m out."' Here Liddell and
Scott write, rather weakly, 'to dance out, let out, betray, probably of
some dance which burlesqued these ceremonies.' It is extremely
improbable that, in an age when it was still forbidden to reveal the
[Greek], or secret rites, those rites would be mocked in popular
burlesques. Lucian obviously intends to say that the matter of the
mysteries was set forth in ballets d'action. Now this is exactly the
case in the surviving mysteries of the Bushmen. Shortly after the
rebellion of Langalibalele's tribe, Mr. Orpen, the chief magistrate in
St. John's Territory, made the acquaintance of Qing, one of the last of
an all but exterminated tribe. Qing 'had never seen a white man, except
fighting,' when he became Mr. Orpen's guide. He gave a good deal of
information about the myths of his people, but refused to answer certain
questions. 'You are now asking the secrets that are not spoken of.' Mr.
Orpen asked, 'Do you know the secrets?' Qing replied, 'No, only the
initiated men of that dance know these things.' To 'dance' this or that
means, 'to be acquainted with this or that mystery;' the dances were
originally taught by Cagn, the mantis, or grasshopper god. In many
mysteries, Qing, as a young man, was not initiated. He could not 'dance
them out.' {42}

There are thus undeniably close resemblances between the Greek mysteries
and those of the lowest contemporary races.

As to the bull-roarer, its recurrence among Greeks, Zunis, Kamilaroi,
Maoris, and South African races, would be regarded, by some students, as
a proof that all these tribes had a common origin, or had borrowed the
instrument from each other. But this theory is quite unnecessary. The
bull-roarer is a very simple invention. Anyone might find out that a bit
of sharpened wood, tied to a string, makes, when whirred, a roaring
noise. Supposing that discovery made, it is soon turned to practical
use. All tribes have their mysteries. All want a signal to summon the
right persons together and warn the wrong persons to keep out of the way.
The church bell does as much for us, so did the shaken seistron for the
Egyptians. People with neither bells nor seistra find the bull-roarer,
with its mysterious sound, serve their turn. The hiding of the
instrument from women is natural enough. It merely makes the alarm and
absence of the curious sex doubly sure. The stories of supernatural
consequences to follow if a woman sees the turnd