THE POULPE. 309 



Octopus, from its eight feet, or the common 

 Poulpe. The body of this creature is almost 

 globular ; it is furnished with eight feet or arms, 

 each having 240 suckers arranged in a double 

 series. It is without the two long arms possessed 

 by its relative the cuttle-fish ; but it can walk 

 with comparative facility, and in the water it can 

 swim rapidly backwards. This animal, with its 

 staring eyes and uncouth shape, is undoubtedly 

 of a very repulsive aspect, and must not a little 

 terrify the unhappy creatures it pursues and 

 seizes upon with its suckers. The ferocity of its 

 look is doubtless an accurate index of the fierce- 

 ness of its disposition. This is illustrated by the 

 following anecdote, which, although referring to a 

 foreign member of the poulpe family, may per- 

 haps indicate the character of our native species. 

 In his account of the " Natural History of the 

 Sperm Whale," Mr. Beale mentions that on one 

 occasion, while engaged in collecting specimens of 

 shells on the shores of the Bonin islands, he en- 

 countered a most extraordinary animal, which 

 was crawling on the rocks toward the water. 

 It was creeping on its eight legs, which being 

 soft and flexible bent under the weight of its 

 body, and served indeed to raise it only a little 

 from the surface along which it was moving. It 

 seemed alarmed, and made great efforts to escape, 

 but the naturalist had no idea of consenting to 

 the termination of so unexpected an interview 

 with the odd-looking stranger. In his first at- 

 tempt to prevent its escape he placed his foot 



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