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stories of the sea serpent of our day, nor to explain that long and 
irregularly shaped masses of seaweed floating in phosphorescent 
seas may readily be mistaken for the many armed serpent. Sailors 
delight to tell of their escapes from sea serpents, and just as much 
dislike to have their stories dissected by the scientist’s knife. 
The fitness of Newport for an aquarium cannot be doubted, for 
everything here suggests one. If even inland towns may have 
aquaria, Newport on the sea, with its better facilities, ought not 
to be without one. There is here a choice of excellent sites. As 
the aquarium would be public, for the benefit of all, the City au¬ 
thorities might be induced to assist the project. If the City has 
no land to give, the cost of a suitable property would not be very 
great, inasmuch as the best building site is not necessary. Per¬ 
haps the site, free or at a low ground rental, is the last thing to be 
considered, and it may also be the least of the difficulties. A 
public aquarium is not a matter of prayer, it ought not to be of 
charity, and it need not be more than a slight tax. Like any 
other project, it has its difficulties. If, as it seems, these diffi¬ 
culties can be easily overcome, the work should be undertaken. 
If undertaken, it needs to be under the control of some organiza¬ 
tion of honorable aims. 
Perhaps the principal expense would be in the construction of 
a suitable building; and herein lies the occasion of foolish extrav¬ 
agance with ruin, or of wise economy with success. It is wiser 
to better the instruction, than to make the buildings pretentious 
with porticoes, colonnades, spires, turrets or pavilions. If the 
building be even temporary in construction, it would be sufficient 
until the project was shown to be not only a necessity, but self 
sustaining. The simpler the building, the better for the begin¬ 
ning, provided that it be well stocked. The marine life needed 
for it would be but little expense, and it is probable that nearly 
all of it would be furnished for it, without cost, by the United 
States Fish Commission. The Fish Commission has lately done 
much good in extending useful knowledge of marine life, by 
sending cabinets of carefully chosen specimens to even the smaller 
schools of our country. 
It may be taken for granted then, that a public aquarium at 
Newport, with its proposed educational character, would be well 
