THE GREAT SEA SERPENT. 429 



porpoises," or dolphins, and, by their shape and height, am 

 able to recognise their owners as having been of the species 

 Delphinus delphis. My sea serpent was composed of seven 

 of these cetaceans swimming in line, and, as is their wont, 

 maintaining their relative positions so accurately that all 

 the fins appeared to belong to one animal.* 



Another curious sea serpent incident has been described 

 since the first edition of this book was published. The 

 Times of October 17, 1883, contained the following letter 

 from the Rev. E. Highton, Vicar of Bude, Cornwall : 



" Yesterday afternoon, about 4.30, a remarkable sight was seen from 

 Summerleaze, an open down at Bude, overlooking the sea. I saw a 

 long, low, dark object, about a mile and a half from the shore, skimming 

 along the surface of the sea, the back of the creature being a little 

 above the top of the water. It kept on its course at a rate which I 

 calculated to be about twenty-five miles an hour, never once disappear- 

 ing entirely the whole time it was in sight. It was watched by several 

 friends who were with me and myself for about ten minutes, and by that 

 time it had passed over a considerable space of water, between four 

 and five miles, I should think. The creature's length was variously 

 guessed by us to be from fifty feet to eighty feet. Just once a larger 

 mass appeared out of the water than at any other time, and then not 

 for more than a couple of seconds. This was at the end, apparently, 

 of the creature, but it scarcely looked like a tail. It seemed more like 

 a curl in some long, thin monster. Can any of your scientific readers 

 suggest what it was ? Would a whale swim for several miles in such a 

 regular even course ? One scarcely likes to suggest a sea serpent ; but 

 if these creatures are really in existence, that would be the best solution 

 of the question. 



" October I2th, 1883. " E. HlGHTON, Vicar of Bude." 



Mr. Highton's description of the object seen was so clear 

 and unvarnished, and his freedom from preconceived notions 

 as to its nature was so evident, that his communication 

 deservedly attracted attention. In response to his invita- 



* I was unable to record this incident in the first edition of this 

 treatise, as I had temporarily mislaid my memorandum concerning it. 



