with that of the finding of this fish a short half 

 year ago. But despite the wildness of the weather, 

 its effect upon the hour is far from witching, weird, 

 or melancholy. Even the untimely death of the 

 hippocampid does not make my contentment less 

 complete. 



No other half year has been more revelatory; no 

 like period more fruitful; none more full. And for 

 once, in connection with a major problem, I ar- 

 rived at a solution without wearing out my eyes 

 or wearying my brain. Let me hasten to acknowl- 

 edge, however, that whatever completeness may 

 attend so apparently limited a series of observa- 

 tions, was due not so much to the ingenuity of the 

 investigator as to the facile nature of the subject, 

 and the help of a scant literature treating the same. 

 For, notwithstanding the comparative ease with 

 which the hippocampids can be studied, little more 

 than nothing regarding them comes to us through 

 the books of science. Even popular writings make 

 meager mention of these odd creatures beyond that 

 pertaining to their unconventional forms. Nor is 

 this silence without a significant reason. The plain 

 truth is that sea-horses, aside from their singular 

 appearance, have not much else to recommend 



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