SECTION II. 
The Question for Present Consideration—Difficulties of —As to Dimension 
_Habitat—The Sea—Its Extent—Depths—Inhabitants— Sargossa Sea 
—Pressure of the Waters—Temperature—Effect on Animal Life—In¬ 
stances of Gigantic Size—The Megatherium a Contemporary with Man— 
Longevity of Eish, and the Effect—Eagle Kays—Cephalopoda. 
« Oh Lord how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth 
is full of thy riches. 
« So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small 
and great beasts. 
«There go the ships: there is that Leviathan, whom thou hast made to play 
therein.” —Psalm civ. 24—26. 
Most of our readers will doubtless be sufficiently familiar with the 
ordinary description of the kraken and sea serpent, to be aware that the 
enormous dimensions assigned to these creatures are the great stumbling- 
block to belief; especially when combined with the rarity and indefinite¬ 
ness of their appearance. That a creature should visit the surface of the 
ocean, whose size and form can be described only by its resemblance to 
an island, rearing its limbs in the air to the height of ships masts, or that 
another of serpentiform shape, whose length is estimated at hundreds of 
feet, should be plainly seen four or five times in the quarter of a century, 
and neither of them, during the intervals of their appearance, leave further 
trace of their existence, living or dead, does indeed make large drafts on 
our faith. Yet, if arguments can be derived from analogy, showing that 
such existences are neither impossible nor improbable; that the difficulties 
attendant on the rarity of their appearance may be met; and still more, 
if it can be shown that, when stripped of exaggeration (perhaps unavoid¬ 
able), the dimensions of some of these supposed monsters do not much, if at 
all, exceed those of known creatures, then the whole question will be one 
of evidence—open, deservedly, to rigid scrutiny, but not to be rejected 
altogether because it may fail to clear up all that is doubtful and 
obscure. 
