The Bible, in twenty-two references in the Old Testament and thirteen instances in the New, refers to the dragon either allegorically or as a real animal; however, in many of these passages, especially in the Old Testament, the word “dragon” is an unfortunate rendition, for in several places the writers of the Scriptures very evidently had the conception of an animal that was in all probability the modern jackal. The myths and legends of Europe have preserved for us numerous dragon stories with which we are more or less familiar. Among others are the tale of Perseus, who rescued Andromeda from a dragon; the story of St. George and the Dragon; the account of Sigfried, who killed a dragon at Worms; and the story of Beowulf, who in the early days of history’s dawn dispatched a dragon after slaying Grendel. King Arthur, who was spoken of as the “dread Pendragon,” is described by Tennyson, in his “Idylls of the King,” as sitting upon a veritable dragon throne which would vie in splendor with that of China’s Manchu emperors. The vivid imagination of the poet laureate gives us this picture: “To his crown the golden dragon clung And down his robe the dragon writhed in gold And from the carven work behind him crept Two dragons gilded, sloping down to make Arms to his chair, while all the rest of them Through knots and loops and folds innumerable, Fled ever through the woodwork till they found The new design wherein they lost themselves.” Many coast and river cities of England, France, Italy, and Egypt still proudly recount their local legends of cruel dragons which were slain, after battles royal, upon near-by rivers or in adjacent seas. We may read of the Green Dragon of Mordiford, the Dragon of Norwich, the Great Dragon of Pittempton, the Dragon of Naples, the Dragon of Arles, the Dragon of Lyons, the Dragon of Marseilles, Sebec, the Dragon of the Nile, and many more. These stories are proudly treasured as the sacred traditions of their respective cities and countries. The Chinese conception of the dragon presents a very different creature from that of the nations bordering on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. It is true that there are a few points of similarity, but there is only one to which we shall call attention at this time. That is regarding its keenness of eyesight. Both types are endowed with marvelous vision. The Chinese dragon is deaf and it is explained that its eyes, through natural compensation, have attained an extraordinary power. His vision is so keen that he can easily distinguish a blade of grass one hundred li away. In this connection it is interesting to recall that the English word “dragon” is derived from the Greek “drakon” (δράκων), which means “to gaze” or “to see,” and the classics more than once refer to the animal as “sharpsighted.”