614 
Fabulous Animals. 
THE WIVERN, WOLVERINE. 
This fabulous animal somewhat resembles the dragon, 
only that, instead of four, it has two legs, which are 
webbed, and armed with claws. There is no doubt that 
this imaginary being was originally conceived in the 
brains of the poets and romancers, in times of chivalry, 
when the Crusaders overran the plains of Palestine and 
Assyria. The heat of the climate in some vales at the 
foot of the mountains, which intersect the deserts of those 
countries, was favourable to the breeding of all sorts of 
serpents, some of an immense size. The European sol- 
diers of Godfrey and Richard, unaccustomed to such 
sights, were easily frightened, whenever they met those 
monsters on the sedgy banks of small lakes, under the 
shade of cedars and palm-trees, where they appeared as 
if posted to guard the sacred waters, so precious in so 
hot a country ; and magnified in their idle tales, when 
inactive in camps, the bulk of the serpent they had seen. 
The castle of Lusignan, in the province of Poitou, was 
supposed to contain one of those winged serpents. It is 
a very ancient armorial bearing, and now stands as sup- 
porter to the arms of several illustrious houses. 
