252 
COMMON SEAL. 
than the fore. The toes on all the feet are five 
in number, and the claws are strong and sharp. 
The tail is very short. The whole animal is co- 
vered with short thick-set hair. In colour the 
Seal varies considerably^ being sometimes grey, 
sometimes brown or blackish, and sometimes va- 
riously patched or spotted with white or yellow- 
ish. When these animals collect together in great 
numbers on the shore, they diffuse a very strong 
and disagreeable smell. This is a particularity 
observed by Homer, who represents Menelaus re- 
lating his adventure on the Isle of Pharos, where 
he was constrained to lie for a time among a flock 
of seals^ disguised in the skin of one of these 
animals. 
Seals may often be observed sleeping on the 
tops of rocks, near the coast ; but when approach- 
ed too near, they suddenly precipitate themselves 
into the water. Sometimes, however, their sleep 
is very profound, and it is even affirmed by some 
that the Seal sleeps more profoundly than most 
other quadrupeds. The structure of the Seal is 
so singular, that, as Buffon well observes, it was a 
kind of model, on which the imagination of the 
poets formed their Tritons, Sirens, and Sea-Gods, 
with a human head, the body of a quadruped, and 
the tail of a fish. The Seal is possessed of a con- 
siderable degree of intelligence, and may be 
tamed, so as to become perfectly familiar with 
those to whose care it is committed ; and even to 
exhibit several tricks and gesticulations. Of this 
we have numerous examples. The female Seals 
