the deeps, and from him are the rains derived. There is evidence 

 also of human sacrifice to the monster, for Hiouen-Thsang (the 

 Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to India, seventh century a.d.) relates 

 how that one Wat Yuen, on the failure of a river immolated him- 

 self in propitiation of its dragon ; and at the dragon boat festivals 

 it is now believed that the boats intimidate the monster. Such 

 ideas were probably carried to China and Japan with Buddhism 

 (and perhaps there engrafted on national myths), for Buddha him- 

 self was a dragon slayer, and there is much m Hiouen-Thsang 

 throwing light upon the subject. It is possible very clearly to trace 

 the dragon of Japan as a creature of marsh and slime, to which 

 propitiation was made ; and it may be of interest to mention that 

 a fairy story is now being sold in Tokio, entitled •' Yamata no 

 Orochi," in which an eight headed monster is appeased, much as 

 in the chivalric myth, by the sacrifice of maidens. 



We will now if you please take a glance at another monster also 

 very much akin to the dragon, that is the noble beast which strikes 

 the visitor to London, with such awe not unmingled with astonish- 

 ment. I refer to the griffin. The griffin or gryphon in the 

 natural history of the ancients, is the name of an imaginary 

 rapacious creature of the eagle species, represented with four legs, 

 wings, and a beak, the fore part resembling an eagle, and the 

 hinder, a lion. In addition, some writers describe him as having 

 the tail of a serpent, — (the trail of the serpent is over them all). 

 I was vastly amused when looking up the authorities on these 

 matters, to find what a deal ot description was always devoted to 

 the tail. Well, the griffin is supposed to watch over gold mines 

 and hidden treasures, and to be the enemy of the horse, {why, the 

 historians do not say. He was consecrated to the sun, and the 

 ancient painters represented the chariot of the sun as drawn by 

 griffins. According to Spanheim, Jupiter and Nemesis were 

 similarly provided. The griffin of the scriptures is probably that 

 species of eagle called the osprey. The griffin is related to inhabit 

 Asiatic Scythia, where the lands abound in gold and precious 

 stones, and when strangers approach to gather these spoils, the 

 griffins leap upon the adventurers and tear them in pieces, " thus 

 chastising human avarice and greed " as the historian quaintly 

 remarks, forgetting that the griffins are very avaricious them- 

 selves, or they would not mind allowing others to share that 

 which could be of no possible use to them. However, to resume, 

 the griffin has hke the rest of these monsters, been seen by mortal 

 eyes, and the celebrated Sir John de Mandeville in his " travels " 

 described one he met with eight times larger than a lion. How- 

 ever, be that as it may, and as geography is described as the 

 science by which you learn about foreign countries from people 

 who have never been there, so I may describe monsters that I 



