254 THE LAND'S END 



Hayle estuary and was lost from its parents. The 

 days went by and it did not leave the river : the 

 mother seal had not found it, and apparently the 

 poor young thing had no sure instinct to guide it 

 across St. Ives Bay to the seal caverns in the cliffs 

 to the north of the lighthouse, which was probably its 

 birthplace. And probably finding itself very lonely 

 in the estuary, it came by and by to look on the 

 man in the boat, who was always there, as a sort 

 of companion perhaps as a seal of curious habits, 

 which looked a little like an adult seal, but pro- 

 gressed in a somewhat different manner, keeping 

 always to the surface of the water and swimming 

 with the aid of two long wing-like fins. But it 

 appeared to be a good-natured seal, and always re- 

 garded the orphaned youngster with a mild and wel- 

 coming expression. First it watched the ferryman 

 from a little distance, then approached him every time 

 he appeared, then began to follow, coming nearer and 

 nearer, and would swim behind the boat, quite close, 

 just as a spaniel or other water-loving dog will swim 

 after its master's boat. 



This was a delightful experience to the ferryman, 

 and the sight of the dog-like creature swimming after 

 the boat was also an entertainment to the passengers 

 and a cause of surprise to many. But there was 

 nothing remarkable in its action ; the seal, like the 

 dog, is a social creature ; it is well known that he 

 readily grows tame towards, and even attached to, 

 the human beings he is accustomed to see who do 

 not persecute him. The old Cornish author, Borlase, 



