282 LIFE OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY cHAP. XII 



deposition, which was supposed to corroborate it. 

 The details made the circumstances alleged by the 

 former impossible, and on pointing this out, he heard 

 no more of the story, which was a good example of 

 the mixing up of observations with conclusions drawn 

 from them. 



And on the following day he replies to another 

 such detailed story — 



Admiral Mellersli says, " I saw a huge snake, at least 

 18 feet long," and I have no doubt he believes he is 

 simply stating a matter of fact. Yet his assertion 

 involves a hypothesis of the truth of which I venture to 

 be exceedingly doubtfuL How does he know that what 

 he saw was a snake ? The neighbourhood of a creature 

 of this kind, within axe-stroke, is hardly conducive to 

 calm scientific investigation, and I can answer for it that 

 the discrimination of genuine sea-snakes in their native 

 element from long- bodied fish is not always easy. Further, 

 that " back fin " troubles me ; looks, if I may say so, very 

 fishy. 



If the caution about mixing up observations with 

 conclusions, which I ventured to give yesterday, were 

 better attended to, I think we should hear very little 

 either about antiquated sea-serpents or new " mesmerism." 



It is perhaps not superfluous to point out that in 

 this, as in other cases of the marvellous, he did not 

 merely pooh-pooh a story on the ground of its ante- 

 cedent improbability, but rested his acceptance or 

 rejection of it upon the strength of the evidence 

 adduced. On the other hand, the weakness of such 

 evidence as was brought forward time after time, was 

 a justification for refusing to spend his time in 



