THE FIRE-BORN PHCENIX 



" He hathe a crest of fedres upon his Hed more gret than the Poocok 

 hathe ; and his nekke is yalowe after colour of an Arielle, and his Bek is 

 coloured Blew and his Winges ben of purpre colour and the Taylle is yalowe 

 and redd. And he is a full fair Brid to loken upon for he schynethe full 

 nobily." — Sir John MandevilU. 



RULY and indeed a " full fair Brid," although 

 the description of it removes surprise that 

 " the pleasant morsel thereof, its braine, 

 causeth the hedache." 



Neither can one avoid smiles, thinking 

 what a modern battue butcher would say 

 should a rocketting phoenix appear instead of a cock 

 pheasant. If the Himalayan menaul has been described as 

 being to the latter like " Brock to a farthing squib," the 

 effect of the " full nobil schyneing " might, happily, empty 

 some camp stools ! 



But there is that which is beyond laughter in what the 

 learned call " the great mass of myth " clinging round the 

 fabled bird which, after long years, renews its youth amid 

 its own ashes. The years vary in varying legends, but the 

 story is the same, and embodies the first dim perception of 

 humanity, not so much of the immortality of the soul, 

 as of the indestructibility of matter. For the bird left 



