136 EXTINCT MONSTERS. 



possession, and Hoffman died without regaining his treasure, or 

 receiving any compensation. At length the French Revolution 

 broke out, and the armies of the Republic advanced to the gates 

 of Maestricht. The town was bombarded ; but, at the suggestion 

 of the committee of savans who accompanied the French troops 

 to select their share of the plunder, the artillery was not suffered 

 to play on that part of the city in which the celebrated fossil was 

 known to be preserved. In the mean time, the Canon of St. 

 Peter's, shrewdly suspecting the reason why such peculiar favour 

 was shown to his residence, removed the specimen, and con- 

 cealed it in a vault ; but when the city was taken, the French 

 authorities compelled him to give up his ill-gotten prize, which 

 was immediately transmitted to the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, 

 where it still forms one of the most striking objects in that 

 magnificent collection." 



Dr. Mantell quotes the Frenchman's remark on this transaction : 

 '■'■ La Justice, qiioiquc tardive, arrive C7ifin avec le temps : " but adds, 

 " The reader will probably think that, although the reverend 

 canon was justly despoiled of his ill-gotten treasure, the French 

 commissioners were but very equivocal representatives of 

 Justice!'''' 



The beautiful cast (Fig. 37) at South Kensington (Fossil 

 Reptile Gallery, Wall-case 8) was presented to Dr. Mantell by 

 Baron Cuvier in 1825. It consists of both jaws, with numerous 

 teeth, and some other parts (see Fig. 38). The length is about four 

 and a half feet. This nearly perfect head was for a time a stumbling- 

 block to many naturalists, some of whom were of opinion that 

 it belonged to a whale. Cuvier and others considered it to be 

 a kind of link between the Iguanas and the Monitors.^ 



The entire backbone of the Maestricht animal appears to have 



' The Monitors are a family of large lizards inhabiting the warmer parts of 

 Africa and Asia. They live near the banks of rivers, anil some are altogether 

 aquatic. They often devour the eggs of crocodiles and aquatic birds. The 

 Nile Monitor, or Varanus, grows to a length of six feet. 



