CHAPTER XXIV. 



BEHEMOTHS OF THE OCEAN 



"There is that leviathan, whom Thou hast formed to take his pastime 

 therein."— Ps. civ. 26, R.V. 



*' Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a fish hook ? 

 Or press down his tongue with a cord ? 

 Canst thou put a rope into his nose ? 

 Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?" — Job xli. i, R.V. 



T^ROM the company of hungry merciless 

 •^ Sharks and their relatives, an easy transition 

 carries us to the largest of Ocean-inhabitants — 

 the Whale. 



Not that sharks and whales belong to the same 

 division in the Animal Kingdom. Not that they 

 have aught in common beyond the possession of 

 great size and power. But because of that size 

 and power, they naturally come together at the 

 close of a sketch of Ocean Life. 



Sharks, if not in every respect to be regarded 

 as fully and entirely Fishes, are yet in most 

 essentials " fish-like." But Whales belong to a 

 higher level. 



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