IIXUSTEATI0N9. 291 



eastern head-dress, called Tulipam, or turban ; and hence our name 

 of Tulip. Moore alludes to the similarity of the Tulip to the turban 

 in his "Lallan. Rookh :"— 



" What triumph crowds the rich divan to-day 

 With turban 'd heads, of every hue and race, 

 Bowing before that veiled and awful face, 

 Like Tulip-beds, of different shape and dyes, 

 Bending beneath th' invisible west wind's sighs." 



The Tulip flower, so much admired in the eastern parts of the world 

 on account of its splendour and variety, has, from time immemorial, 

 been made the emblem by which a young Persian makes a declaration 

 of love. Chardin tells us, 'that when these young turbaned swains 

 present a Tulip to their mistress, it is their* intention to convey to her 

 the idea that, like this flower, they have countenance all on fire, and a 

 heart reduced to a live coal. 



The Turks regard this flower with so much delight, that a feast of 

 Tulips is celebrated annually in the grand seignor's seraglio. Vases 

 of the purest crystal, filled with the gayest Tulips, are scattered over 

 the scene, like the stars which look down upon them for number ; gal- 

 leries, amphitheatres, and pagodas are erected, and covered with lights 

 that form garlands of emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and diamonds, 

 entwined with lights that present to the imagination the sparkling of 

 every jewel which nature has produced or art polished ; showers of 

 rose-water refresh the air, and the very tapers shed the most exquisite 

 odours : the banks are covered with carpets, whose colours are as vivid 

 as the clouds which surround the sun ; pyramids of cooling fruits meet 

 the eye at every turn, whilst innumerable birds of song, whose golden 

 cages are suspended by strings of pearl, seem to mistake the scene for 

 the arrival of Phcebus, and, being awoke by the delights of the feast, 

 mix their warbling with the melodious sounds of the instruments, 

 which seem touched by invisible musicians. In the centre of the 

 seraglio a splendid pavilion shades the Sultan, who carelessly reposes 

 on the skins of the most costly and curious animals, with all the Nobles 

 of his court in their richest robes and shawls, seated at his feet to behold 

 the winding dances of the lovely women of his court, in all the luxu- 

 rious display of their light and sparkling attire, and who sometimes 

 encircle and at others glide around the vases of Tulips, whose beauty 

 they celebrate in song and action. 



AVe are not able to discover any mention of the Tulip in the works 

 of Pliny, which induces us to think that it is not an indigenous plant 

 of the Levant, but that it was introduced from Persia and other eastern 

 parts in later days; and that it has since so naturalized itself as to 

 appear like an indigenous plant, for the climate allows the Tulip to 

 propagate itself by seed in the neighbourhood of the Levant, and it is 

 not extraordinary to find it growing wild, as it does, in the vicinity of 

 Constantinople. 



In 1554 Auger Gislen Busbequius, being at the Porte as ambas- 

 sador from the emperor of Germany, sent seeds and bulbs of the Tulip 

 to Vienna, and in his letter states, " the Turks charged a high price 



2 b 2 



