CHAP. 9.—WHEN EBONY WAS FIRST SEEN AT ROME. THE VARIOUS
KINDS OF EBONY.
Pompeius Magnus displayed ebony on the occasion of his
triumph over Mithridates. Fabianus declares, that this wood
will give out no flame; it burns, however, with a very agreeable smell. There are two kinds [Note] of ebony; the rarest kind
is the best, and is produced from a tree that is singularly free
from knots. The wood is black and shining, and pleasing to
the eye, without any adventitious aid from art. The other
kind of ebony is the produce of a shrub which resembles the
cytisus, and is to be found scattered over the whole of India.