250 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
a monster—a colossal poulpe, which was a terror to the mariners. 
Its length was asserted to be not less than a mile, and when seen 
on the surface of the water it appeared to be an island. Denis 
de Montfort gives a description of this monster, accompanied by 
a representation of the Kraken, as it was called, enwrapping a 
three-masted ship in its vast arms. Even Linnzus himself seems 
to have believed this fable, and in the first edition of his “System 
of Nature,” he catalogues the Kraken as the Sepia microcosmos ; 
but afterwards he seems to have had cause to discredit his infor- 
mation, for he omitted it in the next edition. Bartholin says 
that the bishop of Midaros found the Kraken quietly reposing 
on the shore. Mistaking the enormous creature for a huge rock, 
the reverend prelate erected an altar upon it, and performed mass. 
As soon as the bishop had had his say, the respectful poulpe 
waited until his reverence was safely on shore, and then plunged 
beneath the waves. Another bishop—Pontoppidan, of Bergen 
—assures us of the existence of the Kraken, and asserts that a 
whole regiment could manceuvre upon its back! But, in spite of 
the Church’s authority, the existence of the Kraken is considered 
fabulous. We no longer live in a time when we could credit, 
on mere hearsay, that there existed a sea monster capable of 
rendering the Straits of Gibraltar impassable! Yet, in our own 
time, really enormous cephalopods have been captured both in 
the Mediterranean and in the ocean. Although they were not 
as large as a ship, nor yet an island, neither could block up a 
strait, still they deserve the name gigantic. Aristotle speaks of 
a great calmar (re60os) which was taken in the Mediterranean, 
more than ten feet long. The famous diver, Piscinola, who went 
down in the Straits of Messina at the request of the Emperor 
Frederick IT., is said to have seen enormous poulpes attached to 
the rocks, whose arms were some yards long, and quite powerful 
enough to master a man. But even this statement is not suffi- 
ciently scientific to be received as truth. 
Modern naturalists have notified the capture of several very 
large cephalopods. M. Verany speaks of a calmar a yard and 
a half long, and which weighed twenty-four pounds. One was 
caught near Nice, weighing fifteen pounds. An equally large 
one was found in the Adriatic, and its body is still preserved in 
