FOOTNOTES:

[1]An interesting proof that the ancient Egyptians were also acquainted with other cephalopods has been communicated to me by Mr. Eugenius Birch, the architect of the Brighton Aquarium. Whilst on a journey to Nubia, up the Nile, in January, 1875, he visited the temple of Bayr-el-Bahree, Thebes (date, 1700B.C.), the entrance to which had been deeply buried beneath the light, wind-drifted sand accumulated during many centuries. By order of the Khedive access was recently obtained to its interior by the excavation and removal of this deep deposit; and amongst the hieroglyphics on the walls were found, between the zig-zag horizontal lines which represent water, figures of various fishes so accurately portrayed as to be easily identified. With them was the outline of a squid 14 inches long. As this temple is 500 miles from the delta of the Nile it is remarkable that nearly all the fishes there represented are of marine species.

[2]Seepage 49.

[3]From the Greek wordscephale, the head; andpoda, feet.

[4]Fromocto, eight; andpous(poda), feet.

[5]See an interesting article on the fossil and recent cephalopoda, by Henry Woodward, F.R.S., in theStudent, Nos. xix. and xxii.

[6]In the Appendix to Sir Edward Belcher’s “Voyage of the Samarang,” Mr. Arthur Adams, the Assistant Surgeon attached to the Expedition, gives some valuable information concerning the Argonaut, numerous specimens of which he had opportunities of capturing in the South Atlantic, and observing. He says:—“There is not the slightest vestige of any muscular attachment. This remarkable cephalopod carries about her eggs in a light calcareous nest, which she firmly retains possession of by means of the broad, expanded, delicate membranes of the posterior pair of tentacles. When disturbed or captured, however, she loosens her hold, and, leaving her cradle to its fate, swims away independent of her shell.” He adds that “having once left her shell she has not the ability, nor, perhaps, the sagacity, to re-enter her nest and resume the guardianship of her eggs.” From observations of the breeding habits of other octopods I doubt this.

[7]Charlesworth’sMagazine of Natural History, Sept. 1837; p. 393.

[8]Seepage 27.

[9]H. Woodward; op. cit.

[10]“The dear devoured one,” as a local journal called it, was at once immersed in methylated spirits. The dog-fish was stuffed. Both are still preserved at the Aquarium.

[11]The story of apprentices stipulating with their masters that they should not be required to eat salmon on more than a specified number of days in a week—a familiar illustration of satiety producing not only indifference but disgust—is probably, like many other illustrations, over-drawn, and not wholly correct in its representation. For if, as has been suggested, the salmon the youths objected to were often kelts, salted or fresh, their protest is hardly to be wondered at. No trace of such a stipulation has, however, been found in any old indentures.

[12]Seepage 44.

[13]“Naturalis Historiæ,” lib. ix., cap. 29.

[14]Voyage of theBeagle; p. 8.

[15]“Travels in Lycia.”

[16]A few days after the publication inLand and Waterof my account of this occurrence, the following lines appeared inFun. They were written by its editor, poor dear Tom Hood, who loved all animals—birds, beasts, and fishes—and delighted in conversing with me about those under my care:—THE STRAYING ’TOPUS.A LEGEND OF THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM.Have you heard of the Octopus—’Topus of the feelers eight—How he left his tank o’po’pusLump-fish to disintegrate?To the lump-fish tank, as sprightlyAs the Brighton coach, he’d ride;For two passengers he nightlyFound convenient room inside.On his feelers, long and curly,Homeward then he gently strode;And you’d have to get up earlyTo perceive him on the road.But it happened Mr. Lawler,Whom the lump-fish ought to thank,Caught this very early caller,“Dropt-in” on his neighbours’ tank!For some weeks the world lump-fishiousVery strangely vanished had;—So the visit was suspicious,And appearances were bad!Well for him, this brigand larkyWas not brought before J. P.(Neither clergy, nor squire-archy)But to Mr. Henry Lee.Said he, “Punish on suspicion,Is a thing I never will—Catch him in the same position;Then I’ll send him to the mill!”Treadmill is a wear-and-tear case,And Octopus would, you see,Do four men upon a staircase—Law, how tired the beast would be.

THE STRAYING ’TOPUS.

A LEGEND OF THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM.

Have you heard of the Octopus—’Topus of the feelers eight—How he left his tank o’po’pusLump-fish to disintegrate?To the lump-fish tank, as sprightlyAs the Brighton coach, he’d ride;For two passengers he nightlyFound convenient room inside.On his feelers, long and curly,Homeward then he gently strode;And you’d have to get up earlyTo perceive him on the road.But it happened Mr. Lawler,Whom the lump-fish ought to thank,Caught this very early caller,“Dropt-in” on his neighbours’ tank!For some weeks the world lump-fishiousVery strangely vanished had;—So the visit was suspicious,And appearances were bad!Well for him, this brigand larkyWas not brought before J. P.(Neither clergy, nor squire-archy)But to Mr. Henry Lee.Said he, “Punish on suspicion,Is a thing I never will—Catch him in the same position;Then I’ll send him to the mill!”Treadmill is a wear-and-tear case,And Octopus would, you see,Do four men upon a staircase—Law, how tired the beast would be.

Have you heard of the Octopus—’Topus of the feelers eight—How he left his tank o’po’pusLump-fish to disintegrate?

Have you heard of the Octopus—

’Topus of the feelers eight—

How he left his tank o’po’pus

Lump-fish to disintegrate?

To the lump-fish tank, as sprightlyAs the Brighton coach, he’d ride;For two passengers he nightlyFound convenient room inside.

To the lump-fish tank, as sprightly

As the Brighton coach, he’d ride;

For two passengers he nightly

Found convenient room inside.

On his feelers, long and curly,Homeward then he gently strode;And you’d have to get up earlyTo perceive him on the road.

On his feelers, long and curly,

Homeward then he gently strode;

And you’d have to get up early

To perceive him on the road.

But it happened Mr. Lawler,Whom the lump-fish ought to thank,Caught this very early caller,“Dropt-in” on his neighbours’ tank!

But it happened Mr. Lawler,

Whom the lump-fish ought to thank,

Caught this very early caller,

“Dropt-in” on his neighbours’ tank!

For some weeks the world lump-fishiousVery strangely vanished had;—So the visit was suspicious,And appearances were bad!

For some weeks the world lump-fishious

Very strangely vanished had;—

So the visit was suspicious,

And appearances were bad!

Well for him, this brigand larkyWas not brought before J. P.(Neither clergy, nor squire-archy)But to Mr. Henry Lee.

Well for him, this brigand larky

Was not brought before J. P.

(Neither clergy, nor squire-archy)

But to Mr. Henry Lee.

Said he, “Punish on suspicion,Is a thing I never will—Catch him in the same position;Then I’ll send him to the mill!”

Said he, “Punish on suspicion,

Is a thing I never will—

Catch him in the same position;

Then I’ll send him to the mill!”

Treadmill is a wear-and-tear case,And Octopus would, you see,Do four men upon a staircase—Law, how tired the beast would be.

Treadmill is a wear-and-tear case,

And Octopus would, you see,

Do four men upon a staircase—

Law, how tired the beast would be.

[17]Professor Steenstrup says that almost every octopus he has examined has had one or two arms reproduced, and that he has seen females in which all the eight arms had been lost, but were more or less restored; also a male in which the same was the case on seven of the arms,—the hectocotylized limb alone being uninjured. He adds that whilst the Octopoda possess the power of reproducing with great facility and rapidity their arms which are exposed to so many enemies, the Decapoda—(the Sepiidæ and Squids)—appear to be incapable of thus repairing and replacing accidental injuries.—[See the translation of his paper by Mr. W. S. Dallas, in the “Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Histy.” of August, 1857; No. 116, 2nd series; p. 107.]

[18]Several specimens of the hectocotylus in this condition may be seen in the Museum of Natural History, Paris.

[19]Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys says:—“The derivation of the word ‘cuttle’ is given in the ‘Imperial Dictionary’ as from the Saxon verb ‘cudele;’ in Welsh, ‘cuziaw;’ and in the Armorican, ‘cuttaff,’ or ‘cuddyo,’ all signifying the sense of withdrawing or hiding; hence our pet word ‘cuddle.’”

[20]Seepage 94.

[21]Seepage 93.

[22]De quibusdam animalibus marinis. 1761.

[23]The following interesting information, which appeared in theStandardof December 25th, 1874, is derived from a Report on the Tunisian Fisheries by Mr. W. Kirby Green, H.B.M. Consul at Tunis, published in May, 1872.“During Advent and Lent, the octopus is largely consumed by the Orthodox Greek Catholics, amongst whom the use of meat and fish is prohibited in those seasons of abstinence. This strange diet is chiefly obtained from Tunis, and in the Levant and Greek markets its trade name is “octopodia” or “polpi.” The villages in the neighbourhood of Karkenah are the chief localities where this species of cephalopoda are obtained, and the produce of this fishery, in a year of abundance, yields about 2,500 cwt. of polypi; in an average year, about 1,800 cwt.; in a year of scarcity, 1,050 cwt. In a good season the whole of the Island of Karkenah supplies about 3,000 cwt.; and the Jerbah waters a third of this quantity. On the shores from the village of Luesa to that of Chneies, in the Gulph of Khabs, the natives collect from four to five cwt. of octopods a day during the season; but this supply generally serves for the consumption of the Regency. The remaining coast and islands may be calculated to furnish a minimum of 650 cwt. to 700 cwt. of dried fish.The octopods prefer the rocky shallows, and are found in those waters, coming from the open sea, in the months of January, February, and March; but a considerable number remain permanently near the shore. It has been observed that when their fry are numerous from the months of June to August, the fishery of the coming season is sure to be abundant, whilst the reverse is the case if they appear in numbers in November and December. On the arrival of the octopods in the shallows they keep in masses or shoals, but speedily separate in search of shelter among the rocks near the beach, covered by only one or two feet of water, and in stony localities prepared for them by the fishermen, in order to facilitate the depositing of their spawn.In deep water they are taken by means of earthen jars strung together and lowered to the bottom of the sea, where they are allowed to remain for a certain number of hours, and into which the fish introduce themselves. Frequently from eight to ten octopods are taken from every jar at each visit of the fishermen. In less deep water earthenware drain pipes are placed side by side for distances frequently exceeding half a mile in length, and in these also the octopods enter, and are subsequently captured. As they are attracted by all white, smooth, and bright substances, the natives deck places in the creek, and hollows of the rocks with white stones and shells, over which the polypi spread themselves, and so are caught from four up to eight at a time. But the most successful manner of securing these fish is pursued by the inhabitants of Karkenah, who form long lanes and labyrinths in the shallows by planting the butt ends of palm branches at short distances from each other, and these constructions extend over spaces of two or more miles. On the ebb of the tides which in the Little Syrtis is considerable (ten feet), thus differing from the rest of the Mediterranean, the octopods are found in the pools inside the inclosures, and are easily collected by the fishermen, who string them in bunches, called “risma,” and from eight to ten of these, each containing 50 fish, are secured daily through the season by every boat’s crew of four men. The produce of this fishery could apparently be considerably augmented by the increased construction of palm butt labyrinths, which appear to have a peculiar attraction for the polypi, but it is doubtful whether the demand for octopods is capable of further development, for the consumption of this product is restricted to the countries where the rigours of the fast of the Orthodox Greek Church are still observed.The Tunisian Government claims a third of all the polypi fished upon its coast. The native fishermen, in general, sell their octopods to the merchants in anticipation, the latter making them pecuniary advances, four or five months before the season, at a stipulated price for the fish, which is seldom, however, below 20s. the cwt. Should the fishermen fail to supply the quantity contracted for, the merchant is entitled to demand that they should procure for him the requisite weight of fish elsewhere; but this power is rarely enforced, a new agreement being more frequently entered into for the coming season, on proportionately favourable terms for the purchaser. Another practice is also followed for the purchase of octopods. The merchant makes an advance to the fishermen a month before the season, and receives back the value of his money at the first public sale, at the current price, with an addition in his favour of 5 per cent. on the amount disbursed.The octopus has hitherto been prepared for exportation by simply salting and drying, but it is now preserved either in oil or brine, after subjecting it to a preliminary scouring and boiling process.The price for octopods varies considerably, according to the size, supply, and demand; but at Sfax a pair of fresh fish may cost, as circumstances rule, from 6d.to 1s.3d.However, the preparatory maceration, by beating on a stone slab or rock, required before drying, entails a small additional expense, and brings the extremes of low and high prices to 25s.or 50s.per cwt. To the cost price must be added an export duty of 5s.1d., and the purchaser ought to be careful to receive his merchandise from the seller during dry weather, as a damp day will add from 4 to 5 per cent. to the weight of every cwt.Malta receives the largest part of the Tunisian octopods, but they are only sent to that island for ultimate transmission to Greece and other parts of the Levant. Portugal is one of the few countries that competes with Tunis in supplying the Greek markets with polypi. In Greece, the octopods are either sold after being pickled, at from £12 16s.to £15 9s.the cantar of 176lb., or in their original dried state at from £12 to £14, but it must be understood that these prices are subject to considerable fluctuations arising from the favourable or unfavourable state of the season’s fishery.

“During Advent and Lent, the octopus is largely consumed by the Orthodox Greek Catholics, amongst whom the use of meat and fish is prohibited in those seasons of abstinence. This strange diet is chiefly obtained from Tunis, and in the Levant and Greek markets its trade name is “octopodia” or “polpi.” The villages in the neighbourhood of Karkenah are the chief localities where this species of cephalopoda are obtained, and the produce of this fishery, in a year of abundance, yields about 2,500 cwt. of polypi; in an average year, about 1,800 cwt.; in a year of scarcity, 1,050 cwt. In a good season the whole of the Island of Karkenah supplies about 3,000 cwt.; and the Jerbah waters a third of this quantity. On the shores from the village of Luesa to that of Chneies, in the Gulph of Khabs, the natives collect from four to five cwt. of octopods a day during the season; but this supply generally serves for the consumption of the Regency. The remaining coast and islands may be calculated to furnish a minimum of 650 cwt. to 700 cwt. of dried fish.

The octopods prefer the rocky shallows, and are found in those waters, coming from the open sea, in the months of January, February, and March; but a considerable number remain permanently near the shore. It has been observed that when their fry are numerous from the months of June to August, the fishery of the coming season is sure to be abundant, whilst the reverse is the case if they appear in numbers in November and December. On the arrival of the octopods in the shallows they keep in masses or shoals, but speedily separate in search of shelter among the rocks near the beach, covered by only one or two feet of water, and in stony localities prepared for them by the fishermen, in order to facilitate the depositing of their spawn.

In deep water they are taken by means of earthen jars strung together and lowered to the bottom of the sea, where they are allowed to remain for a certain number of hours, and into which the fish introduce themselves. Frequently from eight to ten octopods are taken from every jar at each visit of the fishermen. In less deep water earthenware drain pipes are placed side by side for distances frequently exceeding half a mile in length, and in these also the octopods enter, and are subsequently captured. As they are attracted by all white, smooth, and bright substances, the natives deck places in the creek, and hollows of the rocks with white stones and shells, over which the polypi spread themselves, and so are caught from four up to eight at a time. But the most successful manner of securing these fish is pursued by the inhabitants of Karkenah, who form long lanes and labyrinths in the shallows by planting the butt ends of palm branches at short distances from each other, and these constructions extend over spaces of two or more miles. On the ebb of the tides which in the Little Syrtis is considerable (ten feet), thus differing from the rest of the Mediterranean, the octopods are found in the pools inside the inclosures, and are easily collected by the fishermen, who string them in bunches, called “risma,” and from eight to ten of these, each containing 50 fish, are secured daily through the season by every boat’s crew of four men. The produce of this fishery could apparently be considerably augmented by the increased construction of palm butt labyrinths, which appear to have a peculiar attraction for the polypi, but it is doubtful whether the demand for octopods is capable of further development, for the consumption of this product is restricted to the countries where the rigours of the fast of the Orthodox Greek Church are still observed.

The Tunisian Government claims a third of all the polypi fished upon its coast. The native fishermen, in general, sell their octopods to the merchants in anticipation, the latter making them pecuniary advances, four or five months before the season, at a stipulated price for the fish, which is seldom, however, below 20s. the cwt. Should the fishermen fail to supply the quantity contracted for, the merchant is entitled to demand that they should procure for him the requisite weight of fish elsewhere; but this power is rarely enforced, a new agreement being more frequently entered into for the coming season, on proportionately favourable terms for the purchaser. Another practice is also followed for the purchase of octopods. The merchant makes an advance to the fishermen a month before the season, and receives back the value of his money at the first public sale, at the current price, with an addition in his favour of 5 per cent. on the amount disbursed.

The octopus has hitherto been prepared for exportation by simply salting and drying, but it is now preserved either in oil or brine, after subjecting it to a preliminary scouring and boiling process.

The price for octopods varies considerably, according to the size, supply, and demand; but at Sfax a pair of fresh fish may cost, as circumstances rule, from 6d.to 1s.3d.However, the preparatory maceration, by beating on a stone slab or rock, required before drying, entails a small additional expense, and brings the extremes of low and high prices to 25s.or 50s.per cwt. To the cost price must be added an export duty of 5s.1d., and the purchaser ought to be careful to receive his merchandise from the seller during dry weather, as a damp day will add from 4 to 5 per cent. to the weight of every cwt.

Malta receives the largest part of the Tunisian octopods, but they are only sent to that island for ultimate transmission to Greece and other parts of the Levant. Portugal is one of the few countries that competes with Tunis in supplying the Greek markets with polypi. In Greece, the octopods are either sold after being pickled, at from £12 16s.to £15 9s.the cantar of 176lb., or in their original dried state at from £12 to £14, but it must be understood that these prices are subject to considerable fluctuations arising from the favourable or unfavourable state of the season’s fishery.

[24]Travels in Lycia; by Lieut. (now Admiral) A. B. Spratt, R.N., F.G.S., and Professor Edward Forbes, F.R.S.

[25]The special correspondent at Gibraltar of theDaily Telegraph(Mr. George Augustus Sala) wrote as follows on this subject:—For the information of Mr. Henry Lee, I may observe that nothing whatever is known at Gib. about the terrible octopus who is said to have sucked the boatswain of a man-of-war into the lowermost depths of Davy Jones’s locker; but there are legends commonly recited in the smoking-room of the King’s Arms as to an octopus that held on to a sharp rock with one set of suckers, and capsized a felucca from Algeciras with the other. The Spaniards eat this horrible creature very willingly. When they catch him, they first pound him violently between two stones, as some cooks are in the habit of thwacking beefsteaks of which the tenderness is doubtful, and then they hang him up in the sun until his abominable body and limbs are dried. Ultimately they fry him in oil, and declare that he is very nice. I have an idea that I must have eaten fried octopus for supper at Bobadilla, and that it was the delicacy which gave me such a thorough disgust of the place. The octopus, nevertheless, under the name ofpulpo, is popular enough throughout Southern Spain, and is equally common, and equally devoured, on the coast of Algeria and Morocco.—Daily Telegraph, March 15, 1875.

[26]A gentleman engaged in the cod-fishery, and residing at Fogo, Newfoundland, has told me that he was startled one evening by an unusual sound at the back of his house, which is at the head of the harbour, and the next morning found three barrels of squids dead on the shore. The same gentleman received information, on the 29th of June, 1873, of a gigantic squid having been picked up in Trinity Bay, and seen by Mr. Haddon, school inspector. It measured sixteen feet in length. The squid used so abundantly as bait in the Newfoundland cod-fishery isOmmastrephes sagittatus.

[27]In Jonathan Couch’s manuscript diary, which I have had the gratification of perusing, the following entry appears, dated 1819:—“John Hotton (a fisherman of Polperro), informs me that some time since he was at sea for the purpose of catching cuttles, when the night was so dark, that, though cuttles were in plenty and followed the bait to the surface, he could not see to hook them. He then desired his son to take a lanthorn, and hold it close to the water so that he might see; when, to his surprise, a great many cuttles gathered round the light, and without bait or hook he caught eighteen by hooking them with the rod (gaff). Since then he has more than once put the same plan in practice with success.”

[28]“Intellectual Observer,” vol. ii., p. 164.

[29]One of the recipes for “areca-nut tooth-powder” is:—“Ground areca-nuts, three parts; cuttle-bone, one part; flavour with cloves or cassia.”

[30]“Naturalis Historiæ,” lib. ix., cap. 30.A.D.77.

[31]Lib. iii., cap. 6. De anim.A.D.220 to 250.

[32]“Historia de gentibus Septentrionalibus.”A.D.1555. Olaus Magnus, archdeacon, is frequently mistaken for Johan Magnus, Archbishop of Upsala.

[33]“Natural History of Norway,” cap. 8.A.D.1754.

[34]Born 1643; died 1712.

[35]“Histoire Naturelle générale et particulière des Mollusques,” vol. ii., p. 256.

[36]“Conchyliologie Systématique.”

[37]“Hist. Nat. des Moll.,” vol. ii., pp. 358 to 368.

[38]De Montfort endeavoured to support his statements by so many inaccurate details, which by a considerable number of uneducated persons of his own nation were accepted as true, that I think some particulars of the events above referred to may be interesting. My information is obtained from Rodney’s despatches, and paragraphs of contemporary naval news published in the “Gentleman’s Magazine” of 1782 and 1783; from the “Annual Register” of 1783; and from Capt. J. N. Inglefield’s own account of the loss of his ship the “Centaur,” in a rare pamphlet of thirty-nine pages, “published by authority,” and dated “Fayall, October 13th, 1782.”In Sir G. B. Rodney’s action with the French fleet under the Count de Grasse, off St. Domingo, on the 12th of April, 1782, the manœuvre of breaking the enemy’s line, and separating some of his ships from the remainder, was for the first time successfully put in practice. The following captures were made by the British, viz.:—The admiral’s ship, “Ville de Paris,” 104, which was a splendid present from the City of Paris to Louis XV.; the “Glorieux,” 74; “Cæsar,” 74; “Hector,” 64; “Caton,” 64; “Jason,” 64; “Aimable,” 32; and “Ceres,” 18; besides one ship of 74 guns, sunk during the engagement. The “Cæsar,” one of the best ships in the French fleet, took fire on the night of the action, and, before the prisoners could be removed from her, blew up. By this accident a lieutenant, the boatswain, and fifty Englishmen belonging to the “Centaur,” together with about four hundred Frenchmen, perished. The remainder of the prizes were sent into Port Royal, Jamaica, to repair damages, and on the 5th of May, 1782, Rodney wrote to the Admiralty announcing their safe arrival in that harbour.On the 26th of July following, a fleet and convoy, amongst which were these ships, left Port Royal for England, under the command of Admiral Graves in the “Ramilies.” They encountered several very heavy gales of wind, and on the 16th of September, in lat. 42° 15’, long. 48° 55’, a storm set in which lasted several days. About threeA.M.on the 17th, the wind, which had been blowing from S.E., suddenly shifted, and a brief lull was succeeded by a most violent squall, with furious rain from N.N.W., which is described as “exceeding in degree everything of the kind that the oldest seaman in the fleet had ever seen, or had any conception of.” The “Ramilies” went to the bottom soon after fourP.M.on the 21st. Most of her crew were saved. The “Centaur” foundered on the night of the 23rd, in lat. 48° 32’, long. 43° 20’. Her captain, Inglefield, and eleven of her people, in the pinnace, left her in a sinking state about five o’clock on that evening, and after suffering severely for sixteen days, in the course of which one man, Thomas Matthews, quartermaster, died from cold and exposure, they landed at Fayall in an exhausted condition, having made a voyage of more than 750 miles in a open boat. The “Glorieux” and the “Ville de Paris” also sank during the gale, and only one man of the crew of the latter vessel was saved, having been picked up on some floating wreck. His name was John Wilson, and he gave evidence at Portsmouth concerning the disaster on the 22nd of March, 1783. The “Caton,” “Canada,” “Ardent,” and “Jason” escaped with loss of spars and other damage. The “Hector” was attacked by two French frigates, left by them in a crippled condition, and sank—many of the crew being saved by the “Hawkesnow,” letter of marque. These are well-attested facts. De Montfort’s fabulous statement was, that on the night following the battle, the “Ville de Paris” fired minute guns and made other signals of extreme distress, and that in consequence of this nine other men-of-war bore down to her assistance, converging on her as a common focus, and were all simultaneously involved in her mournful fate—that of being dragged beneath the yawning waves by enormouspoulpes. His pretended history, as well as his ingenious, but disingenuous theory, was drawn from his imagination; and the one is as false as the other is absurd.

In Sir G. B. Rodney’s action with the French fleet under the Count de Grasse, off St. Domingo, on the 12th of April, 1782, the manœuvre of breaking the enemy’s line, and separating some of his ships from the remainder, was for the first time successfully put in practice. The following captures were made by the British, viz.:—The admiral’s ship, “Ville de Paris,” 104, which was a splendid present from the City of Paris to Louis XV.; the “Glorieux,” 74; “Cæsar,” 74; “Hector,” 64; “Caton,” 64; “Jason,” 64; “Aimable,” 32; and “Ceres,” 18; besides one ship of 74 guns, sunk during the engagement. The “Cæsar,” one of the best ships in the French fleet, took fire on the night of the action, and, before the prisoners could be removed from her, blew up. By this accident a lieutenant, the boatswain, and fifty Englishmen belonging to the “Centaur,” together with about four hundred Frenchmen, perished. The remainder of the prizes were sent into Port Royal, Jamaica, to repair damages, and on the 5th of May, 1782, Rodney wrote to the Admiralty announcing their safe arrival in that harbour.

On the 26th of July following, a fleet and convoy, amongst which were these ships, left Port Royal for England, under the command of Admiral Graves in the “Ramilies.” They encountered several very heavy gales of wind, and on the 16th of September, in lat. 42° 15’, long. 48° 55’, a storm set in which lasted several days. About threeA.M.on the 17th, the wind, which had been blowing from S.E., suddenly shifted, and a brief lull was succeeded by a most violent squall, with furious rain from N.N.W., which is described as “exceeding in degree everything of the kind that the oldest seaman in the fleet had ever seen, or had any conception of.” The “Ramilies” went to the bottom soon after fourP.M.on the 21st. Most of her crew were saved. The “Centaur” foundered on the night of the 23rd, in lat. 48° 32’, long. 43° 20’. Her captain, Inglefield, and eleven of her people, in the pinnace, left her in a sinking state about five o’clock on that evening, and after suffering severely for sixteen days, in the course of which one man, Thomas Matthews, quartermaster, died from cold and exposure, they landed at Fayall in an exhausted condition, having made a voyage of more than 750 miles in a open boat. The “Glorieux” and the “Ville de Paris” also sank during the gale, and only one man of the crew of the latter vessel was saved, having been picked up on some floating wreck. His name was John Wilson, and he gave evidence at Portsmouth concerning the disaster on the 22nd of March, 1783. The “Caton,” “Canada,” “Ardent,” and “Jason” escaped with loss of spars and other damage. The “Hector” was attacked by two French frigates, left by them in a crippled condition, and sank—many of the crew being saved by the “Hawkesnow,” letter of marque. These are well-attested facts. De Montfort’s fabulous statement was, that on the night following the battle, the “Ville de Paris” fired minute guns and made other signals of extreme distress, and that in consequence of this nine other men-of-war bore down to her assistance, converging on her as a common focus, and were all simultaneously involved in her mournful fate—that of being dragged beneath the yawning waves by enormouspoulpes. His pretended history, as well as his ingenious, but disingenuous theory, was drawn from his imagination; and the one is as false as the other is absurd.

[39]“Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres australes.”

[40]“Voyage de l’Uranie: Zoologie:” vol. i., part 2, p. 411. 1824.

[41]“Manuel des Mollusques,” p. 86.

[42]“Bemerk, Uber die Gattung der Dintenfisch, etc.,” 1793.

[43]“Note sur la Seiche à six pattes,Sepia hexopodiade Molina, et sur deux autres espèces de Seiches signalées par cet auteur.”

[44]De Ferussac severely denounces Molina’s lack of truthfulness, and administers a rebuke which may be useful to some writers of the present day. Whilst avoiding the imputation of wilful repetition and propagation of false-hood, he gravely censures the acceptance of error as truth. He says:—“This suggests sad reflections on the amplifications, reticences, and fantastic inventions ofsomesavants, and on the absence of scrutiny apparent in some scientific works. It should serve to prove, more and more, the necessity of careful examination before accepting or rejecting doubtful species, although it is more convenient to accept statements as they are found, without taking the trouble to verify them by proper research. We know very well that the majority of naturalists, with the exception of a small number of especially pains-taking men, are unaware of the negligence, the double use of incidents, and the repetition of innumerable errors to which those who are content thus to work expose themselves.”

[45]“British Conchology,” vol. v., p. 124.

[46]In the illustration of this occurrence given in M. Louis Figuier’s book, “La Vie et les Mœurs des Animaux,” and the English translations of it, the size of the calamary is so exaggerated that undeserved discredit has been brought by it on the narrators of the incident.

[47]This is the specimen described by Molina.

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