OCT. HUMAN SKELETONS — ELF- ARROWS — SEALS. 29 



It has twice happened to me to find human ske- 

 letons, or rather the remains of skeletons, lying on 

 the sand, laid bare by some drifting wind, or half 

 disinterred by the subterraneous proceedings of the 

 rabbits. In both cases the remains were evidently 

 of great antiquity, but had been preserved by the 

 dry sand. 



Those curiously carved pieces of flint called elf- 

 arrows are not uncommon in some parts of the 

 sand-hills. 



On one part of the sands, which forms a peninsula 

 at low water, but an island when it is high, I perhaps 

 discover two or three seals lying. Clumsy looking 

 as they are, at the slightest alarm they scuffle off 

 with great rapidity into the water. Once there they 

 feel secure, and rising at a short distance from the 

 shore, they take a good look at the intruder on 

 their domain. Ugly and misshapen as a seal 

 appears on land, he is when in the water by no 

 means an unsightly -looking animal ; and he floats 

 and dives with a quiet rapidity which appears mar- 

 vellous to the looker-on. You see a seal's head 

 appear above the water; and you sit down half 

 concealed, with ready rifle, to wait his reappearance. 

 In a minute or two you are suddenly startled by its 

 rising quietly in quite a different direction ; and 

 after gazing intently at you for a few moments with 



