he reverberations
would have died entirely away. Such a belief could be very easily
sustained among the common people; for a large, open-mouthed vessel
like the Dodona caldron, with thin sides formed of sonorous metal,
might be kept in a state of continual vibration by the wind alone.

They who wished to consult this oracle came with rich presents both
for the priestesses and for the shrine, and when they had made the
offerings, and performed the preliminary ceremonies required, they
propounded their questions to the priestesses, who obtained the
replies by interpreting, according to certain rules which they had
formed, the sounds emitted by the mysterious gong.

The second black dove which took its flight from Thebes alighted, as
we have already said, in the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon. This oasis was
a small fertile spot in the midst of the deserts of Africa, west of
Egypt, about a hundred miles from the Nile, and somewhat nearer
than that to the Mediterranean Sea. It was first discovered in the
following manner: A certain king was marching across the deserts, and
his army, having exhausted their supplies of water, were on the point
of perishing with thirst, when a ram mysteriously appeared, and took a
position before them as their guide. They followed him, and at length
came suddenly upon a green and fertile valley, many miles in length.
The ram conducted them into this valley, and then suddenly vanished,
and a copious fountain of water sprung up in the place where he
had stood. The king, in gratitude for this divine interposition,
consecrated the spot and built a temple upon it, which was called the
temple of Jupiter Ammon. The dove alighted here, and ever afterward
the oracles delivered by the priests of this temple were considered as
divinely inspired.

These three were the most important oracles. There were, however, many
others of subordinate consequence, each of which had its own peculiar
ceremonies, all senseless and absurd. At one there was a sort of
oven-shaped cave in the rocks, the spot being inclosed by an
artificial wall. The cave was about six feet wide and eight feet deep.
The descent into it was by a ladder. Previously to consulting this
oracle certain ceremonies were necessary, which it required several
days to perform. The applicant was to offer sacrifices to many
different deities, and to purify himself in various ways. He was then
conducted to a stream in the neighborhood of the oracle, where he
wa