[Illustration: Stamp, "Barbados", ½ penny]

From allegory to mythology is but a step. Greece has long displayed on
her stamps the winged head of Mercury and Uruguay has given us a dainty
picture of the messenger of the gods. The late issues of Barbados have a
picture of Amphitrite, the spouse of Neptune, in her chariot drawn by
sea-horses. The handsome stamps of the United States, intended for the
payment of postage on newspapers and periodicals bear the pictures of
nine of the goddesses of Grecian mythology. The stamps of China,
Shanghai and Japan introduce subjects from oriental myths. This is not a
pussy cat in a fit or trying to dance a _pas seul_ on the end of its
tail. It is one of the most venerated of the Chinese dragons. One of its
provinces is to guard the sacred crystal of life. It has a human head,
the wings of a bird, the claws of a tiger and the tail of a serpent.

[Illustration: Stamp, "Shanghai LPO", 80 cash]

[Illustration: Stamp, "Nicaragua", 1 centavo]

[Illustration: Stamp, "Estados Unidos de Colombia", 50 cents]

[Illustration: Stamp, "Venezuela", 5 c's]

[Illustration: Stamp, "State of North Borneo", 18 cents]

One of the stock arguments advanced in favor of philately, by those who
think it needs other excuse than the entertainment it affords, is that
it teaches geography. This is undoubtedly true, and, as if in support of
the argument, several countries have given us what might be called map
stamps. Of late years, it has become customary for countries to exploit