOUS DEMONSTRATIONS OF FRIENDSHIP.--The demonstrations of friendship in a rude state have a savage and gross character, which it is not a little curious to observe. The Tartars pull a man by the ear to press him to drink, and they continue tormenting him till he opens his mouth; and when they have accomplished their object, they clap their hands and dance before him.
No customs seem more ridiculous, than those practised by a Kamtschadale, when he wishes to make another his friend. He first invites him to his hut to eat. If the invitation is accepted, the host and his guest strip themselves in a cabin, which is heated to an uncommon degree. While the guest devours the food with which they serve him, the other continually stirs the fire. The stranger must bear the excess of the heat, as well as of the repast. He discharges the food from his stomach ten times before he will yield; but at length, obliged to acknowledge himself overcome, he begins to compound matters. He purchases a moment's respite by a present of clothes or dogs; for his host threatens to heat the cabin, and to oblige him to eat till he dies. The stranger has the right of retaliation allowed to him: he treats the other in the same manner, and exacts the same presents. Should his host not accept the invitation of his guest, whom he has so handsomely regaled, he would come and inhabit his cabin, till he had obtained from him the presents he had in so singular a manner given to him.
For this extravagant custom a curious reason has been alleged. It is meant to put the person to a trial, where friendship is sought. The Kamtschadale, who is at the expense of the fires and the repast, is desirous to know if the stranger has the strength to support pain with him, and if he is generous enough to share with him some part of his property. While the guest is employed on his meal, he continues heating the cabin to an insupportable degree, and, as a last proof of the stranger's constancy and attachment, he exacts more clothes and more dogs. The host passes through the same ceremonies in the cabin of the stranger; and he shews in his turn, with what degree of fortitude he can defend his friend.--It is thus the most singular customs would appear simple, if it were possible for the philosopher to contemplate them on the spot.
As a distinguishing mark of esteem, two friendly Negroes of Ardra drink out of one cup at the same time. The king of Loango eats in one house, and drinks in another. A Kamtschadale kneels before his guest; he cuts an enormous slice from a sea-calf; he crams it entire into the mouth of his friend, furiously crying out, _Tana!_ (There!) and cutting away what hangs about his lips, snatches and swallows it with avidity.
SINGULARITIES OF DIFFERENT NATIONS IN EATING.--The Maldivian islanders eat alone. They retire into the most hidden parts of their houses; when they draw down the cloths that serve as blinds to their windows, that they may eat unobserved. This custom probably arises from the savage, in the early periods of society, concealing himself to eat, from a fear that another with as sharp an appetite, but possessing more bodily strength than himself, should come and ravish his meal from him. The powerful ideas of witchcraft, too, are widely spread among barbarians; and they are not a little fearful that some incantation may be made use of while devouring their victuals.
In noticing the solitary meal of the Maldivian islander, another reason may be alleged for this misanthropical repast. They never will eat with any one who is inferior to them in birth, in riches, or in dignity; and as it is a difficult matter to settle this equality, they are condemned to lead this unsociable life.
On the contrary, the islanders of the Philippines are remarkably sociable. Whenever one of them finds himself without a companion to partake of his meal, he runs till he meets with one; and we are assured, that, however keen his appetite may be, he ventures not to satisfy it without a guest.
The tables of the rich Chinese shine with a beautiful varnish, and are covered with silk carpets very elegantly worked. They do not make use of plates, or knives and forks: every guest has two little ivory or ebony sticks, which he handles very adroitly.
The Otaheiteans, who are lovers of society, and very gentle in their manners, feed separately from each other. At the hour of repast, the members of each family divide; two brothers, two sisters, and even husband and wife, father and mother, have each their respective basket.
They place themselves at the distance of two or three yards from each other; they turn their backs to their companions, and take their meal in profound silence.
Various are the opinions and customs of mankind with respect to FEMALE BEAUTY AND ORNAMENTS,--as will be perceived from the following prejudices of different nations.
The ladies in Japan gild their teeth; and those of the Indies paint them red. The blackest teeth are esteemed the most beautiful in Guzerat, and in some parts of America. In Greenland the women colour their faces with blue and yellow; and a Muscovite lady would consider her beauty incomplete, unless she were plastered over with paint, however prodigal nature may have been in her gifts. The Chinese must have their feet as diminutive as those of the she-goats, and to render them thus, their youth is passed in tortures. In ancient Persia, an aquiline nose was often thought worthy of the crown; and if there was any competition between two princes, the people generally went by this criterion of majesty. In some countries, the mothers break the noses of their children; and others press the head between two boards, that it may become square. The modern Persians have a strong aversion to red hair: the Turks, on the contrary, are warm admirers of it. The Indian beauty is thickly smeared with bear's fat; while the female Hottentot regrets not the absence of silks and wreaths of flowers, if she can but receive from the hand of her lover the warm entrails and reeking tripe of animals he has just slaughtered, that she may deck herself with these enviable ornaments.
In China, small eyes are liked; and the girls are continually plucking their eyebrows, that they may be small and long. The Turkish women dip a gold brush in the tincture of a black drug, which they pass over their eyebrows. This is too visible by day, but it looks shining by night. They also tinge their nails with a rose colour.
An ornament for the nose appears to us perfectly unnecessary. The Peruvians, however, think otherwise; and they hang on it a weighty ring, the thickness of which is regulated by the rank of their husbands. The custom of boring the nose, as our ladies do their ears, is very common in several nations. Through the perforation are hung various materials; such as green crystal, gold, stones, a single and sometimes a great number of gold rings, which become at times rather troublesome to them.
The female head-dress is carried in some countries to singular extravagance. The Chinese fair carries on her head the figure of a certain bird. This bird is composed of copper or of gold, according to the quality of the person: the wings spread out, fall over the front of the head-dress, and conceal the temples; the tail, long and open, forms a beautiful tuft of feathers; the beak covers the top of the nose; the neck is fastened to the body of the artificial animal by a spring, that it may the more freely play, and tremble at the slightest motion.
The extravagance of the Myantses is far more ridiculous than the above. They carry on their heads a slight board, rather longer than the foot, and about six inches broad: with this they cover their hair, and seal it with wax. They cannot lie down, nor lean, without keeping the neck very straight; and the country being very woody, it is not uncommon to find them with their head-dress entangled in the trees. Whenever they comb their hair, they pass an hour by the fire in melting the wax; but this combing is only performed once or twice a year.
To this curious account, extracted from Duhalde, we must join that of the inhabitants of the land of Natal. They wear caps or bonnets, from six to ten inches high, composed of the fat of oxen. They then gradually anoint the head with a purer grease, which mixing with the hair, fastens these bonnets for their lives.
The reader will be amused with the following account of THE VARIOUS MODES OF SALUTATION.--When men, says the compiler of _L'Esprit des Usages et des Coutumes_, salute each other in an amicable manner, it signifies little whether they move a particular part of the body, or practise a particular ceremony. In these actions there must exist different customs. Every nation imagines it employs the most reasonable ones. This infinite number of ceremonies may be reduced to two kinds; to reverences or salutations, and to the touch of some part of the human body. Modes of salutation have very different characters, and it is not uninteresting to examine their shades. Many display a refinement of delicacy; while others are remarkable for their simplicity, or sensibility.
The islanders near the Philippines take the hand or foot of him they salute, and with it they gently rub their face. The Laplanders apply their nose strongly against that of the persons they salute. Dampier says, that at New Guinea they are satisfied in placing on their heads the leaves of trees, which have ever passed for symbols of friendship and peace. Other salutations are very incommodious: it requires great practice to enable a man to be polite in an island in the straits of the Sound. Houtman tells us, "they raised his left foot, which they passed gently over the right leg, and thence over his face." The inhabitants of the Philippines bend their bodies very low, in placing their hands on their cheeks, and raising at the same time one foot in the air, with their knee bent. An Ethiopian takes the robe of another, and ties it about his own waist, so that he leaves his friend half naked. This custom of undressing takes other forms: sometimes men place themselves naked before the person whom they salute, to show their humility, and that they are unworthy of a covering in his presence. This was practised before Sir Joseph Banks, when he received the visit of two Otaheitan ladies. Their innocent simplicity did not appear immodest in the eyes of the _virtuoso_. Sometimes they only undress partially. The Japanese only take off a slipper; the people of Arracan their sandals in the street, and their stockings in the house. The grandees of Spain claim the right of appearing covered before the king, to shew that they are not so much subjected to him as the rest of the nation.
Snelgrave gives an odd representation of the embassy which the king of Dahomy sent to him. The ceremonies of salutations consisted in the most ridiculous contortions. When two negro monarchs visit, they salute by snapping three times the middle finger. Barbarous nations frequently imprint on their salutations their character. When the inhabitants of Carmena (says Athenæus) would shew a peculiar mark of esteem, they breathed a vein, and presented for the beverage of their friend the blood as it issued. The Franks tore hair from their head, and presented it to the person whom they saluted. The slave cut his hair, and offered it to his master. The Chinese are singularly affected in their personal civilities: they even calculate the number of their reverences. The men move their hands in an affectionate manner, while they are joined together on their breast, and bow their head a little. If two persons meet after a long separation, they both fall on their knees and bend their faces to the earth, and this they repeat two or three times. They substitute artificial ceremonies for natural actions. Their expressions mean as little as their ceremonies. If a Chinese is asked how he finds himself in health? He answers, "Very well, thanks to your abundant felicity." If they would tell a man that he looks well, they say, "Prosperity is painted on your face;" or, "Your air announces your happiness." All these and many other answers are prescribed by the Chinese academy of compliments. There are determined the number of bows, the expressions to be employed, the genuflections, and the inclinations to be made to the right or left hand, the salutations of the master before the chair, where the stranger is to be seated, for he salutes it most profoundly, and wipes the dust away with the skirts of his robe. The lower class of people are equally nice in these punctilios; and ambassadors pass forty days in practising them before they can appear at court. A tribunal of ceremonies has been erected, and every day very odd decrees are issued, to which the Chinese most religiously submit. The marks of honour are frequently arbitrary: to be seated, with us, is a mark of repose and familiarity; to stand up, that of respect. There are countries, however, in which princes will only be addressed by persons who are seated, and it is considered as a favour to be permitted to stand in their presence. This custom prevails in despotic countries: a despot cannot suffer, without disgust, the elevated figure of his subjects; he is pleased to bend their bodies with their genius; his presence must lay those who behold him prostrate on the earth; he desires no eagerness, no attention; he would only inspire terror.