(The 10th. ] THE VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS. 419 
prised at its never having occurred to any one before. If the signa- 
ture F.G.S. implies that the writer is a Fellow of the Geological 
Society, it is satisfactory to find a member of that particular body, 
whose favour was least to be expected, so pleased with the idea 
as to be willing to adopt it for his own. It had, however, been 
repeated and widely circulated by other periodicals. In the words 
of an elegant contributor in “Chambers’ Edinburgh Journal who 
alludes to it’ one would almost suppose that among the buried 
learning of the earlier nations there lurked some knowledge of 
geology, seeing how their ideas about dragons came to such a con- 
formity in some respects, with the realities of these preadamite 
reptiles.” 
“The determination of a great marine species, however, and 
even a knowledge of its habits and influence on the other inhab- 
itants of the deep, are not, as I conceive, the most obvious 
advantages to be desired from the settlement of this question. Let 
it be admitted that a huge unknown creature of any description, 
provided its general appearance is such as to redeem the various 
historians of the great sea-serpent from the charge of wilful de- 
ception, does “swim the ocean stream”, and the value of the result 
cannot be too easily over-estimated. The cui-bono philosopher, the 
bugbear of naturalists, will no doubt have been highly amused 
with the recent excitement about a discovery that at first sight 
appears of no practical consequence to the interests of man. I 
know of no subject of research he would be likely to seize upon 
with more secure self-complacency — or of one which, though 
indirectly, supplies a more triumphal answer. To have our failing 
confidence in the value of human testimony reassured (and no 
evidence can be more solemn than that which relates to the sea- 
serpent), is surely no trifling gain of itself. But more than this: 
no circumstance has tended so emphatically to stamp the “Yankee”’ 
character with the stain of a bold and unscrupulous love of fiction 
and exaggeration as the story of the sea-serpent. Perhaps, on the 
principle of Mr. Warren’s “man about town’, who, being called 
a splendid sinner, made it his pride to deserve the title, the 
thoughtless portion of our Trans-atlantic family (the generous trib- 
ute of an Agassiz is sufficient warrant for the savams) may have 
thence been led to indulge in a dangerous style of humour, through 
a spirit of bravads. This source of misunderstanding once removed, 
the American character may afterwards be regarded with more 
respect, and the people themselves — no longer excited to defy 
