pe EES. | | REPORTS AND PAPERS. 279 
faction of the judgment. I am far from insensible to the pleasures 
of the discovery of a new and rare animal; but before I can enjoy 
them, certain conditions — e. g. reasonable proof or evidence of 
its existence — must be fulfilled. I am also far from undervaluing 
the information which Captain M’Quuaz has given us of what he 
saw. When fairly analized, it lies in a small compass, but my 
knowledge of the animal kingdom compels me to draw other con- 
clusions from the phenomena than those which the gallant captain 
seems to have jumped at. He evidently saw a large animal moving 
through the water, very different from anything he had before 
witnessed — neither a whale, a grampus, a great shark, an alli- 
gator, nor any of the larger surface swimming creatures which are 
fallen in with in ordinary voyages. He writes: — “On our atten- 
tion being called to the object, it was discovered to be an enorm- 
ous serpent” (read “animal”’), “with the head and shoulders kept 
about four feet constantly above the surface of the sea. The diameter 
of the serpent” (animal) “was about fifteen or sixteen inches behind 
the head; its colour a dark brown, with yellowish white about the 
throat’. No fins were seen (the captain says there were none; but 
from his own account, he did not see enough of the animal to prove 
the negative). “Something like the mane of a horse, or rather a bunch 
of sea-weed, washed about its back.” So much of the body as was 
seen was “not used in propelling the animal through the water, either 
by vertical or horizontal undulation.” A calculation of its length 
was made under a strong preconception of the nature of the 
beast. The head, e. g., is stated to be, “without any doubt, 
that of a snake; and yet a snake wouid be the last species to 
which a naturalist conversant with the forms and characters of the 
heads of animals, would refer such a head as that of which Cap- 
tain M’Quhae has transmitted a drawing to the Admirality, and 
which he certifies to have been accurately copied in the ///ustrated 
London News tor October 28, 1848, p. 265. Your Lordship will 
observe that no sooner was the captain’s attention called to the 
object, than “it was discovered to be an enormous serpent”, and 
yet the closest inspection of as much of the body as was visible, 
a fleur deau, failed to detect any undulations of the body, although 
such actions constitute the very character which would distinguish 
a serpent or serpentiform swimmer from any other marine species. 
The foregone conclusion, therefore, of the beast’s being a sea- 
serpent, notwithstanding its capacious vaulted cranium, and stiff, 
inflexible trunk, must be kept in mind in estimating the value of 
