The venerable pile of grey stones as the sun set, and that IĮxpended the last lights of evening in planning and sketching. Visit the curiosity without calculating the time it would take me On my arrival at Champigni in the afternoon, and I had started to I had learned of the existence of this cromlech only Unknown Druidical relic, the Pierre labie, at La Rondelle, nearĬhampigni. In Vienne, after having accomplished the examination of an I SHALL never forget the walk I took one night When a form of superstition is prevalent everywhere, and in all ages, it must rest upon a foundation of fact what that founda tion actually is, I have, I hope, proved conclusively in the following pages. The subject of this first instalment, though horrible, is nevertheless full of interest and importance as elucidating a very obscure and mysterious chapter in the history of the Human Mind. I propose making this the first of a series on Popular Superstitions, to be followed by Treatises on Marine Monsters, as Mermaids and Sea-Serpents, Vampires, the Wild Huntsman, the Wandering Jew, etc. The chapter on a Galician cannibal has already appeared in print, in Once a Week. The arrangement that I have followed will be found sketched out at the close of the introductory chapter. There are several interesting subjects connected with Lycanthropy, such as metempsychosis, innate cruelty, hallucination, etc, which could only be touched upon and indicated in the following pages, without being thoroughly investigated this may give a fragmentary character to the book, but this, I believe, was unavoidable, without vastly extending its limits. I have material by me which would have extended it to double its size, but without tending further to elucidate the subject. That this is an exhaustive treatise, I do not pretend. THIS book is a monograph on a peculiar form of popular superstition, prevalent among all nations, and in all ages.
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