It was not ill conceived to punish Carathis by a rite, and one of the principal characteristics of that science in which she so much delighted, and which was the primary cause of Vathek’s perdition and of her own. The circle, the emblem of eternity, and the symbol of the sun, was held sacred in the most ancient ceremonies of incantations; and the whirling round deemed as a necessary operation in magical mysteries. Was not the name of the greatest enchantress in fabulous antiquity, Circe, derived from κιρκος, a circle, on account of her magical revolutions, and of the circular appearance and motion of the sun, her father? The fairies and elves used to arrange themselves in a ring on the grass; and even the augur, in the liturgy of the Romans, whirled round to encompass the four cardinal points of the world. It is remarkable, that a derivative of the verb, rendered, _to whirl in a magical manner_ (see page 257), which corresponds to the Hebrew סחר, and is interpreted _scindere, secare se in orbem, inde notio circinandi, mox gyrandi, et hinc à motu versatili, fascinavit, incantavit_, signifies in the Koran _the glimmering of twilight_: a sense deducible from the shapeless glimpses of objects when hurried round with the velocity here described, and very applicable to the sudden disappearance of Carathis, who, like the stone in a sling, by the progressive and rapid increase of the circular motion, soon ceased to be perceptible. Nothing can impress a greater awe upon the mind than does this passage in the original. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcriber’s Note, continued: Inconsistent or obsolete spelling has not been corrected. The following changes were made to the text: Title Page: missing round bracket added (after “d. 1946”) p. 15: happy valley to Happy Valley (his design to leave the Happy Valley) p. 51: f to if (and, if it were possible) p. 75: double quote to single quote (to devolve it upon thee.’) p. 80: thyself.” to thyself.’” (so worthy as thyself.’”) p. 88: bu to but (but they are soon disentangled) p. 116: melanchoy to melancholy (a grave and melancholy air.) p. 136: marrriage to marriage (in suitable marriage.) p. 157: by to be (Heaven be thy guide!) p. 161: af to of (but an enemy of Manfred.) p. 176: H to He (He learned with indignation) p. 194: were to was (An account of these travels was published) p. 194: _Amezia_ to _Azemia_ p. 256: duing to during (during her continuance in favour,) p. 263: missing close quote added (such an explosion!”) p. 266: then to than (clearer than crystal) p. 273: ominious to ominous (this ominous preliminary) p. 281: δάημων to δαήμων p. 286: east to west (from east to west) p. 286: Delavel’s to Delaval’s (Delaval’s _Inquiry concerning the Changes of Colours, etc._) p. 292: extra period deleted (το ἡδιστον του ΕΑΡΟΣ.) p. 300: missing close quote added (y atónito estava.”)