A TRUE STORY. 373 



tion. We know that they represent something formid- 

 able, and that is all. It may assist the reader, however, 

 in his attempt to realize them, if we add that eighty 

 thousand persons must have begun counting at the crea- 

 tion of the world, to complete the enumeration by the 

 middle of the present century. 



The whale, however, does not feed upon these animal- 

 cules, but on the shrimps and minute crabs, the lob- 

 sters and sea-snails, which find in them their nutri- 

 ment. When he is feeding, he swims with considerable 

 swiftness below the surface, his jaws being widely ex- 

 tended. Consequently, a continuous stream of water 

 flows into his mouth, carrying along with it large quanti- 

 ties of animal life. The water escapes again at the sides, 

 but the food is entangled in and sifted through the 

 baleen, which, owing to its compact arrangement, and the 

 thick internal fringe, does not suffer even the minutest 

 particle to be lost. 



We have already spoken of the maternal affection of the 

 whale. The following anecdote relates to one of the 

 numerous species we are now describing : 



One of the harpooneers of a Greenland whaling-ship 

 had struck a cub, with the view of enticing her mother 

 within reach. Presently she arose in the neighbourhood 

 of the "fast boat," and seizing the young one, dragged 

 about six hundred feet of line out of the boat with re- 

 markable force and swiftness. Again she came to the 

 surface, darted furiously to and fro, frequently stopped 

 short, or suddenly changed her direction, and gave every 

 possible indication of extreme agony. For a considerable 

 time she continued to act in this way, though hotly pur- 

 sued by the boats ; and inspired with courage and resolu- 



