FABUtOUS CfcPHALOPOBS. 91 



Denys Montfort's monster is outdone, however, by the Nor- 

 wegian Kraken described by Bishop Kric Fontoppidan as an 

 animal, the largest in creation, whose body rises above the surface 

 of the water like a mountain, and its arms like the masts of ships, 

 and a whole regiment of soldiers could easily go through their 

 mamenvres on its hack. This almost marvelous account is con- 

 firmed by what happened to the Bishop of Xidros. who. discov- 

 ering one of these gigantic monsters asleep in the sun. naturally 

 mistook it for a large rock, and raised an altar on its surface, 

 where he celebrated .Mass. The good-natured Kraken permitted 

 the worthy Bishop to finish the ceremonv and regain the shore, 

 before disappearing beneath the waves. After this account, who 

 shall believe the malicious inventions of Victor Hugo and Denys 

 Mont fort? A celebrated Kraken of aniiqtiitv was the Hydra of 

 Lenin, destroyed by Hercules. 



Among the curious inventions of ancient and modern roman- 

 cists upon the subject of the octopod or poulp, none is more 

 bi/arre than the description given of it in Victor lingo's novel, 

 "The Toilers of the Sea." That author invests the animal with 

 a strange organization and stranger feelings : this -jelly seasoned 

 with hatred has but one opening in the centre of his radial. Is 

 ihis only hiatus the anus? Is it the month ? It is both. The 

 same opening performs both functions. It is entrance and out- 

 let.' 1 Again, he denies to the creature a beak, yet he makes it 

 powerful for ihe destruction of human life. A very caustic crit- 

 icism on this work of ]\I. lingo, by Mr. IFenri Crosse. under the 

 title of A well-abused Mollusk," was printed in Journal de 

 Conchy liologie^ iSlii;. and a translation of it was published in 

 " Am. Jonr. (Vmch.," ii, 294. 



Cephalopoda in Ilieir Relations will) Oilier Animals* 



The number of cephalopoda of small size is excessively great, 

 but they become the prey of a multitude of enemies. On the 

 loth Jan., 1858. the Dutch ship Yrieudcntvouw sailed for two 

 hours through dead Loligos. covering the surface of the sea as 



* A list of animals parasitic upon the Cephalopoda, is given by Kefer- 

 stein (Bronn's Klassen und Orchmngen). 



