36 ANIMALS OF THE PAST 



thirty feet, and need not be ashamed to match his bulk 

 and jaws against those of most Mosasaurs. 



The first of these sea-reptiles to be discovered has 

 passed into history, and now reposes in the Jardin des 

 Plantes, Paris, now Musee d'Histoire NatureUe, after 

 changing hands two or three times, the original owner 

 being dispossessed of his treasure by the subtleties of 

 law, while the next holder was deprived of the specimen 

 by main force. Thus the story is told by M. Faujas St. 

 Fond, as rendered into English, in Mantell's "Petrifac- 

 tions and their Teachings": "Some workmen, in 

 blasting the rock in one of the caverns of the interior of 

 the mountain, perceived, to their astonishment, the 

 jaws of a large animal attached to the roof of the chasm. 

 The discovery was immediately made known to M. 

 Hoffman, who repaired to the spot, and for weeks pre- 

 sided over the arduous task of separating the mass of 

 stone containing these remains from the surrounding 

 rock. His labors were rewarded by the successful ex- 

 trication of the specimen, which he conveyed in triumph 

 to his house. This extraordinary discovery, however, 

 soon became the subject of general conversation, and 

 excited so much interest that the canon of the cathedral 

 which stands on the mountain resolved to claim the 

 fossil, in right of being lord of the manor, and succeeded, 

 after a long and harassing lawsuit, in obtaining the 

 precious relic. It remained for years in his possession, 

 and Hoffman died without regaining his treasure. At 

 length the French Revolution broke out, and the armies 

 of the Republic advanced to the gates of Maestricht. 

 The town was bombarded; but, at the suggestion of the 

 committee of savans who accompanied the French 

 troops to select their share of the plunder, the artillery 

 was not suffered to play on that part of the city in which 

 the celebrated fossil was known to be preserved. In 



