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CITAPTER VII.
167
budded and bloomed ngain. Attracted by their sweet pollen, flights of shining boetles buzzed around them, filling the air with a melodi. ous humming, like to the inusic of the heavens. There were poola full of lotures of all colours, whoso sweet scent w:18 waftel around by gentlo breezes, and whose fruit floated on the waters in all stagos of ripeness..
“When the Queen Maia entered this forest, the trues, the inanimato trees, bowed down their heads before her, as if they woull siy, “En. joy yourseif, O queen; among, 1s, ere you proceed on your journey." And the queelt, looking on the great treux, and the forest lorely is the gardens of the angels, orderod ber litter to be stayed, that she might descond and walk. .
“Then, standing under one of the majestic trees, blue desired to pluck a sporig from the branches, and the branches bout themselves down that sho might reach the sprig that she desirel; and at that monunt, while shu yot hold the branch, her labour came upon her. Uer attendants helit curtains around her; the angels brought her garments of the most exquisite softness; and turning there, holding the branch, with her face turned to the cast, ale brought forth her 6on, without pain or any of tbe circumstances which attend that event with womwn in general.
"Tl.us was lü born, on Friday, the fifteenth day of the risth month of the year of the dog, under the astronomical sign Wissikhil." (Alabaster, p. 100).
The Chinese text makes the Indy reach her father's home, and thero spend sono time (rather inconsistently with the terms of the messago sent by Suprabuddha,) before the idea of going to the Lumbini garden is mooted. It says
"At length, in the second month of spring, on the eighth day, the constallation Kwei being now in conjunction, the king, accompanied by his daughter Mayá, went forth towardly the garden Laubiniz anxious to see the beauties of the carth. Having arrived at the garden, the queen Mayá stepped down from her chariot, adorned us we have before described, surrounded by dancing women, etc.; and so passed from spot to spot, and from tree to tree in the garden, admiring and looking at all! Now, in the garden, there was ono particular tree called a Palasa, perfectly strait from top to bottom, and it
