Page:Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern.djvu/88

 for which the offering of the Wise Men has been a favourite subject, his account is followed. They had other names besides the above; as the “Golden Legend” says, their names in Hebrew were Appellys, Ameryus, and Damascus,—and in Greek, Galagaluth, Magalath, and Tharath ; the Greek and Hebrew, however, appear to be transposed. Hone mentions three other names, Ator, Sator, and Peratoras. There are several old manuscripts relating to their history in the British Museum, from which much of the following particulars is taken.

In the course of their journey, which lasted for twelve days, they neither took nor required rest or refreshment; it seemed to them indeed as one day. The nearer they approached to Christ’s dwelling, the brighter the star shone. Mehchior, the King of Nubia and Arabia, was of low stature; he gave a “rounde apple of gold and thirty gilt (i. e. golden) pens.” Baltazar, King of Godolie (or Sodalia) and Saba (or Sheba), was of mean (i. e. middle) stature, and offered incense. Jasper, King of Tarse and Egypt (or the Isle of Egristula), was a black Ethiop (and not Balthazar as mentioned by Bede), and presented myrrh.

The star was said to be as an eagle flying and beating the air with his wings, and had within it the form and likeness of a young child, and above him the sign of a cross. In “Dives and Pauper” is the following account of it:—“Dives. What manner sterre was it than? Pauper. Some clerkes tellen that it was an angell in the lykenesse of a sterre, for the kynges hadde noo knowynge of angellys, but toke all hede to the sterre. Some