156 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



northern latitudes, and furnishes the inhabitants of those frigid 

 regions with nearly all their necessaries and luxuries. Enor- 

 mous numbers are caught annually for the sake of their skins 

 and oil. The Harp Seal frequents the coast of Newfoundland 

 and is so named from the harp-shaped band which marks the 

 backs of the males. The Sea Elephant is the largest of the 

 seals. It is said to attain to the length of twenty-five to 

 thirty feet, and a circumference of fifteen to eighteen feet. 

 It belongs to the Antarctic sea. 



"Seals when taken young," says Captain Brown, "are 

 capable of being completely domesticated, will answer to 

 their name, and follow their master from place to place. In 

 January, 1819, a gentleman, in the neighbourhood of Burnt- 

 island, county of Fife, in Scotland, completely succeeded in 

 taming a seal. Its singularities attracted the curiosity of 

 strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the sagacity of a 

 dog, lived in its master's house, and ate from his hand. In 

 his fishing excursions, this gentleman generally took it with 

 him, when it afforded no small entertainment. If thrown into 

 the water, it would follow for miles the track of the boat ; 

 and although thrust back by the oars, it never relinquished 

 its purpose. Indeed, it struggled so hard to regain its seat, 

 that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely 

 overcome the natural predilection for its native element." 

 The Seal's Notwithstanding the absence of external ears 

 Docility, the common seal has a remarkable sense of hear- 

 ing and a keen taste for sweet sounds. Seals have been 

 known to follow a vessel, for miles, upon the deck of which 

 a violin or a flute has been played. To quote Sir Walter 

 Scott: 



"Rude Heiskar's seals, through surges dark, 

 Will long pursue the minstrel's bark." 



They are also easily tamed, when they are found to be 

 exceedingly affectionate to those who treat them kindly. Some 

 years ago a farmer, residing on the east coast of Scotland, 



