THE GREA T SEA SERPENT. 
103 
narratives not proved to be erroneous, the various appear- 
ances of the supposed " Great Sea-serpent " may now be 
nearly all accounted for by the forms and habits of known 
animals ; especially if we admit, as proposed by Dr. Andrew 
Wilson, that some of them, including the marine snakes, 
may, like the cuttles, attain to an extraordinary size. 
2nd. That to assume that naturalists have perfect cogni- 
zance of every existing marine animal of large size, would 
be quite unwarrantable. It appears to me more than pro- 
bable that many marine animals, unknown to science, and 
some of them of gigantic size, may have their ordinary 
habitat in the great depths of the sea, and only occasionally 
come to the surface ; and I think it not impossible that 
amongst them may be marine snakes of greater dimensions 
than we are aware of, and even a creature having close 
affinities with the old sea-reptiles whose fossil skeletons tell 
of their magnitude and abundance in past ages. 
It is most desirable that every supposed appearance of 
the " Great Sea-serpent " shall be faithfully noted and 
described ; and I hope that no truthful observer will be 
deterred from reporting such an occurrence by fear of the 
disbelief of naturalists, or the ridicule of witlings. 
FINIS. 
