THE nucleus of the following pages was originally written in the form of two short papers to be read at the meetings of a Public School Natural History Society. Since then, finding materials rapidly growing on our hands, we have been gradually amplifying our notes on the subject until they have grown to the present dimensions; for, to quote the quaint words of Thomas Fuller, “when there is no recreation or business for thee abroad, thou may’st then have a company of honest old fellows in leathern jackets in thy study, which may find thee excellent divertisement at home.” Our researches in pursuit of the marvellous, through the works of divers and sundry old writers, have been so far entertaining and interesting to us that we would fain hope that they may not be altogether received without favour by others.
Our subject naturally divides itself into two very obvious sections—the one dealing with wholly untrue and impossible creatures of the fancy, the other with the strange beliefs and fancies that have clustered round the real creatures we see around us. It will readily be discovered that we have confined ourselves in the present volume almost entirely to the first of these sections. Should our present labours prove acceptable they may readily be followed by a companion volume, at least as entertaining, dealing with the second section of our subject.
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | |
| Introduction — “A Description of 300 Animals” — Unicorn — TheBible Unicorn — The Heraldic Unicorn — The Horn as a PoisonTest — The Unicorn of Mediæval Legend — Wolf CausingDumbness — The Rompo or Man-Eater — The Manticora — TheLamia — Stag Antipathies — Dragons — Dragon-Slaying — Legendsof the Saints — The “Legenda Aurea” — St. George — MediævalRecipes — The “Historia Monstrorum” of Aldrovandus — TheDragon in Heraldry — The Dragon of Wantley — Dragons’Teeth — The Dragonnades — The Dragons of Shakespeare — Guardiansof Treasure — The Feud between the Dragonand the Elephant — The “Bestiare Divin” of Guillaume — TheCockatrice — The Basilisk — The Phœnix: Its Literary Existencefrom Herodotus to Shakespeare — The Dun-Cow of Warwick — SirGuy, and Percie’s “Reliques of Antient Poetry” — OldRibs and other Bones in Churches — The Salamander — Breydenbach’sTravels — The “Bestiary” of De Thaun — TheYlio — The Griffin — The Arimaspians — Burton’s “Miracles ofArt and Nature” — The Lomie — The Tartarian VegetableLamb — The Sea-Elephant — Pegasus — The Vampyre — TheChameleon | [1‑80] |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| The Sphinx — The Chimæra — The Centaurs — The Origin of theMyth — The Onocentaur — Sagittarius — Satyrs and Fauns — TheHarpys, described by Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, andothers — The Echidna — The Gorgon — The Hydra — The Sirens — TheLurlei — Mermaids — The Manatee — Dog-Headed Men ofBrazil — The One-Eyed Cyclops and Briaræus of the HundredArms — The Headless Men or Anthropophagi — Sir WalterRaleigh’s El Dorado — Claw-Footed Men — The Marvels ofHackluyt and Mandeville — The Long-Eared Fanesii — TheFairies — The “Discoverie of Witchcraft” — The Little GoodPeople — Fairy-Rings — Elf-Music — Changelings — Elf-Possession — Spiritsof the Mine, or Knockers — Robin Goodfellow — QueenMab — The Phoca or Storm-Spirit — The Kelpie — Jack-o’-Lantern — ThePigmies — Giants — Early Sculptures — GiganticMen of Antiquity | [81‑132] |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| Comparatively Small Number of Mythical Bird-Forms — The Martlet — TheBird of Paradise — The Humma — The Huppe — TheIbis — The Roc — The Hameh Bird — Reptiles, Fish, &c. — TheSea-Serpent — The Adissechen of Hindu Mythology — TheIormungandur of Scandinavian Mythology — The Egg Talisman — Fire-Drake — Aspis — Amphisbena — Kraken — Cetus — Leviathan — Behemoth — Nautilus — Dolphin — TheAcipenser — TheRemora — The Fish Nun — The Chilon — The Dies — Sea-Bishopsand Sea-Monks — Davy Jones and his Locker — OjibiwayLegend of the Great Serpent — Fabledom in theVegetable Kingdom — The Barnacle Tree — The Kalpa-Tarou — TheLote Tree — The Tree of Life — Lotus-Eating — Amaranth — LotusWreaths at Kew from the Egyptian Tombs — Asphodel — MediævalHerbals — Ambrosia — The Upas Tree — TheUmdhlebi Tree of Zululand — The Kerzereh Flower — TheMandrake — “Miracles of Art and Nature” — Travellers’ Tales — TheDead Sea Apple — Alimos — The Meto — The Herb Viva — Cockeramon Herb-Lore — The Pseudodoxia of Dr. Browne — HerbBasil — The “Eikon Basilike” — Fitzherbert’s “Bokeof Husbandry” | [133‑205] |
| Appendix | [207] |
| Index | [235] |
