The thanks of the publishers are due to Messrs Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for permis- "THEN SON PUT DOWN THE LAD AND WHISPERED, “OUT OF THE EARTH THEY ROSE BY THOUSANDS " 66 138 66 THEN SHE MADE A SIGN TO ORPHEUS, AND HE BEGAN Face Page 142 150 "AND MEDEIA HID HER FACE BENEATH HER VEIL" " ODYSSEY: ULYSSES GIVING WINE TO POLYPHEMUS NAUSICAA THROWING THE BALL. ULYSSES LAID ON HIS OWN COAST BY THE SAILORS. MEETING OF ULYSSES AND PENELOPE Face Page 180 224 PHARCIAN Face Page 234 KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE: GARETH LAID ABOUT HIM SO FIERCELY" Face Page 280 RIP VAN WINKLE: RIP VAN WINKLE AND THE CHILDREN Face Page 352 AND SEVENTY BLACK AND WHITE PICTURES IN THE TEXT. INTRODUCTION BY T. J. SHAHAN. AGES ago, when the world was young, people did not know as much of nature and its secrets as we do now. Moreover, they did not have the art of writing, or if known to them, it was used only by a few, and its value for handing down the facts of history was not clearly understood. Thus, two great fields of knowledge, the world of nature and the world of history, were known only in a dim and vague way. Yet men and women were even then anxious to find out the causes of what they saw about them in nature, as well as to know whence and how they came to their native lands, through what journeys and labors, who were their ancient leaders in war, the builders of their cities, the founders of their laws and customs, and the like. These are some of the causes of the growth of what we call Myths and Legends. Myths are attempts of early man to explain the great wonders of our daily life the blue heavens above us, the light and the darkness, the bright fire, the swift wind, the rolling waters, the clouds, and the earth, and the dark world of things that lie beneath its green breast. Myths are only the ideas of men about the causes of those natural things which do not now seem wonders to us. There are yet many secrets in nature that escape the skill of all teachers. How many must there have been when the first man and woman looked out on the marvels of land and sea, heaven and earth, day and night, the seasons and their changes! Myths have always been told among men. The most lovely and humane are those of the Greek people; for instance, the Myth of Psyche, which is all about the human soul. From the Greeks, by many ways, most of our Myths have come down to us. But mankind makes up these Myths forever; even to-day we find such "stories" in all parts of the world. The Red Men had and have yet many Myths. So, too, have the Bushmen and the natives of the South Sea Islands. In the pretty stories that the Micmacs of Nova Scotia tell about their god and good friend, Glooscap, we can see how peoples of a simple mind, with a weak training, could invent tales that do not differ from the best Greek stories, except in their ruder language and coarser form. It is as if we looked at the raw wool being fed to the loom and then saw the finished fabric in all its beauty. |