252 COMMON SEAL. 



than the fore. The toes on all the feet are five 

 in number, and the claws are strong and sharp. 

 The tail is very short. The whole animal is co- 

 vered with short thick-set hair. In colour the 

 Seal varies considerably, being sometimes grey, 

 sometimes brown or blackish, and sometimes va- 

 riously patched or spotted with white or yellow- 

 ish. When these animals collect together in great 

 numbers on the shore, they diffuse a very strong 

 and disagreeable smell. This is a particularity 

 observed by Homer, who represents Menelaus re- 

 lating his adventure on the Isle of Pharos, where 

 he was constrained to lie for a time among a flock 

 of seals, disguised in the skin of one of these 

 animals. 



Seals may often be observed sleeping on the 

 tops of rocks, near the coast ; but when approach- 

 ed too near, they suddenly precipitate themselves 

 into the water. Sometimes, however, their sleep 

 is very profound, and it is even affirmed by some 

 that the Seal sleeps more profoundly than most 

 other quadrupeds. The structure of the Seal is 

 so singular, that, as Buffon well observes, it was a 

 kind of model, on which the imagination of the 

 poets formed their Tritons, Sirens, and Sea-Gods, 

 with a human head, the body of a quadruped, and 

 the tail of a fish. The Seal is possessed of a con- 

 siderable degree of intelligence, and may be 

 tamed, so as to become perfectly familiar with 

 those to whose care it is committed ; and even to 

 exhibit several tricks and gesticulations. Of this 

 we have numerous examples. The female Seals 



