_Solomon’s Mode of Travelling._ Solomon had a carpet of green silk, on which his throne was placed. This carpet was large enough for all his army to stand on. When his soldiers had stationed themselves on his right hand, and the spirits on his left, Solomon commanded the winds to convey him whither he listed. Whereupon the winds buoyed up the carpet, and transported it to the place the king wished to go to, and while passing thus through the air, the birds of heaven hovered overhead forming a canopy with their wings to ward off the heat of the sun. Mahomet takes this legend as an historic fact, for he says in reference to it: Unto Solomon We subjected the strong wind, and it ran at his command to the land whereon We had bestowed our blessing.--_Al Korân_, xxi. And again: We made the wind subject to him, and it ran gently at his command whithersoever he desired.--_Al Korân_, xxxviii. _Solomon’s Signet-Ring._ The rabbins say that Solomon wore a ring in which was set a chased stone that told him everything he wished to know. _Solomon Loses His Signet-Ring._ Solomon’s favorite concubine was Amīna, daughter of Jerâda, king of Tyre, and when he went to bathe, it was to Amina that he entrusted his signet-ring. One day the devil, Sakhar, assumed the likeness of Solomon, and so got possession of the ring, and for forty days reigned in Jerusalem, while Solomon himself was a wanderer living on alms. At the end of the forty days, Sakhar flung the ring into the sea; it was swallowed by a fish, which was given to Solomon. Having thus obtained his ring again, Solomon took Sakhar captive, and cast him into the sea of Galilee.--_Al Korân_ (Sale’s notes, ch. xxxviii.). (See JOVIAN.) ⁂ Mahomet, in the _Korân_, takes this legend as an historic fact, for he says: “We [_God_], also tried Solomon, and placed on his throne a counterfeit body [_i.e._, _Sakhar, the Devil_].”--Ch. xxxviii. Uffan, the sage, saw Solomon asleep, and wishing to take off his signet-ring, gave three arrows to Aboutaleb, saying, “When the serpent springs upon me, and strikes me dead, shoot one of these arrows at me, and I shall instantly come to life again.” Uffan tugged at the ring, was stung to death, but, being struck by one of the arrows, revived. This happened twice. After the third attempt, the heavens grew so black, and the thunder was so alarming, that Aboutaleb was afraid to shoot, and throwing down the bow and arrow, fled with precipitation from the dreadful place.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ (“History of Aboutaleb,” 1743). _Solomon_ (_The Second_), James I. of England (1566, 1603-1625). The French king (_Henri IV._) said, in the presence of Lord Sanquhar, to one that called James _a second Solomon_. “I hope he is not the son of David the fiddler” [_David Rizzio_].--Osborne, _Secret History_, i. 231. Sully called him “The Wisest Fool in Christendom.”