heritage of that time, fortunately, is fast fading. 

 To-day, the esoteric aspect of science is regarded 

 by most of mankind not as a sorcery, but as a vital 

 part of our daily life : it is no longer looked upon 

 as a recondite study, but as part of the cultural 

 foundation on which rests the welfare of civiliza- 

 tion. 



So if, in telling a tale or two out of the school 

 of my own experience, I hurt the sensibilities of 

 some of the medieval-minded Magi, well . . . 

 that is just too bad! The primary purpose of this 

 book is to enable the reader at large to know the 

 lower animals of the sea as I have learned to know 

 them — to see them as beings friendly, familiar; 

 and not regard them with awe or even dread be- 

 cause of his lack of understanding. Let us then, 

 between friends, dispense with mystic frumpery; 

 the marvels of their ways will ever remain as en- 

 chanting. 



Every craftsman, whether he be a mender of 

 shoes or a tracker of electronic orbits, has his 

 "bench tricks," his short cuts and individual de- 

 vices for facilitating the work at hand. Not seldom 

 are the means and methods employed of an uncon- 

 ventional nature; that is, of a kind not usually 



[42] 



