STRANGE SEA MONSTERS. 93 



safely that there are many verified pieces of evidence 

 on record of strange marine forms having been met 

 with, which evidences, judged according to ordinary 

 and common-sense rules, go to prove that certain 

 hitherto nndescribed marine organisms do certainly 

 exist in the sea-depths." As to the support which 

 natural history can give to the above proposition, 

 4 ' zoologists can but admit/' he proceeds, " the cor- 

 rectness of the observation. Certain organisms, and 

 especially those of the marine kind (e.g. certain whales) 

 are known to be of exceedingly rare occurrence. Our 

 knowledge of marine reptilia is confessedly very small; 

 and, best of all, there is no counter-objection or 

 feasible argument which the naturalist can offer by 

 way of denying the above proposition. He would be 

 forced to admit the existence of purely marine genera 

 of snakes which possess compressed tails, adapted for 

 swimming, and other points of organisation admit- 

 tedly suited for a purely aquatic existence. If, 

 therefore, we admit the possibility nay, even the 

 reasonable probability that gigantic members of 

 these water-snakes may occasionally be developed, we 

 should state a powerful case for the assumed and 

 probable existence of a natural ' sea-serpent/ We 

 confess we do not well see how such a chain of pro- 

 babilities can be readily set aside, supported as they 

 are in the possibility of their occurrence by zoological 

 science, and in the actual details of the case by evi- 

 dence as trustworthy in many cases as that received 

 in our courts of 



