VI.] A GLORIOUS MIRACLE. 71 Saracens were full of rancour about that stone that had been theirs, and which had been set up in the church of the Christians; and when they saw that the Prince was dead, they said one to another that now was the time to get back their stone, by fair means or by foul. And that they might well do, for they were ten times as many as the Christians. So they gat together and went to the church and said that the stone they must and would have. The Christians acknowledged that it was theirs indeed, but offered to pay a large sum of money and so be quit. Howbeit, the others replied that they never would give up the stone for anything in the world. And words ran so high that the Prince heard thereof, and ordered the Christians either to arrange to satisfy the Saracens, if it might be, with money, or to give up the stone. And he allowed them three days to do either the one thing or the other. The Saracens would on no account agree to leave the stone where it was, and this out of pure despite to the Christians, for they knew well enough that if the stone were stirred the church would come down by the run. So the Christians were in great trouble and wist not what to do. But they did do the best thing possible; they besought Jesus Christ that He would consider their case, so that the holy church should not come to destruction, nor the name of its Patron Saint, John the Baptist, be tarnished by its ruin. And so when the day fixed by the Prince came round, they went to the church betimes in the morning, and lo, they found the stone removed from under the column; the foot of the column was without support, and yet it bore the load as stoutly as before! Between the foot of the column and the ground there was a space of three palms. So the Saracens had away their stone, and mighty little joy withal. It was a glorious miracle, nay, it is so, for the column still so standeth, and will stand as long as God pleaseth. Marco was not often at a loss for real information concerning the places of which he makes mention. But in this case he was like some of the geographers, of whom the wise Plutarch speaks when he says, that they crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world about which they know nothing, and add notes in the margin to the effect, that "beyond this lies nothing but sandy deserts full of wild beasts and unapproachable bogs." This remark moved Dean Swift, the author of " Gulliver's Travels," to say: So geographers, in Afric maps, With savage pictures fill their gaps, Place elephants for want of towns. CHAPTER VII. THE SEA OF SAND AND ITS MARVELS-THE FABLED SALAMANDER AND ITS TRUE STORY-SOMETHING ABOUT ASBESTOS. L EAVING Turkestan, and entering China to the eastward of Kashgar and Yarkand, Marco Polo crossed the western end of the Great Sandy Desert of Gobi, or Shamo, otherwise known to the Chinese as the Sea of Sand. This vast extent of desert extends over forty degrees of latitude, and has never been fully explored even in our own day. In Marco's time it was a haunt of mystery, thought to be peopled by the strange creatures of the air. That part traversed by Marco is narrow, and he crossed it in a south-westerly direction. Here is his account of the Desert of Lop, or, as it is sometimes called, Lob : Lop is a large town at the edge of the Desert, which is called the Desert of Lop, and is situated between east and north-east. It belongs to the Great Kaan, and the people worship Mahommet. Now, such persons as propose to cross the Desert take a week's rest in this town to refresh themselves and their cattle; and then they make ready for the journey, taking with them a month's supply for man and beast. On quitting this city they enter the Desert. The length of this Desert is so great that 'tis said it would take a year and more to ride from one end of it to the other. And here, where its breadth is least, it takes a month to cross it. 'Tis all composed of hills and valleys of sand, and not a thing to eat is to be found on. it. But after riding for a day and a night you find fresh water enough mayhap for some fifty or a hundred persons with their beasts, but not for more. And all across the Desert you will find water in like manner, that is to say, in some twenty-eight places altogether you will find good water, but in no great quantity; and in four places also you find brackish water. eat. Beasts there are none; for there is naught for them to But there is a marvellous thing related of this Desert, which is that when travellers are on the move by night, and one of them chances to lag behind, or to fall asleep or the like, when he tries to gain his company again he will hear spirits talking, and will suppose them to be his comrades. Sometimes the spirits will call him by name; and thus shall a traveller ofttimes be led astray, so that he never finds his party. And in this way many have perished. Sometimes the stray travellers will hear as it were the tramp and hum of a great cavalcade of people away from the real line of road, and taking this to be their own company they will follow the sound; and when day breaks they find that a cheat has been put on them, and that they are in an ill plight. Even in the daytime one hears those spirits talking. And sometimes you shall hear the sound of a variety of musical instruments, and still more commonly the sound of drums. Hence in making this journey 'tis customary for travellers to keep close together. All the animals too have bells at their necks, so that they cannot easily get astray. And at sleeping-time a signal is put up to show the direction of the next march. So thus it is that the Desert is crossed. VII.7 A HAUNTED DESERT. 75 Probably this tale of the desert, told by Marco Polo, was one of those which gave him a bad name among people who were ignorant of what really goes on in the midst of a vast desert. From the earliest times, men have associated deserts of land or sea with mystery; and all sorts of evil spirits were believed to inhabit the waste places of the earth. And those who heard Marco's stories, or read them afterwards, thought that they were the idle tales of Oriental romancers. But Marco's tale is corroborated by the Chinese historian Matwanlin, who writes: "You have to cross a plain of sand, extending for more than one hundred leagues. You see nothing in any direction but the sky and the sands, without the slightest trace of a road; and travellers find nothing to guide them but the bones of men and beasts and the droppings of camels. During the passage of this wilderness you hear sounds, sometimes of singing, sometimes of wailing; and it has often happened that travellers, going aside to see what those sounds might be, have strayed from their course and been entirely lost; for they were voices of spirits and goblins." Another Chinese writer, Hwen Thsang speaks of illusions, such as visions of troops marching and halting with gleaming arms and waving banners, constantly shifting, vanishing, and reappearing. A voice behind him calls, "Fear not! fear not!" Troubled by these |