364. THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS , [ N°. oa 
description “holding on the belly of the whale” is incorrect. The 
dimensions of the neck estimated at thirty feet in length and of 
about the thickness of the mast of a junk are certainly not exag- 
gerated. After the whale’s escape, the sea-serpent for about ten 
seconds stood in an erect position, like the animal of Captain 
Brown (n°. 56), taking evidently a survey all around, then bent 
its neck swan-like as in shown in the figure and finally “descended 
into the water, the upper end going first’’, exactly the way in 
which the animal behaved seen by Capt. Curistmas (n°. 124). 
The description of the colour as “resembling that of a pilot-fish”, 
is very vague, for the different pilot-fishes (Vaucrates) have different 
colours, generally grey with some hue of blue, brown, or purple. 
The vague definition may be the result of a damp atmosphere, or | 
it must be that the throat was turned towards the spectators, and 
not the back-part of the neck, which is nearly black. As the sea- 
serpent has a very long and pointed tail, the fan-shaped or double 
finned tail in fig. 49 must be accounted for. This I think may be 
done in the followmg four ways: 1. The tail represents the whale, 
disappearing in the water, which in so doing caused a severe splash 
as is shown in the figure. 2. The tail is an optical illusion and 
the two fins of it were in fact the animal’s hindflappers paddling 
furiously, which may be explained as an expression of the animal’s 
emotion, as the whale escaped, and in doing so, the flappers 
caused the violent splash. 3. Not the flappers but the tail of the 
animal was lashing the water vehemently, and caused the optical 
illusion and the immense splash and foam. 4. The drawer, believing 
that the animal had a cetacean tail or a fish-tail, drew one, lash- 
ing the water, and so represented more his own imagination than 
the reality; but im no case a double finned tail has ever belonged 
to an animal with a long swan-like curved neck, as is really be- 
lieved by Mr. Szartes V. Woop in that number of Mature / 
152. — 1879, August 5.—(Z%mes of September 24, 1879). 
“Capt. J. F. Cox, master of the British ship Privateer, which 
arrived at Delaware breakwater on the 9th. inst. from London, 
says: — “On the 5th. ult., 100 miles west of Brest (France), 
weather fine and clear, at 5 p.m., as I was walking the quarter 
deck, looking to windward, I saw something black rise out of the 
water about twenty feet, in shape like an immense snake about 
