424 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
struggled for a moment, and disappeared. The two seals instantly 
uttered a cry, crawled as fast as they could to the water’s edge, and 
plunged in. In the twinkling of an eye the male reappeared, 
holding carefully in his mouth the half-drowned dog, which he 
placed at the little girl’s feet. 
The seal swims well, is an excellent diver, and can hold his 
breath for a considerable time. His movements are remarkable 
for their elegance and swiftness. He comes occasionally to lie 
down or sleep on the sandy beach, but takes care not to go further 
than eighteen or twenty feet from the water's edge. On the 
slightest alarm he leaps into the sea, and swims out to deep water. 
The seal has an ugly, ungraceful gait on land; he drags himself 
rather than walks, advancing by means of frequent, short jumps, 
produced by the contraction of the whole body, the front fins 
being pressed tightly against his sides. 
Each seal repairs to one portion of the rocky shore, with his 
family, and makes it his home and exclusive property; the in- 
trusion of any stranger leads at once to a terrible fight. Every 
family lives at some distance from its neighbours. The male 
assembles together a sort of harem of females; he seems to have 
great affection for them, and defends them boldly; he has some- 
times as many as fifty. 
When young, the males fight with fury for their mates, but 
when they are old, the females abandon them. When the female 
is about to bring forth her young, her mate conducts her to the 
shore, to some spot carpeted with marine plants. Here the mother 
deposits her young, and evinces towards it a devoted attachment. 
The little ones play and gambol together. But when they have 
attained the age of five or six months, the father considers them 
strong enough to live alone, and he drives them away to find a 
home for themselves. 
The seals of the Somme are the objects of a sport full of 
attractions for those who are fond of it, and they furnish a branch 
of maritime industry which is of some importance. M. de Rylé 
has published very interesting accounts of these hunts. The most 
favourable season is the month of June, when the females are 
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