UNNATURAL NATURAL HISTORY 51 
sessing a long single horn sprouting from its 
forehead, the unicorn was said to inhabit the 
wild regions of Syria, Arabia, Ethiopia and 
India. 
If the horn of one of these creatures was 
thrown into hot water, it caused bubbles to 
rise to the surface ; while a ready means of 
distinguishing a genuine from a spurious one 
was to inscribe a circle upon the ground with 
the tip, and then place a lizard, spider or 
scorpion within the magic ring. Should the 
horn be that of a unicorn the creatures did not 
endeavour to escape, but otherwise they 
promptly ran away. 
Dragons have always been a fruitful source 
of tales, both in ancient mythology and in 
more modern fairy tales, and it is recorded 
that on October 16, 1691, a flying serpent, 
having been killed with much difficulty by a 
hunter, was brought from Rome. 
Then, again, the sea-serpent is another 
creature that has inspired many people to 
give glowing accounts of gigantic monsters 
capable of swallowing ships, but we have 
yet to await any reliable evidence that such 
an animal exists. Pliny, Olaus Magnus and 
Denys de Monfort all give remarkable descrip¬ 
tions of the sea-serpent, the latter, whom a 
modern writer designates as “an accomplished 
