st--the man who
can recite the ancient apologues or legends of the past can always secure
an audience and command the closest attention.

While the general impression is that the recital of these old myths and
legends among Oriental nations was for the mere pastime of the crowds, it
is well to bear in mind that many of them were used as a means to convey
great truths or to reprove error. Hence the recital of them was not
confined to a merely inquisitive audience that desired to be amused. We
have a good example of this in the case of the recital by Jotham, as
recorded in the book of Judges, of the legend of the gathering of the trees
for the purpose of having one of them anointed king over the rest. Of this
legend Dr. Adam Clarke, the commentator, says, "This is the oldest and,
without exception, the best fable or apologue in the world."

The despotic nature of the governments of those Oriental nations caused the
people often to use the fable or myth as an indirect way to reprove or
censure when it would not have been safe to have used a direct form of
speech. The result was that it attained a higher degree of perfection there
than among any other people. An excellent example is Nathan's reproof of
David by the recital of the fable of the poor man's ewe lamb.

The red Indians of America have justly been famous for their myths and
legends. We have never heard of a tribe that did not have a store of them.
Even the hardy Eskimo in his igloo of ice is surprisingly rich in folklore
stories. A present of a knife or some other trifle that he desires will
cause him to talk by the hour to his guest, whether he be the daring trader
or adventurous explorer, on the traditions that have come down to him. The
interchange of visits between the northern Indians and the Eskimos has
resulted in the discovery that quite a number of the myths recited in
Indian wigwams are in a measure, if not wholly, of Eskimo origin. On the
other hand, the Eskimo has not failed to utilize and incorporate into his
own rich store some that are undoubtedly of Indian origin.

For thirty years or more we have been gathering up these myths and legends.
Sometimes a brief sentence or two of one would be heard in some
wigwam--just enough to excite curiosity--then years would elapse ere the
whole story could be secured. As the tribes had no written language, and
the Indians had to depend entirely upon their memory, it is not to be
wondered at that there were, at