SKETCH OF PIERRE BEL ON. 693 



tinople ; then visited Lemnos, Mount Athos, Tlirace, and the 

 Grecian islands ; thence went to Egypt, where he made observa- 

 tions that have become famous at Alexandria and Cairo ; traveled 

 through Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor, to Constantinople ; and 

 returned to France, by way of Rome, during the year 1549. To his 

 friend Ronsard this journey had all the adventure and impor- 

 tance of a general exploration of the globe, and he celebrated it 

 appropriately in verse, glorifying Belon as if he had been one of 

 the greatest of navigators. 



The accounts of his observations during this great tour were 

 published in the remarkable book known as " The Singularities," 

 the full title of which is, " Les observations de plusieurs singu- 

 laritds et choses mdmorables trouvdes en Gr^ce, Asie, Judde, 

 Egypte, Arable, etc., et autres pays estranges " (" Observations of 

 many Singularities and Memorable Things found in Greece, Asia, 

 Judea, Egypt, Arabia, and other Foreign Countries"), Paris, 1553. 

 It was illustrated with numerous figures of animals and birds, 

 etc., engraved on wood. This book abounds in novel observations 

 on the natural history and geography of the countries visited, 

 with descriptions of their monuments or ruins, and of the man- 

 ners and customs of their people. One of the most interesting 

 parts of it, according to M. Louis Crit^,* is the story of his travels 

 in Egypt, in which " we read with pleasure the pages which he 

 has devoted to the geograjjhy, ethnography, medicine, the fauna 

 and flora of that strange country. Very curious details are found 

 in his book respecting Alexandria, the manners of the Alexan- 

 drians, the city of Rosetta, the fishes of the Nile, the houses and 

 gardens of Cairo, the pyramids, " the mummy," the plants that 

 grow around Suez, etc. The same work contains a plan of the city 

 of Alexandria and views of the island of Lemnos, Mount Athos, 

 and Mount Sinai. Although the geometry of these cuts is ele- 

 mentary, they give evidence of careful observation. Belon drew 

 after nature, and for the first time, such animals as the ichneumon, 

 the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the chameleon, the hawk, the 

 black ibis, and several fishes. His 'Singularities,' replete with 

 local originalities, is remarkable for the amplitude of the informa- 

 tion it affords. We notice in it rigorous good faith attentive to 

 the discovery of the significance of facts without dissimulating in 

 anything." A queer description is given of the giraffe, " whose 

 fore-feet, when it runs, go together. It lies with its belly against 

 the ground, and has callosities on the chest and thighs like the 

 camel. It can not feed on the ground standing without spreading 

 its fore-legs away out, and that is very hard. Hence it is easy to 

 believe that it does not live in the fields, but upon the branches of 

 trees, having a neck so long that it can extend its head to the 



* " Les Voyages de Pierre Belon." *' Revue scientifique," 18S3, No. 7. 



