pfarit "Isore, Tsegc^/, aa3. Isijric/". 539 



but the twin trees beneath which he lay were covered with blossoms 

 from crown to foot, lilossoins fell down on him, a shower of flowers 

 fell from heaven, and heavenly melodies sounded over head as the 

 Perfec5t One passed away. At the moment of his death, the earth 

 quaked, thunders rolled, and the wife of Brahma announced the 

 entry of Buddha into Paradise. 



SAMI. — The Indians employ the wood of Sami (Mimosa 

 Stima) a species of Acacia for the produdtion of fire in their sacri- 

 fices. For this purpose they rub a stick of Asvattha (representing 

 the male element) against a stick of the Acacia Sami (regarded as 

 the female symbol), in accordance with the Indian legend which 

 relates how Pururavas, the Indian Prometheus, created fire by 

 rubbing two woods together. At Indian weddings, after the sacri- 

 fice has been made, the husband and wife take in their hands some 

 Rice (symbol of abundance) and some leaves of Sami (symbol of 

 generation). Before building a house, it is customary to sprmkle 

 the site by dipping a branch of Sami into some holy water. In the 

 same way, the Indians sprinkle the spot when a grave is to be 

 made. 



SAMPHIRE. — Samphire {Cvithmiim mavitimum) grows on the 

 rocky cliffs of our Southern shores, the name being a corruption of 

 St. Pierre. The plant, from its love of sea-cliffs, was long ago 

 dedicated to the fisherman saint, whose name in Greek (petros) 

 signifies a rock. Samphire used formerly to be gathered from the 

 cliffs at Dover by men suspended from the summit by a rope : 

 hence Shakspeare's lines in ' King Lear ' : — 



" How fearful 

 And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low ! 

 The crows and choughs that wing the midway air 

 Show scarce so gross as beetles : half-way down 

 Hangs one that gathers Samphire — dreadful trade ! 

 Methinks he seems no bigger than his head." 



By astrologers Samphire is placed under the influence of Jupiter. 



SAMOLUS. — The Samolus was a plant held in high esteem 

 by the Druids. It grew in damp places, and was only to be 

 gathered by a person fasting — without looking behind him — and 

 with his left hand. It was laid in troughs and cisterns where cattle 

 drank, and when bruised was a cure for various distempers. 



SANDAL. — The Sandal-wood of India [Santalum album) is a 

 small tree celebrated by the poets on account of its beauty and the 

 perfume of its wood, which is used as incense in temples and also 

 for medicinal purposes. In Hindu temples, the Du, or god, is, before 

 the services, anointed with oil of Sandal-wood or with Sandal dust 

 and water, and adorned with flowers ; he is also presented with Betel- 

 leaves. The Chinese Buddhists give the Sandal a place in the cele- 

 brated groves of their Paradise, and they say that the chariot of the 

 Sun is made of gold and Sandal-wood. In an Indian religious fete 



