BOOK XV. ch. 21.--_Concerning the Indian Dragon.

Alexander (while he attacked or devastated some portions of India, and also seized others), lighted on, among other numerous animals, a dragon, which the Indians, because they considered it to be sacred, and worshipped it with great reverence, in a certain cave, besought him with many entreaties to let alone, which he agreed to. However, when the dragon heard the noise made by the passing army (for it is an animal endowed with a very acute sense of hearing as well as of vision), it frightened and alarmed them all with a great hissing and blowing. It was said to be seventy cubits long.

It did not, however, show the whole of itself, but only exposed its head from the cave. Its eyes were said to have been of the size (and rotundity) of a Macedonian shield.

APPENDIX III.

ORIGINAL PREFACE TO "WONDERS BY LAND AND SEA" ("SHAN HAI KING").

The Classic containing "Wonders by Land and Sea" has been praised by all who have read it, for its depth, greatness, far sightedness and completeness; since the narratives therein contained are all wonderful and different from ordinary things. Moreover, the truth or veracity of the book is a matter of doubt to nearly all men, and I therefore think it fit that I should give my opinion on the subject. It has been said by the philosopher Chuang that "the things that men do know can in no way be compared, numerically speaking, to the things that are unknown," thus in reading "Wonders by Land and Sea," the force of his remark becomes apparent to me.

Now, since heaven and earth are vast, it follows that the beings which inhabit them must reasonably be numerous. The positive and negative elements being heated by vernal warmth, produce myriads of living beings of classes innumerable. When the essence of ether combines, motion becomes apparent and generates into wondrous and roving spirits, which, floating about and coming into contact with anything, enter into it and thus create wonderful beings, whether they be inhabitants of mountain or sea, or wood or stone; yea, so numerous are they, that it is an impossible task for me to give them in detail.

The evolution of the essence of the elements generates sound, which by development produces a certain image. When we call a thing wonderful, it is because we do not know the reasons attending its origin, and what we do not call wonderful, we still are unaware why it is not so. And why? A thing is, _per se_, not wonderful, it is because we wish to consider it so; the wonder is in ourselves and not in the thing. For instance, when a savage looks at the cotton cloth we wear, he calls it hemp; and when an inhabitant of Yüch (Soochow and vicinity) sees a rug, he calls it fur or hair. The reason may be found in this: we believe only those things to which we have been educated, and anything which might not be perfectly understood by us we deem wonderful. Hence the shortsightedness of human nature. I will now give a passing remark of what is known amongst us. A place called Ping Shui (?) produces fire, while the Yen mountain produces rats. Now all men know these facts, and yet when we read and speak of the classic treating of the "Wonders by Land and Sea," we call it wonderful! When a thing is really wonderful, we do not consider it so; and what is not wonderful, we persist in considering it to be so. Such being the case, if, what should be wondered at, we do not call it so, then there cannot be a single wonder in the whole Universe; and if we call a thing wonderful which in truth is not so, then up to the present time there can be nothing wonderful. Moreover, if what is unknowable appears clear to our minds, it follows that all things on earth should be understood by us.

According to the Bamboo Annals of Chi Chuen, and the records of King Müh, it is said that when that King went to visit the Fairy Queen of the West, he took with him as gifts to her, beautiful jade stones, and the best of raw and embroidered silks; while, on the other hand, the Fairy Queen gave a banquet in honour of the King, on the banks of the lake formed by white jade stones. During the banquet they composed and spoke their thoughts in verse, and the sentiments embodied therein were beautiful. Then the royal pair repaired to the hillock adjoining the Küen Lun mountain, and roamed over the palaces of King Hsüen Yüan, which were situated there, and thence to the artificial terraces of the Chung hill, and gazed on the precious and wonderful things collected by that king. Returning to the residence of the Fairy Queen, King Müh had a stone tablet engraved recording the event, and erected it in the Queen's magic garden. On King Müh's return home, he brought with him to the Middle Kingdom beautiful wood and magnificent flowers, precious stones and elegant jades, golden oils and silver candles. In his travels, King Müh rode in a chariot drawn by eight splendid horses; the right-hand horses were of a dark colour, while those on the left hand were greenish. Tsao Fu was the charioteer, and Pen Yung, who stood on the King's right, was the body-guard. Myriads of _lis_ could thus be traversed. They went over barren wastes and over celebrated mountains and large rivers, yet none of them barred their onward course. To the east they came across the Halls of the Giants; to the west they arrived at the mansions of the Fairy Queen; to the south they crossed over a bridge composed of immense tortoises; and to the north they drove over streets made of layers of feathers. Traversing these, then, King Müh commenced his journey homeward full of joy. History informs us that "King Müh, riding in a chariot drawn by eight magnificent horses, with Tsao Fu as charioteer, made a journey to the west, in search of adventures in hunting, and, coming to the Fairy Queen of the West, was so happy, that he almost forgot to return home." These words are similar to those recorded in the "Bamboo Annals" of Chi Chuen. The classic called "Spring and Autumn," says that "King Müh was a man of vast ambition, and desired that the whole world should bear the tracks of his cart-wheels, and receive the imprints of his horse's hoof," and the "Bamboo Annals" illustrate this ambition.

The disciples of Ts'ian Chow were all eminent scholars of famous attainments, but they were all sceptical as to the veracity of the adventures of King Müh, and say that in looking over history they are convinced of their fallacy. Sz Ma Tseen also, in writing the preface to the "Records of Ta Wan," says that when Chang Ch'ien went on his mission to Ta Hsia, he traversed the whole length of the Huang Ho up to its very source, but never came across the Küen Lun mountain. Moreover, Sz Ma Tsëen in his own history also says, in referring to the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea," that, "As to the wonders described in that work, I, for my part, dare not vouch for their truth." In the face, therefore, of all these authorities, is it not a hard task for me to prove the contrary? If the "Bamboo Annals" of a thousand years ago be not taken at the present day as a truthful record of the past, then, indeed, most of the narratives contained in the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea" must be false. Now, Tung Fang Shun knew of Pe Fang; Lin Tsz Chen proved satisfactorily the existence of Tao Chea by a corpse from that kingdom. Wang Ch'i had an interview with men having two distinct faces on their heads, and a man from the sea coast picked up a dress having two very long sleeves. In carefully studying, therefore, these books, I am convinced that their stories mainly coincide with the tales in the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea." Behold these evidences then, ye who doubt, and place some credence in the narrations contained in this book.

The Sage King made exhaustive researches into these wondrous beings, and then drew their images. It is indeed impossible to hide the existence of these wonders! The "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea" was compiled seven dynasties ago (up to the Tsin dynasty), a space of 3,000 years. During the Han dynasty this book received the closest attention, and was elucidated for the benefit of its readers; but shortly after it again fell into neglect. Moreover, since then, the names of some mountains and rivers have undergone changes. At the present day, teachers and expounders are unable to explain these wonders, and hence through disuse their reasons given at an earlier age have almost sunk into oblivion. Alas, for the loss of Reason! Fearing, therefore, that it will be entirely lost, I have written the accompanying work, making lucid the points that are obscure, and erasing those that are useless; pointing out what would not be noticeable, and explaining the parts that are deep. I shall endeavour to reclaim what has almost become obsolete, that it may stand for thousand of ages, and the wonders herein recorded shall not, from the present day, be lost. Thus the works of the Emperor Yü of the Hsia dynasty will not be lost in the future, and the records of the Barren Wastes beyond the boundaries of this Empire will be transmitted to posterity. Will not this be a laudable object?

Insects that spring from grassy ground cannot soar as high as the birds of the air, nor can the living beings that inhabit the sea rise up heavenwards like the dragon. A man of medium abilities in music can never be a member of the Orchestra in the Halls of Chuen Tien, nor can the water-buffalo traverse the watery deeps to which even ships dare not venture. Hence, unless a person be of the highest understanding, it would be a hard task to converse with him intelligently of the "Wonders by Land and Sea." And I sigh because it is only the learned and intelligent man that can read understandingly the tales in this work.

KWOH P'OH, Assistant Secretary and an Official of the 6th Rank, of the Tsin Dynasty.

APPENDIX IV.

A MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY LIU HSIU, BY ORDER OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE EMPEROR, ON THE "BOOK OF WONDERS BY LAND AND SEA."

The Memorialist, an officer of the Fourth Rank and Charioteer to His Majesty the Emperor, having received commands to comment upon and make right wonderful books, now reports that an officer named Wang, a subordinate in the Board of Civil Office, had already made comments and set right thirty-two chapters of the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea," but which the memorialist has reduced to eighteen chapters. This book was compiled during the time of the three Emperors (Yao, Shun, and Yü). At that time there was a great flood, insomuch that the people had no places to live, but only in caves and holes in the rocks, and upon the tops of trees.

The father of Yü, by name K'un, being ordered by the Emperor to assuage the floods, was unable to do so; the Emperor Yao therefore ordered Yü, the son, to do so. Yü used four things in his journey around to make the floods flow away. He first cut away the trees on high mountains to obtain a view of the surrounding country; and having settled as to which was the highest mountain, and which the largest river, Yih and Peh Ye undertook to drive away the wild beasts and birds abounding in the country, and named the mountains and rivers, and classified the fauna of the country, and pointed out which was water and which was land. The feudal lords assisted Yü in his work, and thus he traversed the four quarters of the Empire, where footprint of man seldom could be found, and where boats and carts scarcely reached. He named the five mountain divisions of the Empire and eight seas that bound it. He noted where each kind of precious stone could be found, and the wonderful things he had seen. The abode of animals of land and sea, flora of the country, birds of the air, and beasts of the field, worms, the unicorn, and the phœnix, all these he fixed, and also made known their hiding-places; also the furthest removed kingdom of the earth, and men who were different from human beings. Yü divided the Empire into nine divisions, and determined upon the tribute to be given by each division, and Yih and his comrade noted which was hurtful and which was harmless for the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea."

All the deeds handed down to us of the sages are clearly noted in the Maxims of the Ancients. The work therein expressed is a matter that can be believed in. During the reign of Shiao Wu there was commonly seen a rare bird, which would eat nothing. Tung Fang Suh saw this bird, and gave its name; he also told what it would eat. His words being attended to, the bird ate what was given it. Someone asked Suh how he knew of it; he said he had read of the bird in the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea." During the reign of Shiao Hsüen, a large stone was broken in Shang Chuen, which then sank into the ground and displayed a house of stone; in the house was a man of Tao Chia, with his arms tied. At that time the memorialist's father, named Hsiang, was a Censor, and he said that this Tao Chia man was a traitor to his king. Being questioned by the Emperor how he could know it, he said that he had read of it in the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea," which says, "A traitor having killed his king in Tao Yü, he was chained and confined in a mountain, his right leg was cut off, and both his arms tied behind his back." The Emperor was much surprised at this. All scholars acknowledge that this book is perfectly wonderful, and all intelligent men should read it, and be able to speak upon these wonderful beings and things, and learn the customs of far-off kingdoms and their inhabitants. Hence the Yi King says, "In speaking of the products of the empire, care should be taken to avoid confusion," and learned men, therefore, may not be doubtful.

A memorial presented to the Throne by

LIU HSIU.

APPENDIX V.

AFTER PREFACE TO THE "BOOK OF WONDERS BY LAND AND SEA."

In the sayings of the philosopher Tso, the following remarks may be found: "Virtue existed during the times of the Hsia dynasty; drawings of all animals far and wide were made, and the metal from which the urn was made, for the purpose of engraving thereon the images of these animals, was presented as tribute by the feudal lords of the Nine Kingdoms. This urn contained the images of all manner and kinds of animals. This was for the purpose of letting the people know about their existence, so that they might avoid them in entering the mountains and forests, and the genii of the mountains and rivers. Hence the object of the classic treating on the 'Wonders by Land and Sea.'" When Yü assuaged the floods, the Emperor presented him with a red-coloured wand made of jadestones, and then abdicated his throne in his favour; on this account he ordered a tribute of metals from the feudal lords of the Nine Kingdoms, wherewith to cast the urn, on which were engraved all kinds of animals from far and wide, such as the wonderful animals and beings of mountains, rivers, grass, and wood, as well as the wonders to be found among walking animals and inhabitants of the air. Yü, when Emperor, caused the forms of these wonders to be described, how produced, and their natures; he also had them classified. When he had described those wonders, whether seen or heard of, or common or uncommon, or rarely heard of, all these he had described minutely, whereby, when the people heard of them, an exceeding fear fell on them. All animals and beings that were common in those days were described in the Annals of Yü, but such as were wonderful and rare were engraved on the nine urns. These urns when completed were placed in those parts of the empire where these wonders originally came from, in order that the people of that age might learn and see daily the things that were either heard of or seen by others.

The things brought by tribute-bearers from afar were also added unto the nine urns. Indeed, this made wonders an ordinary matter. That the people might learn these things was the idea of the sage King Yü. Hence, even though at that time all things were described honestly, still the works of that period are far deeper than those of the Chow dynasty. At the time of the last Emperor of the Hsia dynasty, the historiographer Chung Ku, fearing that that Emperor might destroy the books treating of the ancient and present time, carried them in flight to Yin. History also says that K‘ung Kiah compiled into a book all the things that were engraved on the vases and dishes from the time of Hwang Ti and his ministers, Yao and Sz. And the Annals treating on the animals described on the nine urns were due to such men as Chung Ku and K‘ung Kiah. These Annals are now known as the classic treating on "Wonders by Land and Sea." The nine urns were extinct at the time of Tsing, but the pictures and classic still existed. During the Tsin dynasty, T'ao Chang and his school of poets gazed upon the pictures of the "Wonders of Land and Sea." In the "Seven Commentaries" of the Yuen family, there is observed a case of Chang Sun Yao's pictures of these wonders. These cases may be cited as proofs of the authenticity of the wonders. At the present time, the classic treating on these wonders still exists, but the pictures have become extinct. This classic has been treated upon and commented on and made intelligent by the people that have come after it, insomuch that the names of different districts of the Tsing and Han dynasties have been made to correspond with some of the names mentioned in the "Book of Wonders by Land and Sea." Hence the readers of this book are divided into the believing and the doubting. The believers base their belief upon the fact that it was the Emperor Yü who compiled it and explained its origin. The doubtful base their doubt on the probable fact of the book having been written by people who existed after Yü, and therefore unreasonable. This is indeed a base calumny. Liu Hsiu of the Han dynasty makes mention of the book in his seven chapters treating on it. And his style of composition might be said to be very ancient. Kwoh P'oh of the Tsin dynasty in his preface and notes on this book, states these wonders. The honour of transmitting this book to posterity is due to Liu Hsiu and Kwoh P'oh; but, to prevent learners from considering that the notes made by the two scholars are of no importance, I have therefore written this preface.

YANG SUN, Of the Ming Dynasty.

APPENDIX VI.

EXTRACTS FROM "SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CHINESE,"

BY JUSTUS DOOLITTLE.

Ch. II., p. 264.

"The dragon holds a remarkable position in the history and government of China. It also enjoys an ominous eminence in the affections of the Chinese people. It is frequently represented as the great benefactor of mankind. It is the dragon which causes the clouds to form and the rain to fall. The Chinese delight in praising its wonderful properties and powers. It is the venerated symbol of good.

"The Emperor appropriates to himself the use of the _true_ dragon, the one which has five claws on each of its four feet. On his dress of state is embroidered a likeness of the dragon. His throne is styled 'the dragon's seat.' His bedstead is the 'dragon's bedstead.' His countenance is 'the dragon's face.' His eyes are 'the dragon's eyes.' His beard is 'the dragon's beard.'

"The true dragon, it is affirmed, never renders itself visible to mortal vision wholly at once. If its head is seen, its tail is obscured or hidden. If it exposes its tail to the eyes of man, it is careful to keep its head out of sight. It is always accompanied by or enshrouded in, clouds, when it becomes visible in any of its parts. Water-spouts are believed by some Chinese to be occasioned by the ascent and descent of the dragon. Fishermen and residents on the border of the ocean are reported to catch occasional glimpses of the dragon ascending from the water and descending to it.

"It is represented as having scales, and without ears; from its forehead two horns project upwards. Its organ of hearing seems to be located in these horns, for it is asserted that it hears through them. It is regarded as the king of fishes.

Proclamations emanating directly from the Emperor, and published on yellow paper, sometimes have the likenesses of two dragons facing each other, and grasping or playing with a pearl, of which the dragon is believed to be very fond.

Ch. II. p. 338.

"The sagacious geomancer is also careful to observe the mountain or hill on the right and left sides of the spot for a lucky grave. The left-hand side is called the black dragon; the right-hand side is called the white tiger. The lucky prospects, in a Chinese sense, on the hills situated to the left, should clearly surpass the prospects of the hills on the right. And the reason for this is manifest, for the _black dragon_ is naturally weaker than the _white tiger_.

Ch. I. p. 275.

"The common belief is that the dragon and the tiger always fight when they meet; and that when the dragon moves, the clouds will ascend and rain will soon fall.

"Hence, in a time of drought, if the bones of a tiger should be let down into this well called the 'dragon's well,' and kept there for three days at the most, there will, it is sagely affirmed, most likely be rain soon.

"The tiger's bones are used to stir up or excite the dragon."

APPENDIX VII.

EXTRACTS FROM THE "PAN TSAOU KANG MU."

THE KIAO-LUNG. (The four-footed coiled Dragon. The Iguanodon.--_Eitel._)

This animal, according to Shi Chan, belongs to the dragon family. Its eye-brows are crossed, hence its name signifies "the crossed reptile." The scaled variety is called the _Kiao-Lung_, the winged the _Ying-Lung_. The horned kind are called _K‘iu_, the hornless kind _Li_. In Indian books it is called _Kwan-P'i-Lo_.

Shi Chan, quoting from the _Kwan Cheu Ki_, says: "The Iguanodon (?) is more than twelve feet long; it resembles a snake, it has four feet, and is broad like a shield. It has a small head and a slender neck, the latter being covered with numerous protuberances. The front of its breast is of a red colour, its back is variegated with green, and its sides as if embroidered. Its tail is composed of fleshy rings; the larger ones are several. Its eggs are also large. It can induce fish to fly, but if a turtle is present they will not do so.

"The Emperor Chao, of the Han, when fishing in the river Wéi, caught a white Iguanodon. It resembled a snake, but was without scales. Its head was composed of soft flesh, and tusks issued from the mouth. The Emperor ordered his ministers to get it preserved. Its flesh is delicious; bones green, flesh red."

From the above it may be seen the Iguanodon is edible.

THE CROCODILE.

"The _T'o_ Fish, we call it the Earth Dragon, and have correctly written the character. It resembles the dragon, its voice is terrible, and its length is a _ch'ang_ (a hundred and forty-one English inches). When it breathes it forms clouds, which condense into rain. Being a dragon, the term 'fish' should be done away with."

Shi Chan says the _T'o_ character in appearance resembles the head, the belly, and the tail. One author says that an animal, which is identified with the crocodile, is found in the lagoons and marshes of the Southern Sea, at no fixed time. Its skin is made into drums. It is very tenacious of life. Before it can be flayed quantities of boiling water have to be poured down its throat. Another author states that the crocodile is of a sleepy disposition, with the eyes (nearly) always shut. It is of immense strength. It frequently dashes itself against the river bank. Men dig them out of their caves. If a hundred men dig them out, a hundred men will be required to pull them out; but if one man dig, one man may pull them out; but the event in either case is very uncertain. Another author states that recently there were found in the lakes and estuaries many animals resembling lizards and pangolins in appearance, which utter dreadful cries during the night, to the great terror of sailors. Shi Chan says crocodiles' dens are very deep, and that bamboo ropes are baited in order to catch him; after he has swallowed the bait he is gradually pulled out. He flies zigzag, but cannot fly upwards. His roar is like a drum's, and he responds to the striking of the watches of the night, which is called the crocodile drum, or the crocodile watch. The common people, when they hear it, predict rain. The nape of the neck is bright and glistening, more brilliant than those of fish. It lays a large number of eggs, as many as a hundred, which it sometimes eats. The people of the South appreciate the flesh, and use it at marriage festivities. One author states that the crocodile has twelve different varieties of delicious flesh; but the tail, like serpent's flesh, is very poisonous. The crocodile's flesh cures quite a host of diseases.

THE JĂN SHÉ, or SOUTHERN SNAKE. (_Mai-Teu-Shé_ = closed up (concealed) head snake.)

Shi Chan says: "This snake is a reptile (having a wriggling motion). Its body is immense, and its motion is wrig-wriggling (_jăn-jăn_)[319] and slow; hence its name, _Jăn-Shé_. Another author says its scales have hair like moustaches (_jăn_). It lives in Kwangtung and Kwangsi (literally, South of the Hills). Those that do not lift their head are the true kind; in this way they were called the 'Concealed Head Snake.'"

Sung quotes T'ao Hung King to the effect that its habitat is in Tsin-ngan (Fukien), and also Su Kung, who says that it is found in Kwéicheu and Kwangcheu, towards the south, at Kaocheu and Hoün. At several places in the south of the Hills they are still found. Hung King says the large ones (in their coils?) are several fathoms in circumference. Those that walk without raising their heads are the genuine ones. Those that conceal their heads are not genuine. Its fat and gall can be mixed together. The large ones are more than a foot in diameter and more than twelve feet long. It is a snake, but it is short and bulky. Su Kung remarks that its form resembles a mullet's and its head a crocodile's. Its tail is round and without scales. It is very tenacious of life. The natives cut up its flesh into slices, and esteem it as a great delicacy. Another says: When steeped in vinegar the slices curl round the chop-sticks, and cannot be released; but when the chop-sticks are made of grass stems (_mong'tso_), then it is practicable.

Another says: "This snake is a hundred and forty-four feet long; it often swallows a deer. When the deer is completely digested, then it coils round a tree, when the bones of the deer in the stomach protrude through the interstices of the scales.... If a woman's dress is thrown towards it, it will coil round and will not stir."

Shi Chan, quoting "The Wonderful Records," says: "The boa is sixty to seventy feet long, and four to five feet in circumference; the smaller ones from thirty-six to forty-eight feet long. Their bodies are striped like a piece of embroidery. In spring and summer it frequents the recesses of forests, waiting for the deer, to devour them. When the deer is digested the boa becomes fat. Someone says that it will eat a deer every year."

Another author says: "The boa, when it devours a deer or wild boar, begins with the hind legs. The poisonous breath of the boa comes in contact with the horns; these fall off. The galls, the smaller they are the better they are." Another says: "Boas abound in Wang Cheu (Kwangsi). The large ones are more than a hundred and forty feet long. They devour deer, reducing the horns and bones to a pulp. The natives use the dolishos and rattans to fill up the entrance to its den. The snake, when it smells them, becomes torpid. They then dig him out. Its flesh is a great delicacy. Its skin may be made into a drum, and for ornamenting swords, and for making musical instruments."

The _Yu Hăng Chi_ says: "Rustic soldiers in Kwangsi, when capturing boas, stick flowers in their heads, which when the snake observes, it cannot move. They then come up to it and cut off its head. They then wait till it exhausts itself by its jumping about and dies. They then take it home and feast on it." Compare Ælian [_De Naturâ Animalium_, lib. vi. chap., xxi.]: "They hung before the mouth of the Dragon's den a piece of stuff flowered with gold, which attracted the eyes of the beast, till by the sound of soft music they lulled him to sleep, and then cut off his head."

The _Shan Hai King_ says: "The _Pa_ snake can eat an elephant, the bones of which, after three years, are got rid of. Gentlemen that eat of this snake will be proof against consumption." Kwoh P'oh, in his commentary, says the boa of to-day is identical with the _Pa_ snake.

APPENDIX VIII.

EXTRACT FROM THE "YUEN KEEN LEI HAN."

THE DRAGON.--CHAP. I.

The _Shwoh Wăn_ says: "The dragon is the chief of scaly reptiles: in the spring he mounts the heavens, in the autumn he frequents the streams. This is favourable." Again, "When the dragon walks he is called _sah_, when he flies he is a _yao_."

The _Kwang Ya_ says: "When he has scales he is a _Kiao_,[320] when he has wings a _Ying-Lung_,[321] when horns a _Kiu-Lung_,[322] without horns a _Chih-Lung_."

The _Ming Wuh Kiai_ of the _Odes_ says the dragon has horns at five hundred years, at one thousand years he is a _Ying-Lung_.

The _P‘i Ya Kwang Yao_ says: "The dragon has eighty-one scales. This is nine times nine, nine is the _yang_ (male principle). The dragon is produced from an egg, in which he is enfolded." Again, it says that the _Néi Tien_ says: "Dragon-fire comes in contact with moisture and there is smoke, with water and it is consumed (_i.e._ a man may extinguish it with water)."

The _Fang Yen_ says: "Before the dragon has ascended to heaven he is a _P‘an[323] Lung_." The Yih King says: "When his clouds move the rain falls, and the various things put forth their forms at the time he rides upon the six dragons and ascends the heavens." "The first nine: The hidden dragon is inactive. The diagram indicates that the subtile ether is below. The second nine: When the dragon is seen in the fields it is profitable to meet the great man. The diagram indicates that virtue is extended. Fifth nine: The flying dragon appears in the heavens: The diagram indicates the great man creates." Again, "The dragons contend in the wilds, their blood is azure and yellow." Again, "Thunder is a dragon."

The Yuen-Ming-Pao section of the _Ch‘un ts‘iu_ says: "The dragons begin to speak, _yin_ and _yang_[324] are commingled"; thence, it is said, the dragon ascends and clouds are multiplied. The _Yih King_, in all the diagrams, clearly says: "The summer winds arise and the dragon mounts the skies."

In the _Yuen-Shăn-K‘i_ of the _Hiao King_ it is said: "Virtue approaches the fountains and the yellow dragon appears. It is the Prince's image."

In the "_Tso-K‘i_" of the _Hiao King_ it is said: "The Emperor is filial, the heavenly dragon bears the plans and the earthly tortoise issues a book." The _Ho-t‘u_ says: "Yellow gold after one thousand years produces a yellow dragon, azure gold after one thousand years, the azure dragon; red and white dragon is also thus. Black gold after one thousand years produces the black dragon."

The _Twan-ying-t‘u_ says: "The yellow dragon is the chief of the four dragons, the true beauty of the four regions. He can be large or small, obscure or manifest, short or long, alive or dead; the king cannot drain the pool and catch him. His intelligence and virtue are unfathomable; moreover he ensures the peaceful air, and sports in the pools." Again, it says: "The yellow dragon does not go in company, and does not live in herds. He certainly waits for the wind and rain, and disports himself in the azure air. He wanders in the wilds beyond the heavens. He goes and comes, fulfilling the decree; at the proper seasons if there is perfection he comes forth, if not he remains (unseen)."

The _Shi Ki_ says: "The bright moon pearl is concealed in the oyster, the dragon is there."

Books of the after Wei dynasty say, "Persia has three pools." They narrate that a dragon lives in the largest, his wife in the second, and his child in the third. If travellers sacrifice, they can pass; if they do not sacrifice they encounter many storms of wind and rain.

Lü-lan asserts that Confucius said, "The dragon feeds in the pure (water) and disports in the clear (water)."

Sun-k‘ing-tsz says: "The accumulated waters form the streams, the _Kiao-Lung_ is brought forth." Han-Féi-shwoh-nan says: "Now as the dragon is a reptile he can be brought under control and ridden.[325] But below his throat are tremendous scales, projecting a foot. If a man should come in contact with them he would be killed."

Kwan-tsz says: "The dragon's skin has five colours, and he moves like a spirit; he wishes to be small and he becomes like a silkworm; great, and he fills all below heaven; he desires to rise, and he reaches the ether; he desires to sink, and he enters the deep fountains. The times of his changing are not fixed, his rising and descending are undetermined; he is called a god (or spirit)."

Hwai-nan-tsz says: "The dragon ascends and the brilliant clouds follow." Again, he says: "This _Kiao-Lung_ is hidden in the streams, and his eggs are opened at the mound. The male cries above and the female cries below, and he changes; his form and essence are of the most exalted (kind). Man cannot see the dragon when he flies aloft. He ascends, and wind and rain escort him."

The _Tihing P‘ien_ says: "Wings beautiful grow for the flying dragon; hair soft like that of a calf on the _ying_ dragon; scales only for the _Kiao-Lung_. Only in pools is found the _Sien-Lung_." Chang-hang said: "How the _Ts‘ang-Lung_ meets the summer and aspires to the clouds, and shakes his scales, accomplishing the season. He passes the winter in the muddy water, and, concealed, he escapes harm." Pan-ku, answering Pin-hi, said: "The _Ying-Lung_ hides in the lakes and pools. Fish and turtle contemn him, and he does not observe it. He can exert his skill and intelligence, and suddenly the clear sky appears. For this reason the _Ying-Lung_, now crouching in the mud, now flying in the heavens, appears to be divine."

Lun-hang says, "When the dragon is small, all the fish are small; this is divine."

Pao-pòh-tz says: "There are self-existent dragons and there are worms which are changed into dragons." Again, he says: "Among the hills the _Ch‘ăn day_, called the rain master, is a dragon." Hwai-nan-tsz said: "The _Chuh-Lung_ is north of the goose gate concealed in the Wei-Ü mountain." The _Shan-hai-king_ says the god of the Chung-shan is called _Chuh-Lung_. When he opens his eyes it is day, when he shuts his eyes it is night. His body is three thousand _li_ long.

The _Shui-hing-chu_ says: "The _Yulung_ considers the autumn days as night. But the dragon descends in the autumn and hibernates in the deep pools; how then can he say that autumn is night?" It also says: "There is a divine dragon in the vermilion pools at Kiao-chew. Whenever there was a drought, the village people obstructed the upper tributaries of the pool, and many fish died; the dragon became enraged at such times, and caused much rain."

The _Kwah-ti-t‘u_ says: "At the dragon pool there is a hill with four lofty sides, and within them is a pool seven hundred _li_ square; a herd of dragons live there, and feed upon the many different kinds of trees. It is beyond Hwui-ki forty-five thousand _li_." Again, it says: "If you do not ride on a dragon you cannot reach the weak waters[327] of the Kwan-lun hill."

The _Poh-Wuh-Chi_ says: "If you soak the dragon's flesh in an acid (and eat it), you can write essays." Again, it says: "The Tiao-sheh is in form like a dragon, but smaller. It likes danger; hence it is appointed to guard decayed timber." Again, it says: "The dragon lays three eggs. The first is _Ki-tiao_. He goes ashore and cohabits with the deer or deposits his semen at the water's edge, where it becomes attached to passing boats or floating wood and branches. It appears like a walnut, it is called _Tsz-chao_ flower, and constitutes what is mentioned in the _Tao-ch‘u_ as dragon-salt." Again, it says: "Below the dragon-gate every year in the third month of spring, yellow carps, two[328] fish, come from the sea, and all the streams, with speed to the contest. But seventy-one can ascend the dragon-gate in a year; when the first one ascends the dragon-gate there is wind and rain. It is followed by fire which burns his tail, and then he is a dragon."

The _Shih-I-Ki_ says: "East of the hills of Fang-chang there is a dragon plain where there are dragon skins and bones like a mountain: spread out they would cover one thousand five hundred acres. To meet him when he sloughs his bones is like the birth of a dragon. Or it is said the dragons constantly wrangle at this place. It is enriched with blood like flowing water."

The _Shuh-I-Ki_ says: "In the P‘uning district there are the isles where the dragons are buried. Fu-loo says the dragons shed their bones at these isles, the water now contains many dragon-bones, in these mountains, hills, peaks, and gorges. The dragons make the wind and rain. There are dragons' bones everywhere, whether in the deep or shallow places; there are many in the ground. Teeth, horns, vertebral columns, feet, it seems as though they are everywhere. The largest measure one hundred feet or exceed one hundred feet. The smallest are two feet or three or four inches. The bones are everywhere. Constantly when looking for anything they are seen." Again, it says: "It is told of the Kuh mountains in Ki-cheu that when the dragon is a thousand years old, he enters the mountains and casts his bones. Now there is a dragon hill, from the midst of the hill issues the dragon's brains."

The _K‘ié-Lan Records at Loh-yang_[329] say: "You cannot trust the hills in the west. They are too cold. There is snow both winter and summer. In the hills there is a pool where a bad dragon lives; long ago some merchants rested near the pool, until the dragon became enraged, abused, and killed them. A priest,[330] Pan-T‘o, heard of it, and, leaving his seat to the pupils, went to the kingdom of Wuchang to learn the Po-lo-man incantations; he mastered them in four years, and returned to his seat. He went to the pool and invoked the dragon. The dragon was transformed into a man, repented, and followed the king. The king then removed." Again, it says: "To the west of the kingdom of Wuchang there is a pool in which the dragon prince dwells. There is a monastery on the banks of the pool, in which there are more than fifty priests. Whenever the dragon prince does anything marvellous, the king comes and beseeches him, using gold, precious stones, pearls, and valuables, throwing them into the pool. Afterwards they are cast up and the priests gather them. This monastery relies upon the dragon for food and clothing and the means to assist people. Its name is 'Dragon Prince Monastery.'"

The _Ts‘i-ti_ records say there is a well in the city of Ch‘áng-ping at the brambles; when the water is disturbed a spiritual dragon comes and goes. So the city is called the dragon city.

The _Shi-San-Tsin_ records say Ho-li has also the name Dragon Gate. Great fish collect below it, in number one thousand. They cannot ascend. If one ascends it is a dragon. Those which do not ascend are fish. Hence it is called the "Pao-sai-lung-man." (Great carp ascend the dragon gate and become dragons; those which do not ascend prick the forehead and strike the cheek.) Again, it says: "The Lung-sheu mountains are sixty _li_ long; the head enters the Wei waters, the tail extends to the Fan streams. This head is two hundred feet high; his tail descends gradually to a height of fifty or sixty feet. It is said that long ago a strange dragon came out from south of the mountains to drink the Wei waters. The road he travelled became mountain. Hence the name."

The _Kiao-Cheu-Kí_ says: "In Kiao-chi at Fung-ki-hien there is a dyke with a dragon gate; the water is one hundred fathoms deep. Great fish ascend this gate and become dragons. Those which cannot pass, strike the cheek and puncture the forehead, until the blood flows. This water is continually like the Vermilion pool."

The annals of Hwa-yang say: "Only at Wu-ch‘ing district does the earth meet the gate of heaven; the dragon which mounts to heaven and does not reach it, falls dead to this place, hence when excavating you find dragon-bones."

The _I-Tung-Chi_ says: "Twenty _li_ west of Lin-fung-hien is a stone dragon, among the cliffs is a rock like a dragon. In a year of drought wash it, and it rains." Again, it says: "At Yen-T‘ang there is a pond called Smoky Pond; it is north-east of the city ten _li_. Its depth has never been ascertained. It is reported that long ago a man caught a white eel, and was about to cook it, when an old man said, 'This is the dragon of the river Siang; I fear calamity will follow.' The man was angry, and, regarding the words as vain, proceeded. The next day the whole village was submerged."

The _Kwoh-Shi-Pu_ says: "At the time of the spring rains the carp springs through the dragon gate and becomes transformed. At the present time, in Fan-cheu of Shansi, there is a cave in the mountains; in it are many cast bones and horns of dragons. They are collected for medicine, and are of five colours. It is recorded in the _Chw‘en_ that north of the Wu-t'ai hills, below the terrace, is Azure Dragon Pool, about one-third of an acre in extent. The Buddhist books say five hundred evil dragons are confined (here). Whenever it is mid-day a thick mist gradually arises. A pure priest and candidates for the priesthood may see it. If a nun or females approach then there is great thunder, lightning, and tempest. If they come near the pool, he certainly will belch forth poisonous breath and they will die at once. Foreigners say that in Piolosz there is a spiritual dragon which goes and comes among the granaries. When a servant comes for rice the dragon vanishes. If the servant comes constantly for rice the dragon does not suffer it. If there is no rice in the granaries, the servant worships the dragon, and the granaries are filled."

_Yuin-Chu-Tsih_ records: "If one sees a dragon's egg in the lake or river there will certainly be a flood."

The _Nan-Pu-Sin-Shu_ says: "The dragon's disposition is ferocious, and he fears bees'-wax, loves jade, and the King-ts‘ing delight to eat the flesh of cooked sparrows. For this reason men who eat sparrows do not cross the sea."

The _Pah-mung-so-yen_ says: "The perverse dragon, when rain is wanted, sneaks away into old trees or into the beams of houses. The thunder god pulls him out."

_Wu-ch‘ăn-tsah-ch‘ao_ says: "There is a great dragon which sloughed his skin on the brink of the Great Lake. Insects come out from his scaly armour. Instantly they are transformed into dragon-flies of a red colour. If men gather them they get fever and ague. If men now-a-days see these red dragon-flies they call them dragon-armour, also dragons' grandsons, and are unwilling to hurt them."

_Pi-shu-suh-hwa_ says: "In Suh-chan and Hang-cheu the twentieth day of the fifth month is called the day of the separation of the dragons. Therefore, in the fifth and sixth months, whenever there is thunder, and the clouds crowd together, if they see a tail bent down, and stretching to earth from among the clouds, moving like a serpent, they say, 'The dragon is suspended.'"

Tsu-tz say: "The spiritual dragon leaves the water and dwells in the dry place, and the mole, crickets, and ants annoy him."

Kung Sun Hung replied to Tung Fang Shoh, saying: "Before the dragon has ascended he is of a sort with fish and turtles; after he has ascended the heavens his scales cannot be seen."

Siu Tsung Yuen answered an inquirer, saying: "The _Kiao-Lung_ ascends to the heavenly fountain. He pervades the six regions (North, South, East, West, Above, Below). He moistens all things. Shrimps and the leech cannot depart one foot from the water."

The _Shwoh-Wan_ says: "The _Kiao_ belongs to the dragon species. When a fish attains three thousand six hundred [years ?] it becomes a _Kiao_; on attaining this much the dragon flies away." Again, it says: "[Dragons] without horns are _Kiao_."

The _P'i-Ya_ says: "The _Kiao's_ bones are green, and they can bring their heads and tails together and constrict anything; hence they are called _Kiao_. A popular name for them is 'the horse's lasso.'" Another author says the _Kiao's_ tail has fleshy rings; they are able to compress any creature, and then tear it with the head.

The _Shuh-I-Ki_ says the eye-brows of a _Kiao_ unite, and their uniting is a proof that it is a _Kiao_.

The _Siang-Shu_ (Book of Physiognomy) says that when the eye-brows unite the epithet _Kiao_ is applied, because the _Kiao Shăn_ has crossed eye-brows.

The _Yueh-kiu_ (Divisions of Seasons) says that the season of autumn is unfavourable to the _Kiao_.

The _Kia-Yü_ (Family Discourses) says that if a stream contains fish, then no _Kiao_ will stay in it.

Hwai-nan-tsze says that no two _Kiao_ will dwell in one pool.

The _Shan-Hai-King_ says the _Kiao_ is like a dragon and snake, with a small head and fine neck. The neck has white ornamentations on it. The girth (?) is five cubits; the eggs of the capacity of three catties; and it can swallow a man.

APPENDIX IX.

APPENDIX TO THE CHAPTER ON THE SEA-SERPENT.

THE SHAN.[331]

"The _Shăn_ belongs to the snake species."

"The _Tsah Ping Shu_ (Work on Military Science) says: 'In drilling an army,[332] when you arrange it like the _Shăn_ expelling its breath, its appearance is like that of a snake, but the waist is large; below there are scales, running backwards.'

"One says that its form is like that of the Ch‘i-lung, which has ears and horns and a mane of a red colour. When it exhales its breath, it forms a cloud just like a palace or tower, looking as if its walls are moving in a cloud of mist, or like a weary bird flying above. This makes everyone feel very happy until the exhalation or snorting of the breath is finished.

"There is a popular saying about building a _Shăn_ tower. When the sky appears to rain you can see a resemblance of it.

"The _Shi-Ki_ (Book of Odes or Classical Poetry) uses the expression, 'The _Shăn's_ breath forms a tower'; it is in allusion to this.

"At the present day it is said that the _Chi_ (a pheasant or francolin[333]) and the snake copulate and produce the _Shăn_.

"The oily substance of _Shăn_ combined with wax makes the Chinese wax candles, the fragrance of which, when burning, can be recognized for one hundred feet in all directions; and the smoke emitted from the flame forms the appearance of a tower."

"The _Pih T‘an_ (Familiar Stories) says that at Tang-cheu (in Shantung), in the midst of the sea, there are often clouds arise and appear like the imperial palace, or towers of the city walls, and there is also an appearance of people, carriages, and horses busily engaged [mirage?]. They call this phenomenon 'the market of the sea,' while others say it is but the breath of the _Shăn Kiao_.

"The _Wu Léi Siang Kan Chi_ says the _Shăn_ is but another sort of dragon, and can be found in some of the ponds and wells. They throw out the air, forming rain as in the locality of Wu San Yin.

"The _P‘i Ya Kwang Yao_ says, when a snake transforms it becomes a _shăn_, in the likeness of the _Kiao_, but without paws."

SECTION II.

"The twelfth chapter of _Ching Kiün Chw'en_ says that Hü Ching Kiün, author of the above book, met a youth, quite handsome in his apparel. The youth pretended to be very modest, Hu Kiün knowing all the time that he was a _Kiao_ in another form. So he told his followers, 'I regret to think that the province of Kiang-si will often meet with the misfortune of inundation if we do not exterminate that _Kiao Shăn_, and are not careful to prevent its escape.' But the _Shăn_ knew what Hu Kiün was saying, and gradually slipped away to a place called Sung-sha-cheu, where he transformed himself into a yellow ox. But at the same time Ching Kiün also transformed himself into a black ox, tying a handkerchief over his neck to distinguish him from the other ox, and ordered his disciple, Shi Tai Yu, to use his sword, and thrust at the left thigh, because he had entered within the city wall, in the western part of which there is a well. By jumping this well he found a road to Tau-cheu, and once more transformed himself into a handsome youth, and by so doing got married to the daughter of a magistrate called Ku Yu, with plenty of jewels and gold. Then Ching came to see Ku Yu and said, 'I hear that you have a very noble son-in-law. May I see him?' Ku answered 'Yes,' and told him to come out. But he excused himself upon account of sickness, and hid himself. Then Ching Kiün, saying, 'The dangerous things of the rivers and the lake are old devils, and they dare to transform themselves into human beings,' ordered the son-in-law to transform himself into his original form, and hid himself beneath the table. Then the magistrate said, 'Kill this,' and they did so. Then Kiun sprinkled water on the two sons, and they were immediately transformed into _Shăn_. [There must be children born from the marriage.--_Translator._] He advised Ku Yu that he must put them away immediately, or the whole house would be in danger of breaking."

"The _Tai Ping Kwang Ki_ says that the lake of Wan Tun, at Fì Chi, contains a _Shăn_ which often fought with the _Shăn_ of Lake Su. Near this lake is a place called Yao, where there lived a man called Ch‘ang Sing Shan, of great bravery, and an expert archer. He once dreamed that a _Shăn_ snake was transformed into a Taouist, and then it said to him: 'I am endangered by the _Shăn_ of the lake of Lu. Can your honour assist me? if so I will reward you heavily. The tight white chain is me.' Next day Sing Shan went with a youth of Yao to the shore of the lake and dreamed. He waited until the waves rose and the surf struck the shore, making a noise like thunder. He saw two oxen coming, one with a white belly and legs; then Sing Shan discharged an arrow at it, and it turned out to be a _Shăn_. The water immediately turned into blood, and the _Shăn_, after receiving the wound, tried to return to the lake of Lu, but died before it reached there."

_Kang Hi Dictionary._

"The _Shăn Kiao_ belongs to the _Kiao_ species, and also has the appearance of a snake. It has horns like a dragon; the mane is red below the waist; all the scales are projecting. It eats swallows, and can emit an air which appears like a tower.

"Again, any turtle when old enough may be called a _Shăn_."

LONDON: PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN AND CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. S.W.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] This tributary offering is a common feature in dragon legends. A good example is that given by El Edrisi in his history of the dragon destroyed by Alexander the Great in the island of Mostachin (one of the Canaries?).

[2] The latest writer on this point summarizes his views, in his opening remarks, as follows:--"The science of heraldry has faithfully preserved to modern times various phases of some of those remarkable legends which, based upon a study of natural phenomena, exhibit the process whereby the greater part of mythology has come into existence. Thus we find the solar gryphon, the solar phœnix, a demi-eagle displayed issuing from flames of fire; the solar lion and the lunar unicorn, which two latter noble creatures now harmoniously support the royal arms. I propose in the following pages to examine the myth of the unicorn, the wild, white, fierce, chaste, moon, whose two horns, unlike those of mortal creatures, are indissolubly twisted into one; the creature that endlessly fights with the lion to gain the crown or summit of heaven, which neither may retain, and whose brilliant horn drives away the darkness and evil of the night even as we find in the myth, that Venym is defended by the horn of the unicorn."--_The Unicorn; a Mythological Investigation._ Robert Brown, jun., F.S.A. London, 1881.

[3] "The midgard or world-serpent we have already become tolerably well acquainted with, and recognise in him the wild tumultuous sea. Thor contended with him; he got him on his hook, but did not succeed in killing him. We also remember how Thor tried to lift him in the form of a cat. The North abounds in stories about the sea-serpent, which are nothing but variations of the original myths of the Eddas. Odin cast him into the sea, where he shall remain until he is conquered by Thor in Ragnarok."--_Norse Mythology_, p. 387. R. B. Anderson, Chicago, 1879.

[4] _Vide_ Anderson.

[5] Just as even the greatest masters of fiction adapt but do not originate. Harold Skimpole and Wilkins Micawber sat unconsciously for their portraits in real life, and the most charming characters and fertile plots produced by that most prolific of all writers, A. Dumas, are mere elaborations of people and incidents with which historical memoirs provided him.

[6] _Atlantis; the Antediluvian World._ J. Donelly, New York, 1882. The author has amassed, with untiring labour, a large amount of evidence to prove that the island of Atlantis, in place of being a myth or fable of Plato, really once existed; was the source of all modern arts and civilization; and was destroyed in a catastrophe which he identifies with the Biblical Deluge.

[7] So also, Father Stanislaus Arlet, of the Society of Jesus, writing to the General of the Society in 1698 respecting a new Mission in Peru, and speaking of a Peruvian tribe calling themselves Canisian, says: "Having never before seen horses, or men resembling us in colour and dress, the astonishment they showed at our first appearance among them was a very pleasing spectacle to us, the sight of us terrifying them to such a degree that the bows and arrows fell from their hand; imagining, as they afterwards owned, that the man, his hat, his clothes, and the horse he rode upon, composed but one animal."

[8] _The Voyages and Adventures of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto_, done into English by H. C. Gent, London, 1653, p. 109. The vindication of Pinto's reputation for veracity will doubtless one day be, to a great extent, effected, for although his interesting narrative is undoubtedly embroidered with a rich tissue of falsity, due apparently to an exaggerated credulity upon his part, and systematic deception upon that of his Chinese informants, he certainly is undeserving of the wholesale condemnation of which Congreve was the reflex when he made Foresight, addressing Sir Sampson Legend, say: "Thou modern Mandeville, Ferdinand Mendez Pinto was but a type of thee, thou liar of the first magnitude."--_Love for Love_, Act. 2, Scene 1. There are many points in his narrative which are corroborated by history and the accounts of other voyages; and it must be remembered that, although the major part of the names of places and persons which he gives are now unrecognisable, yet this may be due to alterations from the lapse of time, and from the difficulty of recognising the true original Chinese or Japanese word under those produced by the foreign mode of transliteration in vogue in those days. Thus the Port Liampoo of Pinto is now and has been for many years past only known as Ningpo, the first name being a term of convenience, used by the early Portuguese voyagers, and long since abandoned. Just as the wonderful Quinsay of Marco Polo (still known by that name in Pinto's time) has been only successfully identified (with Hangchow-fu) through the antiquarian research of Colonel Yule. So also the titles of Chaems, Tutons, Chumbins, Aytons, Anchacy's, which Pinto refers to (p. 108), are only with difficulty recognisable in those respectively of Tsi‘ang (a Manchu governor), Tu-tung (Lieutenant-General), Tsung-ping (Brigadier-General), Tao-tai [??] (Intendant of Circuit) and Ngan-ch‘a She-sze (Provincial Judge), as rendered by the modern sinologue Mayers in his Essay on the Chinese Government, Shanghai, 1878. The incidental references to the country, people, habits, and products, contained in the chapter describing his passage in captivity from Nanquin to Pequin are true to nature, and the apparently obviously untruthful statement which he makes of the employment by the King of Tartary of thousands of rhinoceri both as beasts of burthen and articles of food (p. 158) is explicable, I think, on the supposition that some confusion has arisen, either in translation or transcription, between rhinoceros and camel. Anyone who has seen the long strings of camels wending their way to Pekin from the various northern roads through the passes into Mongolia, would readily believe that a large transport corps of them could easily be amassed by a despotic monarch; while the vast numbers of troops to which Pinto makes reference are confirmed by more or less authentic histories.

[9] "I was myself an eye-witness of two such discoveries and helped to gather the articles together. The slanderers have long since been silenced, who were not ashamed to charge the discoverer with an imposture."--Prof. Virchow, in Appendix I. to Schliemann's _Ilios_. Murray, 1880.

[10] "But ask them to credit an electric telegram, to understand a steam-engine, to acknowledge the microscopic revelations spread out before their eyes, to put faith in the Atlantic cable or the East India House, and they will tell you that you are a barbarian with blue eyes, a fan kwai, and a sayer of that which is not. The dragon and the phœnix are true, but the rotifer and the message, the sixty miles an hour, the cable, and the captive kings are false."--_Household Words_, October 30th, 1855.

[11] Address delivered to the Biological Section of the British Association. Glasgow, 1876.

[12] In 1854 a communication from the Torquay Natural History Society, confirming previous accounts by Mr. Goodwin Austen, Mr. Vivian, and the Rev. Mr. McEnery, "that worked flints occurred in Kents Hole with remains of extinct species," was rejected as too improbable for publication.

[13] "She is set down a thorough heretic, not at all to be believed, a manufacturer of unsound natural history, an inventor of false facts in science."--Gosse, _Romance of Nat. Hist._, 2nd Series, p. 227.

[14] _Pop. Sci. Monthly_, No. 60, April 1877.

[15] "By the kindness of my friend, Mr. Bartlett, I have been enabled to examine a most beautiful Japanese carving in ivory, said to be one hundred and fifty years old, and called by the Japanese _net suke_ or _togle_. These togles are handed down from one generation to the next, and they record any remarkable event that happens to any member of a family. This carving is an inch and a half long, and about as big as a walnut. It represents a lady in a quasi-leaning attitude, and at first sight it is difficult to perceive what she is doing; but after a while the details come out magnificently. The unfortunate lady has been seized by an octopus when bathing--for the lady wears a bathing-dress. One extended arm of the octopus is in the act of coiling round the lady's neck, and she is endeavouring to pull it off with her right hand; another arm of the sea-monster is entwined round the left wrist, while the hand is fiercely tearing at the mouth of the brute. The other arms of the octopus are twined round, grasping the lady's body and waist--in fact, her position reminds one very much of Laocoon in the celebrated statue of the snakes seizing him and his two sons. The sucking discs of the octopus are carved exactly as they are in nature, and the colour of the body of the creature, together with the formidable aspect of the eye, are wonderfully represented. The face of this Japanese lady is most admirably done; it expresses the utmost terror and alarm, and possibly may be a portrait. So carefully is the carving executed that the lady's white teeth can be seen between her lips. The hair is a perfect gem of work; it is jet black, extended down the back, and tied at the end in a knot; in fact, it is so well done that I can hardly bring myself to think that it is not real hair, fastened on in some most ingenious manner; but by examining it under a powerful magnifying glass I find it is not so--it is the result of extraordinary cleverness in carving. The back of the little white comb fixed into the thick of the black hair adds to the effect of this magnificent carving of the hair. I congratulate Mr. Bartlett on the acquisition of this most beautiful curiosity. There is an inscription in Japanese characters on the underneath part of the carving, and Mr. Bartlett and myself would, of course, only be too glad to get this translated."--Frank Buckland, in _Land and Water_.

[16] Max Müller, _Science of Language_, 4th edition, p. 163-165. London, 1864.

[17] _Science of Language_, p. 168.

[18] "When a naturalist, either by visiting such spots of earth as are still out of the way, or by his good fortune, finds a very queer plant or animal, he is forthwith accused of inventing his game, the word not being used in its old sense of _discovery_ but in its modern of _creation_. As soon as the creature is found to sin against preconception, the great (mis?) guiding spirit, _à priori_ by name, who furnishes philosophers with their omniscience _pro re natâ_, whispers that no such thing _can_ be, and forthwith there is a charge of hoax. The heavens themselves have been charged with hoaxes. When Leverrier and Adams predicted a planet by calculation, it was gravely asserted in some quarters that the planet which had been calculated was not _the_ planet but another which had clandestinely and improperly got into the neighbourhood of the true body. The disposition to suspect hoax is stronger than the disposition to hoax. Who was it that first announced that the classical writings of Greece and Rome were one huge hoax perpetrated by the monks in what the announcer would be as little or less inclined than Dr. Maitland to call the dark ages?"--_Macmillan_, 1860.

[19] _Poetic Epistles_, Bk. iii., Ep. 3.

[20] _Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno._

[21] "Having showed the foregoing description of the mountain cow, called by the Spaniards _ante_ [_manatee_?], to a person of honour, he was pleased to send it to a learned person in Holland." This learned person discusses it and compares it with the hippopotamus, and winds up by saying, in reference to a description of the habits of the hippopotamus, as noticed at Loango by Captain Rogers, to the effect that when they are in the water they will sink to the bottom, and then walk as on dry ground, "but what he says of her sinking to the bottom in deep rivers, and walking there, if he adds, what I think he supposes, that it rises again, and comes on the land, I much question; for that such a huge body should raise itself up again (though I know whales and great fish can do) transcends the faith of J. H."--F. J. Knapton, _Collection of Voyages_, vol. ii.,