95 



Seals 



of the day*s work, until the very meaning of the word 

 comfort is forgotten. 



And the pay ? Ah, well, as it always is unfailingly, 

 the rewards go to those who have done nothing but loll 

 easily at home in luxury. Lady, with the hundred- 

 guineai seal-skin coat, know for a certainty that the 

 men who looked death between the eyes and brutalised 

 themselves lower than the shark to wrench that coat of 

 yours from its rightful owners got less than a hundred 

 pence for so doing. The bulk of that money went to 

 city magnates and full-fed speculators who never gave 

 its origin a second thought. 



Of late years the indiscriminate slaughter of Seals 

 having threatened to exterminate them entirely, a good 

 deal of diplomatic intervention has taken place for the 

 purpose, first, of giving the Seal a close time, and, 

 secondly, of protecting the immature Seal. But it is 

 a difficult thing to control men who become so lawless 

 as seal-hunters do from the nature of their calling, and 

 I fear that as far as the fur Seal is concerned, at any 

 rate, the day of his extinction is not far off. 



Remains only to note the extreme intelligence and 

 teachability of the Seal. Most of us are familiar with 

 this beautiful creature in Zoological Gardens, where 

 its restricted quarters cannot conceal its wonderful 

 grace. Some of us too will recollect a group of trained 

 Seals taught to perform on musical instruments, play 

 football, etc. But none of us who have seen the Seal 

 at home, and have revelled in Kipling's inimitable 

 story of Kotick's career, will need any reminding that 

 in the Seal, no matter of what kind, we have one of the 

 most wonderful, amiable and intelligent of all God's 

 creatures, whether ashore or in the deep sea. 



