392 THE VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS. [The 4th.] 
of the “sea-serpents’, I think we may nevertheless build up a most 
reasonable case both for their existence and for the explanation of 
their true nature, by taking into account the facts, that the term 
“sea-serpent , as ordinarily employed, must be extended to include 
other forms of vertebrate animals which possess elongated bodies ; 
and that cases of the abnormally large development of ordinary 
serpents and of serpent-like animals will reasonably account for the 
occurrence of the animals collectively named -sea-serpents.” 
“The idea that the animal observed in this instance’ (n°. 118) 
“was a huge serpent, seems to have been simply slurred over 
without that due attention which this hypothesis undoubtedly mer- 
its. Whilst to my mind, the only feasible explanation of the nar- 
rative of the crew of the Pauline’ (n°. 144, 145) “must be founded 
on the idea that the animals observed by them were gigantic snakes. 
The habits of the animals m attacking the whales, evidently 
point to a close correspondence with those of terrestrial serpents of 
large size, such as the boas and pythons; whilst the fact of the 
animal being described in the various narratives as swimming 
with the head out of water, would seem to indicate that, like all 
reptiles, they were air-breathers, and required to come more or less 
frequently to the surface for the purpose of respiration. The diffi- 
culties which appear to stand in the way of reconciling the sea- 
serpent with a marme snake, in this or m other cases, are two in 
number. I'he great majority of intelligent persons are unaware of 
the existence of serpents of truly and exclusively marine habits; 
and thus the mere existence of such snakes constitutes an apparent 
difficulty, which, however, a slight acquaintance with the history 
of the reptilia would serve at once to remove. Mr. Gosse speaks of 
these marine snakes, — the Hydrophidae of the naturalist, — 
which inhabit the warmer seas, possess compressed fin-like tails 
adapted for swimming, and are frequently met with far out at sea. 
Whilst, as regards the claims of the “sea-serpent’” to belong to the 
true serpent order, naturalists have dismissed their idea, simply 
because it has never occurred to them that a gigantic development 
of an ordinary species of sea-snake would fully correspond with 
most of the appearances described, and would in the most natural 
manner explain many of the sea-serpent tales. Suppose that a sea- 
snake of gigantic size is carried out of its ordinary latitude, and 
allow for slight variations or inaccuracies in the accounts given by 
Captain M’Quhae, and I thmk we have im these ideas the nearest 
possible approach to a reasonable solution of this interesting problem”. 
