It was the vague belief of many nations that the abodes of the blest lay somewhere beyond it – in the “other world,” a region half earthly, half heavenly, whence the spirits of the departed could not cross the water to return; – and so they were constantly imagining excursions made by favored mortals to enchanted islands. To add to the confusion, actual islands in the Atlantic were sometimes discovered and actually lost again, a, for instance, the Canaries, which were reached and called the Fortunate Isles a little before the Christian era, and were then lost to sight for thirteen centuries before being visited again.
As nearby islands became better known, men’s imaginations carried the mystery further out over the unknown western sea. The aged astronomer, Toscanelli, for instance, suggested to Columbus the advantage of making the supposed island of Antillia a half-way station; just as it was proposed, long centuries after, to find a station for the ocean telegraph in the equally imaginary island of Jacquet, which has only lately disappeared from the charts.
Every tale in this book bears reference to some actual legend, and the authorities for each will be found carefully given in the appendix for such readers as may care to follow the subject farther. It must be remembered that some of these imaginary islands actually remained on the charts of the British admiralty until the 1800s. If even the exact science of geographers retained them thus long, surely romance should embalm them forever.
