THE OPEN SEA 89 



poisonous ; they are common in the Indian 

 Ocean ; they are of course the descendants 

 of land-snakes, and, as we have already 

 mentioned, some of them least come to the 

 shore to bring forth their young. 



The rock-record shows that there were once 

 great sea-serpents, and he is a bold man who 

 says he is sure there are none living to-day. 

 We remember seeing in the Prince of Monaco's 

 collection a great piece of a scaly cuttlefish. 

 It came from the stomach of a sperm-whale, 

 but no one has seen the animal. Unless the 

 piece was a piece of the very last scaly 

 cuttlefish, the animal is likely to be still 

 represented in the seas. Perhaps there may 

 be a giant sea-serpent too. 



So many of those who go down to the sea 

 in ships have seen sea-serpents that it is quite 

 a reasonable inquiry to ask what kinds of sea- 

 serpents they saw. One species certainly 

 consists of the backs of a row of porpoises 

 swimming quickly and showing at regular 

 intervals on the surface. Another species 

 consists of a long single-file of sea-fowl flying 

 close to the surface. Another species is one 

 of the large sharks, another is certainly a large 

 cuttle, and another consists of the long lips 



