Chapter I: The Country of the Genii

THERE is a tradition that some thousands of years ago twelve men from Britain, of a most gigantic size, and twelve men from Gaul, came over to the country of the genii, and while here were continually at war with each other; and, after remaining many years, returned again to Britain and Gaul. In the inhabited parts of the genii countries there are now no vestiges of them, though it is said there have been found some colossal skeletons in that wild, barren sand, the evil desert.

I have read a book called _The Travels of Captain Parnell_, out of which the following is an extract:

About four in the afternoon I saw a dark red cloud arise
in the east, which gradually grew larger till it covered the
whole sky. As the cloud spread the wind rose and blew a
tremendous hurricane. The sand of the desert began to
move and rolled like the waves of the sea. As soon as I saw
this I threw myself on my face and stopped my breath, for
I knew that this was a tornado or whirlwind. I remained
in this situation for three minutes; at the end of that time
I ventured to look up. The whirlwind had passed over and
had not hurt me, but close by lay my poor camel quite dead.
At this sight I could not forbear weeping; but my attention
was soon diverted by another object. About one
hundred yards further off lay an immense skeleton. I
immediately ran up to it and examined it closely. While
I was gazing at the long ghastly figure which lay stretched
upon the sand before me the thought came into my mind
that it might be the skeleton of one of those ancient Britons
who, tradition tells us, came from their own country to this
evil land, and here miserably perished. While I was pursuing
this train of meditation, I observed that it was bound
with a long chain of rusty iron. Suddenly the iron clanked
and the bones strove to rise, but a huge mountain of sand
overwhelmed the skeleton with a tremendous crash, and
when the dust which had hid the sun and enveloped everything
in darkness cleared away, not a mark could be distinguished to
show the future traveller where the bones
had lain.

Now, if this account be true—and I see no reason why we should suppose it is not—I think we may fairly conclude that these skeletons are evil genii chained in these deserts by the fairy Maimoune.[1]

1 Maimoune, a fairy, daughter of Damriel, King or head of a legion of genies.—_Arabian Nights Entertainments_.—C. W. H.

There are several other traditions, but they are all so obscure that no reliance is to be placed on them.