354 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



called bim the citizens of Damascus were frightened by the rumor 

 that tbe great unbeliever bad reappeared in the form of a gaunt hyena 

 that prowled around the city at night ; and Abulfeda informs us that 

 before the battle of Aleppo the Karmathians saw a large eagle circling 

 above their vanguard, but were careful not to disturb it, " for they 

 at once recognized the spirit of Abu Taher" one of their former 

 leaders who had won a great victory on that same battle-field. 



Sitting Bull once declared that Father De Smet was the only white 

 man whose word could be implicitly relied upon ; but, according to the 

 observations of Mr. W. Everett, this confidence seems to refer to polit- 

 ical rather than mythological questions. Mr. William Everett, a gov- 

 ernment scout at Fort Custer, lived several years among the Sioux, and 

 convinced himself that they believe in the metempsychosis of distin- 

 guished chiefs, and on one occasion he saw Sitting Bull himself "mak- 

 ing motions with his hands, and talking to a large wolf, which appar- 

 ently understood what he said, for, whenever he made the sign for 

 ' Do you understand ? ' the wolf would throw up his head and howl." 

 They deem it unlucky to kill a white wolf (like the Laplanders, who 

 entertain similar scruples in regard to the white polar fox), and only 

 famine will induce them to shoot at a white-tailed deer. During the 

 hard winter of 1865 six young braves took the risk, and, " were found 

 strangled with marks of fingers on their throats and horrified 

 looks, as if they had seen something awful " (vide "Popular Science 

 Monthly," vol. xxi, p. 422). 



The Tyrolese mountaineers have an equally weird superstition 

 which their priests have not seen fit to discourage, namely, that an 

 unbaptized child is changed into a Fliih-vogel (a bird with a peculiar 

 wailing cry), and has for ever to flit about the desolate shores of the 

 highland lakes ; and the Albanian peasants believe that Constantin 

 Kastro, the companion in arms of the famous Scanderbeg, still haunts 

 his native mountains in the form of a black falcon. 



[ To be continued.] 



THE GOSPEL OF RECPvEATION. 



By HERBERT SPENCER. 

 ADDEES9 AT HIS FAEEWELL BANQUET, NOVEMBER 9th. 



MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN: Along with your 

 kindness there comes to me a great unkindness from Fate ; for, 

 now that, above all times in my life, I need full command of what pow- 

 ers of speech I possess, disturbed health so threatens to interfere with 

 them that I fear I shall very inadequately express myself. Any failure 

 in my response you must please ascribe, in part at least, to a greatly 



