What connection the narcotic hemp had with the famous oracle of Delphi is not altogether certain, but it has been supposed, and such supposition contains nothing of heresy in these days, that the ravings of the Pythia were the consequences of a good dose of haschish, or bang. The non-classical readers will allow us to inform them, and the classical permit us to remind them, that the oracle at Delphi was the most celebrated in all Greece. That it was related of old, that a certain shepherd, tending his flocks on Mount Parnassus, observed, that the steam issuing from a hole in the rock seemed to inspire his goats, and cause them to frisk about in a marvellous manner. That this same shepherd was tempted to peep into the hole himself, and the fumes rising therefrom filled him with such ecstacy, that he gave vent to wild and extravagant expressions, which were regarded as prophetical. This circumstance becoming known, the place was revered, and thereon a temple was afterwards erected to Apollo, and a priestess appointed to deliver the oracles. This priestess of Apollo, Pythia, was seated over the miraculous cavity upon a tripod, or three-legged stool, and the fumes arising were supposed to fill her with inspiration, and she delivered, in bad verses, the oracles of the deity. During the inspiration, her eyes sparkled, her hair stood erect, and a shivering ran over the whole body. Under the convulsions thus produced, with loud howlings and cries, she delivered the messages, which were carefully noted down by an attendant priest. Plutarch states, that one of the priestesses was thrown into such an excessive fury, that not only those who came to consult the oracle, but the priests in attendance, were so terrified, that they forsook her and fled; and that the fit was so violent, that she continued several days in agony, and finally died. It has been believed that these fumes, instead of proceeding from the earth, were produced by the burning of some narcotic herb, probably hemp. Who shall decide? In later times “bang” is referred to in the “Arabian Nights.” In one of the tales, two ladies are in conversation, and one enquires of the other, “If the queen was not much in the wrong not to love so amiable a prince?” To which the other replied, “Certainly, I know not why she goes out every night and leaves him alone. Is it possible that he does not perceive it?” “Alas!” says the first, “how would you have him to perceive it? She mixes every evening with his drink the juice of a certain herb, which makes him sleep so sound all night, that she has time to go where she pleases, and as day begins to appear, she comes to him again, and awakes him by the smell of something she puts under his nose.”