SEA-SERPENTS. 2SS 



and the fjords, or deep inlets, which mark the 

 rocky coast of that country are the scenes where 

 it is reported to have been most frequently seen. 

 The shores of New England in North America 

 are also said to have been favoured with frequent 

 visits by the mysterious animal during the present 

 century ; and very recently reports have been 

 published of its appearance in the midst of the 

 ocean, at a considerable distance from land. A 

 multitude of witnesses of unimpeachable charac- 

 ter for veracity, both in Europe and America, 

 have testified to personal observation of the 

 monster, and a great body of e^ddence exists 

 on the subject ; yet it cannot be denied that 

 when these testimonies are carefully collated and 

 examined in detail, they present discrepancies, 

 anomalies, and improbabilities, which greatly di- 

 minish their value. Perhaps the most that can 

 with safety be predicated, at present, is that 

 there probably exists some marine animal of 

 colossal size, and lengthened form, which has not 

 yet been received into systematic zoology. 



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