244 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
it, without a hope of escape, to the beak, where it is devoured 
without pity. 
The cephalopod is the tiger of the sea, for it destroys for 
the simple pleasure of killing. Alcide d’Orbigny relates that 
he saw a small cuttle deserted by the ebbing tide, and left with 
a shoal of little fish in a pool upon the beach. He seemed to 
be whiling away the hours, or perhaps venting his rage, by killing 
THE COMMON CALMAR, THE WORM-LIKE CALAMARY. 
(Loligo vulgaris.) (Loligopsis vermicularis.) 
all his fellow-prisoners. He had satisfied his hunger, and most 
probably had only stopped eating because he could eat no longer, 
and now was wantonly killing the fish for amusement. Yet the 
cephalopods are strong examples of retributive justice. As they 
savagely kill, so are they in turn mercilessly destroyed. Their 
enemies, the dolphins, deal death and mutilation to thousands of 
their species, and often the shores of the Bay of Biscay may 
be seen covered with cuttles, with their arms torn off, and other 
parts of their bodies bitten by the dolphins, who hunt them in 
