Night Is Before the Dawn 19 



cases either seals or halibut are also shown. It is altogether one of the 

 strangest commentaries we have on the life of some of our earliest 

 ancestors and goes far towards placing all that happened subsequently 

 in its proper perspective. Following the whale, in fact, seems to be 

 one of man's oldest activities and we must bear this in mind as we 

 turn the pages of history and scan the amazing chapters that fol- 

 lowed these crude beginnings. 



The Common Porpoise (Phocaena phocaena) crops up from time 

 to time throughout the whole history of western Europe, and it has 

 played a noticeable part in the economy of several countries. The 

 animal is the commonest form of whale found round the North 

 Sea and is perhaps the easiest to catch. Its meat was once a standard 

 article of diet in the British Isles, being so highly thought of that it 

 was bought regularly for the royal kitchens of James V of Scotland, 

 while in Tudor times in England it attained special rank because of 

 Henry VIII's taste for it. We have the recipe for a sauce that was 

 particularly recommended for the dish, made of bread crumbs, sugar, 

 vinegar, and mint. Porpoises were regarded by the Church as fish 

 and were therefore allowed to be eaten during Lent, when they were 

 made into what was known as "porpesse pudding." One early writer, 

 however, says of its meat that it is "of a very hard digestion, noy- 

 some to the stomack, and of very grosse, excremental and naughty 

 juyce." This is a rather fearsome indictment but the alleged quali- 

 ties are probably due to other unwholesomenesses indulged in by 

 the worthy chronicler rather than to porpoise steak, which actually 

 tastes like tough, dry beef. Nowadays the porpoise is taken only for 

 its oil, of which each individual yields about three gallons. 



It is one of the smallest whales, growing to a length of only about 

 six feet, though some males of eight feet have been caught. The fe- 

 males are always smaller. In general color the common porpoise is 

 white below and dark slate-gray or black above, according to the 

 degree of wetness of the skin and the light in which the animal 

 is viewed. The two colors blend but the flanks are somewhat streaked 

 or mottled with gray. The flippers and tail are dark on both sides 

 and sometimes the tail has a pinkish or yellowish tinge. The animal 

 is of a beautiful spindle shape, with a rounded head and no beak. 

 There is a triangular fin placed a little in front of the middle of the 

 back measuring about eight inches along its base and four to five 



