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  TEN THOUSAND
  WONDERFUL THINGS

  COMPRISING

  WHATEVER IS MARVELLOUS AND RARE, CURIOUS
  ECCENTRIC AND EXTRAORDINARY

  IN ALL AGES AND NATIONS

  ENRICHED WITH

  _HUNDREDS OF AUTHENTIC ILLUSTRATIONS_

  EDITED BY

  EDMUND FILLINGHAM KING, M.A.

  LONDON
  GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, LIMITED

  BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL
  MANCHESTER AND NEW YORK

  1894




STANDARD WORKS OF REFERENCE.

_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME._


LEMPRIERE'S CLASSICAL DICTIONARY.

WALKER'S RHYMING DICTIONARY.

MACKAY'S THOUSAND AND ONE GEMS OF ENGLISH POETRY.

D'ISRAELI'S CURIOSITIES OF LITERATURE.

BARTLETT'S FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS.

CRUDEN'S CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE.

THE FAMILY DOCTOR.




PREFACE.


A BOOK OF WONDERS requires but a brief introduction. Our title-page
tells its own tale and forms the best exposition of the contents of the
volume.

Everything that is marvellous carries with it much that is instructive,
and, in this sense, "Ten Thousand Wonderful Things," may be made useful
for the highest educational purposes. Events which happen in the
regular course have no claim to a place in any work that professes to
be a register of what is uncommon; and were we to select such Wonders
only as are capable of familiar demonstration, we should destroy their
right to be deemed wondrous, and, at the same time, defeat the very
object which we profess to have in view. A marvel once explained away
ceases to be a marvel. For this reason, while rejecting everything that
is obviously fictitious and untrue, we have not hesitated to insert
many incidents which appear at first sight to be wholly incredible.

In the present work, interesting Scenes from Nature, Curiosities
of Art, Costume and Customs of a bygone period rather predominate;
but we have devoted many of its pages to descriptions of remarkable
Occurrences, beautiful Landscapes, stupendous Water-falls, and sublime
Sea-pieces. It is true that some of our illustrations may not be
beautiful according to the sense in which the word is generally used;
but they are all the more curious and characteristic, as well as
truthful, on that account; for whatever is lost of beauty, is gained by
accuracy. What is odd or quaint, strange or startling, rarely possesses
much claim to the picturesque and refined. Scrape the rust off an
antique coin, and, while you make it look more shining, you invariably
render it worthless in the eyes of a collector. To polish up a fact
which derives its value either from the strangeness of its nature, or
from the quaintness of its narration, is like the obliterating process
of scrubbing up a painting by one of the old masters. It looks all the
cleaner for the operation, but, the chances are, it is spoilt as a work
of art.

We trust it is needless to say that we have closed our pages against
everything that can be considered objectionable in its tendency; and,
while every statement in this volume has been culled with conscientious
care from authentic, although not generally accessible, sources, we
have scrupulously rejected every line that could give offence, and
endeavoured, in accordance with what we profess in our title-page, to
amuse by the eccentric, to startle by the unexpected, and to astonish
by the marvellous.




INDEX TO ENGRAVINGS


                                                              PAGE

  ABYSSINIAN ARMS,                                             509

  ---- LADIES,                                                 492

  ---- ORNAMENTS OF,                                           493

  ---- LADY TATTOOED,                                          496

  ALTAR-PIECE OF SAN MINIATO,                                  601

  AMULET WORN BY EGYPTIAN FEMALES,                             452

  AMULET BROTCHE,                                              332

  ANCIENT METHOD OF KEEPING A WASHING ACCOUNT,                   3

  ---- NUT-CRACKERS,                                           236

  ---- SNUFF-BOXES,                                            210

  ANGLO-SAXONS, SEPULCHRAL BARROW OF THE,                       27

  APTERYX, THE, OR WINGLESS BIRD,                              308

  ARCH, A BEAUTIFUL, IN CANNISTOWN CHUR