CHAPTER XXXIV 

 THE BLOOD AND ITS CIRCULATION 



RED, crimson, scarlet, hot, the river of life, the 

 carrier of all that is good and all that is bad 

 by its myriad streams through our bodies ; the rarest, 

 most precious, most gorgeous of fluids; the daughter of 

 the salt ocean, finer and more worshipful even than the 

 waters of the great mother, the sea ; the badge of horror 

 and of accursed cruelty, yet also the emblem of nobility, 

 of generosity, of all that is near and dear, of all that is 

 splendid and beautiful ; the blush of modesty and the 

 flag of rage ; the giver of coral lips and glowing cheeks 

 to youth and health, and no less of the ruddy nose 

 which women hide with powder and men bravely bear 

 without concealment ! Such is the blood, and it is no 

 wonder that the mere sight of it has always had an 

 overpowering fascination for mankind. 



The wild people of the Solomon Islands, when they 

 see a drop of blood flowing from an accidental scratch 

 of hand or foot, say, " I must go home ; some danger is 

 at hand ; the blood has come to tell me ! " Sorcerers 

 and witches of all times have endeavoured to procure 

 a few drops of the blood of their intended victims in 

 order to " work spells " upon the precious fluid, and so, 

 according to the theory of " contagious magic," upon the 

 person from which it came. In Italy to-day, as in this 



