Marvels of the Universe 



29 



•of the animal. It was not much larger than my fist, but the malignity of its eyes belonged to the 

 Pit. I sawed all the tentacles off (they were tough, too), then stripped them from my legs, waded 

 ashore, and vomited. A paltry adventure, since the thing could not have done me any harm in 

 that shallow water ; but if it had been a large one ? 



Now in size, as far as our fairly full knowledge of the Octopus carries us, this creature is fortunately 

 very hmited, the largest known specimens having bodies not more than a foot in diameter when 

 distended, and tentacles six feet in length. Such an animal as this is sufficiently terrible, especially 

 when to its enormous muscular power is added a curiously malignant intelligence. Without 

 ■encroaching in the least upon the realms of fiction, it is impossible to avoid the conviction, upon 

 looking into the eyes of an Octopus, that it knows, that its ferocious character is buttressed by an 

 intelligence such as is possessed by no other animal except man. 



The eye of the Octopus is entirely black and quite circular. It has no lids, not even a nictitating 

 membrane such as birds possess, and these strange characteristics, added to the slimy horror of its 

 ■convolutions, are quite sufficient to account for the many amazing perversions of fact connected 

 with it that are to be found in the pages of ancient writers upon the subject, splendid inventions 

 Teased upon real facts and feebly copied by moderns. 



One exception must be made to this latter sweeping statement. Victor Hugo, with that 

 splendid disregard of facts 



him such 



has given 



which makes 



good reading, 



many thousands of his 



admirers a totally false 



idea of the magnitude of 



the Pieiiire of the Channel 



Islands in his "Toilers of 



i;he Sea." These horrible 



creatures are big enough 



lin aU conscience, and a 



body of a foot in diameter 



•and tentacles of from five 



to six feet in length 



would ser\'e to destroy 



the strongest of the sons 



•of men if it seized him 



in water up to his waist ; 



but those pieuvres of 



Victor Hugo's would pull 



• down an elephant. The 



size I have indicated is 



about the limit, and is not 



likely to be exceeded, 



since our knowledge of 



this creature, owing to its 



habit of Uving near the 



shore, is as I have said, 



fairly full. 



Another brilliant 

 Frenchman, Jules Verne, 

 .lias, in his wonderful 



f^ 



I'tuito hi/'] 



Thi 



[«. TMele. 

 THE OCTOPUS VIEWED FROM ABOVE. 



gives a good idea of the bag-like body and shows how the eyes protrude 

 from the body. 



