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on his back, as they did not all appear at once. This accounts in part for the varied descriptions given of him by other parties. His appearance on the surface was occasional and but for a short time. The color of his skin was dark, differing but little from that of the water, or the back of any common fish. This is the best description I can give of him from my own observation. I saw the creature just as truly, though not quite as clearly, as I ever saw anything. I have no doubt that this uncommon, strange rover, which was seen by hundreds of men and boys, is a form of snake, Plesiosaurus, or some such form of marine animal.

Five other persons have given definite testimony

testimony I have given, I was well acquainted with Mr. Marston, and knew him to be a truthful and skilled seaman. He says:

While walking over Nahant Beach in common with many others who had been aroused by the excitement, I saw in the water, within two or three hundred yards of the shore, a singular-looking fish in the form of a serpent. His head was out of water, and he remained in view about twenty minutes, when he swam off toward King's Beach. I should say that the creature was at least eighty feet in length. I saw the entire body, not his wake. It would rise in the water with an undulating motion, and then all his body would sink

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I have not had any doubt of the existence of the sea-serpent since the morning he was seen off Nahant by old Marshal Prince, through his famous spy-glass.

Mr. Benjamin F. Newhall, one of those who testify to the same circumstances, was an especially reliable person, a citizen of the highest character, well known to me for many years, and one accustomed to observe correctly and to record his observations. He says:

As he approached the shore about 9 A. M., he raised his head apparently about six feet, and moved very rapidly. I could see the white spray on each side of his neck, as he plunged through the water. He came so near as to startle many of the spectators, and then suddenly retreated. As he turned short, the snake-like form became apparent, the body bending like an eel. I could see plainly what appeared a succession of humps apon the back.

The testimony of Mr. John Marston is of value as coming from an experienced fisherman. As in the case of the individuals whose

except his head. This would be repeated. The sea was quite calm at the time. I have been constantly engaged in fishing since my youth, but never saw anything like this before.

The eminent geologist, Dr. Dawson of Montreal, Canada, gives an instance which ranges near the above in the circumstances.

A sea-monster appeared at Maringomish, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, judged to be a hundred feet in length. It was seen by two intelligent observers, nearly aground, in calm waters, within two hundred feet of the beach.

Several other prominent Boston and Lynn names are recorded in this connection, but the following is, perhaps, most important on account of its circumstantial details.

James Prince, Marshal of the district, wrote to Judge Davis as follows:

is generally called the MY DEAR JUDGE: I presume I have seen what 66 sea-serpent." . . . I will state that which in the presence of more than two hundred other witnesses took place near the Long Beach of Nahant on Saturday morning

last.

Intending to pass a few days with my family at Nahant, we left Boston early on Saturday. On passing near the beach, I was informed that the sea-serpent had been seen that day at Nahant Beach, and that vast numbers of people had gone from Lynn. I was glad that I had with me my

DRAWN BY FREDERICK A. LUCAS.

FROM AUTHOR'S SKETCH-BOOK.

CARCASS FOUND AT INDIAN RIVER, FLORIDA.

famous masthead spy-glass. On our arrival at the beach, we associated with a considerable number of people, on foot and in carriages. Very soon an arrival of the fish kind made an appearance. His head appeared to be about three feet above water. I counted thirteen bunches on his back. My family thought there were more. He passed three times at a moderate rate across the bay, but so fleet as to occasion a foam in the water. We judged it to be from fifty to eighty feet in length.

As he swam up the bay, we, as well as other spectators, moved on and kept nearly abreast of him. He occasionally withdrew himself under water, remaining about eight minutes.

Mrs. Prince and the coachman, having better eyes than myself, were of great assistance to me in marking the progress of the animal. They would say, "He's now turning," and by the aid of a glass I could distinguish the movement. I had seven distinct views of him from Long Beach, and at some of them the animal was not more than a hundred yards distant. After we had been at the beach about two hours, the animal disappeared.

On passing over to the beach of Little Nahant, on our way homeward, we were again gratified by a sight of him beyond even what we saw in the other bay. We concluded he had left the latter place in consequence of the numbersof boats that were chasing him, the noise of whose oars must have disturbed him. We had here more than a dozen views of him, and each similar to the other; one, however, so near that the coachman exclaimed, "Oh, see his glistening eye!"

We will now place in order some testimony derived from English sources. That delightful English writer on zoological subjects, Philip Henry Gosse, F. R. S., in his "Romance of Natural History," devotes a long chapter to what he terms "The Unknown," or so-called sea-serpent. He gives us an exhaustive consideration of the subject, mostly, however, by means of European examples. We are impressed, however, with the fact that the occurrences of this nature, as related by the New England observers, are vastly more striking than the others, as they were witnessed from the mainland.

The eminent Captain Beechey, of the Royal Navy, gave testimony to the appearance of a

sea-serpent near his vessel. Several officers of the Norwegian navy have placed on record similar testimony. A writer of distinction in the London "Times" of November 2, 1848, suggests affinity of the so-called sea-serpent with the Enaliosauria, and, particularly, with the fossil genus Plesiosaurus. The Bombay "Times,” in the year 1849, contained a valuable note of occurrences touching this subject, by R. Davidson, Superintendent-Surgeon, Indian Army. Lieutenant-Colonel Steele, Coldstream Guards, British Army, en route to India," saw a serpentine form corresponding closely to those described by other observers."

Mr. Gosse sums up by saying: "Carefully comparing these independent narratives, we have a creature possessing the following characteristics: The general form of a serpent, as seen by many observers; great length, by all"; etc. The author continues, after considerable detail: "I express my confident persuasion that there exists some oceanic animal of immense

proportions which has not yet been received into the category of scientific zoology; and my strong opinion that it possesses close affinities with the Enaliosauria of the Lias."

That some undescribed vertebrate animal has been seen at various times, and by many individuals, several of whom fortunately were versed in zoölogy, is indisputable.

The presence of so large a creature off the New England coast, and within the comparatively narrow bays of Lynn and Nahant; the fact of its presence there during several days, and its being visible during many hours; its presence near so many people as spectators,— well nigh the entire populace,-who even without glasses were enabled to inspect it at leisure

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all these are circumstances sufficiently convincing to any rational mind; and are worth more to us in forming our judgment than all the other relations of such occurrences extant.

Consider how striking must have been the scenes during these few days. The entire population of southern Essex and Norfolk counties was aroused by the wonderful tales, and great numbers gathered on the heights and promontories, looking down upon an area of sea which

DRAWN BY FREDERICK A. LUCAS.

FROM REPORT OF U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1875.

SKELETON OF THE CLIDASTES, FOUND IN THE BAD LANDS OF KANSAS.

is hemmed in by the projecting headlands of Swampscott and Nahant. How completely they must have scanned the unfamiliar form, and have watched its evolutions in the smooth sea then prevailing. Why, no better exhibition of a great aquatic creature could have been devised. All the ocean views of him, described by many observers, were meager and unsatisfactory compared with this. The relation of these circumstances remains fresh in my memory, told by more than one who only a few years before had witnessed them. An uprisen people saw the sight, and some were even terrified, so close inshore was the monster. It should also be remembered that the creature was seen at Gloucester, Cape Ann, and at several other points during those years.

Only a few years since large Octopi were found in the Mediterranean, and now, were the simple truth here printed about the late discoveries of gigantic squids, or cuttlefish, on the Grand Banks, surprise would be great indeed. If such enormous creatures have existed, and only lately have become known to science, small wonder that the more active wandering ocean saurian should escape capture.

We have now to make the first record of the actual presence on our coast of a marineprobably saurian-creature of the nature of the so-called sea-serpent.

The facts are as follows:

In the spring of 1885 the Rev. Mr. Gordon of Milwaukee, President of the United States Humane Society, chanced to visit, in the course of his duties, a remote and obscure portion of the Atlantic shores of Florida. While lying at anchor in New River Inlet the flukes of the anchor became foul with what proved to be a carcass of considerable length. Mr. Gordon quickly observed that it was a vertebrate, and at first thought it probably a cetacean. But, on examination, it was seen to have features more suggestive of the saurians. Its total length was forty-two feet. Its girth was six feet. The head was absent; two flippers,

or fore-limbs, were noticed, and a somewhat slender neck, which measured six feet in length. The carcass was in a state of decomposition; the abdomen was open, and the intestines protruded.

The striking slenderness of the thorax as compared with the great length of body and tail very naturally suggested to Mr. Gordon, whose reading served him well, the form of some of the great saurians whose bones have so frequently been found in several localities along the Atlantic coast. No cetacean known to science has such a slender body and such a well-marked and slender neck. All indications were suggestive of the great Enaliosauria, and, appreciating the great importance of securing the entire carcass, Mr. Gordon had it hauled above high-water mark, and took all possible precautions to preserve the bones until they could be removed. Through his love of science, Mr. Gordon very kindly reported these facts, and our arrangements were most ample for the recovery and transportation of the bones to New York. Most unfortunately their presence was all too short.

Mr. Gordon was impressed with the conviction that he had found the first flesh and frame of the hitherto elusive creature, which has been regarded as a tardy example of an extinct race. With no suitable implements at hand, he was obliged to trust its safe-keeping to the shore above tides. He counted without the possible treacherous hurricane; the waters of the "Still-vexed Bermoothes," envious of their own, recalled the strange waif. This was as unexpected as undesirable. The facts, however, remain.

We have borrowed from Professor Cope's report of the United States Geological Survey for 1875 the figure of the Clidastes, the bones of which were found in the Bad Lands of Kansas. It is placed beneath the figure drawn from Mr. Gordon's description of the waif. The measurements of both are very nearly the same.

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THE GIRL AND THE PROBLEM.

WITH PICTURES BY F. V. DU MOND.

T'S a great problem, of course," said Miss Nancy Randolph Rutledge, folding her hands in front of her portly person, "yet I can but feel that in this case Beulah has chosen wisely. Genius has more rights in some ways, and in some it has less. She should n't feel that she is free to fold her talent in a napkin; she does n't.”

"No, no," murmured little Mrs. Garner; "but it seems mighty hard, and—and difficult, does n't it? Do you think she minded giving him up very much? They had been engaged so long," she added apologetically.

"She 's absorbed in her art," replied Miss Nancy, impressively; "her life is consecrated to it."

The pair were sitting in Miss Nancy's flat in 97th street, and the room in itself was a biography. The walls were hung with what Miss Nancy called (and I capitalize according to her sentiment) Ancestral Portraits-five of them, and wonderful things they were. In one corner was a tiny, brown old Erard piano, the first Érard ever made, I should think. It was still capable of sending forth an odd, pleasant eighteenth-century-like tinkle. Some battered old pieces of silver, a cake-basket and a tea-pot taking the honors, stood in solemn dignity on the elaborate, shiny, new hard-wood mantelpiece.

Miss Nancy Rutledge was an elderly and unmarried lady, but if you allow yourself to turn toward her any of your usual slighting and condescending sentiments for spinsters, you are offering her the first patronage she ever received in this world. Miss Nancy, in the kindest, most unconscious way, patronized creation. Never out of the South was an unmarried woman so generally and simply allowed precedence over all matrons as was given Miss Nancy in her own world. It was not that these Southerners loved marriage less,- far from it, but that they loved intellect more; and intellect was what Miss Nancy tacitly and firmly claimed to have, was supposed to have, and did have, the amount thereof in question declining slightly with each successive step of this statement.

Miss Nancy had come north to live off the enemy amid the prayers and plaudits of admiring friends, and their prayers and plaudits had echoed around her throughout the five years in which she had gallantly triumphed

over bankruptcy in New York. In that time. she had played many parts: she had written for the papers; had taught mathematics in a school; had assisted in the editorship of a new and impecunious paper devoted, as its titlepage stated, to developing the resources of the South; and had given lectures on the history of Virginia in the parlors of some rich people who could never forget-though sometimes sorely tempted that they were born south of Mason and Dixon's line; and of late, in the midst of work upon a life of General Lee, for the Southern subscription trade, she had found a new resource in the care of a small proportion of that army of Southern girls which is now constantly encamped among us. She had three in the house with her, and devoted some attention to several living elsewhere. The office of chaperon suited Miss Nancy; according to her all her girls were lovely,-most of them beautiful," perfect belles at home," and the pleasure of devoting her stores of garnered wisdom to their service renewed her joy in life. She was benevolent, sincerely so, and believed, with a good showing of reason, in her power to guide and instruct humanity at large, and also was humanly susceptible to the charms of appreciation. The very groundwork of Miss Nancy's claims was common sense; you could see that in every line of her matronly figure, and hear it in every note of her pleasant, hearty voice, and in her large-featured face and bright gray eyes common sense was enthroned.

But, contrary to popular prejudice, human beings are constantly rendered unknown quantities by the possession of quite contradictory qualities, and Miss Nancy, to tell the truth, had been subject in her life to a few enthusiasms which left her common sense-sometimes for better, sometimes for worse- far behind. One among those young ladies whom she now called "her girls" was the object of a veneration that must be considered to have had its rise in the romantic, the higher, side of Miss Nancy's nature. She had known her since she was in long clothes, but not till about a year before this conversation with Mrs. Garner did she honor her with more notice than lay in that general, amiable patronage of which I have spoken, and which she constantly dispensed about her like a perfume - bergamot, say. This girl was, of course, the heroine of Mrs. Garner's speculations, so you already know

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that she had genius, an art, and a loverdecent equipment, I take it, for her position as my heroine.

A little more than a year before, Miss Nancy had visited Beulah's mother, and during that visit she had conceived an entirely new idea of Beulah. Beulah, like every other Southern girl at home, was generally-according to the formula-voted mighty sweet, and right pretty,that is, pretty a little, but it was only recently that she had developed any special claims to distinction. Now Miss Nancy found that she was an artist, not fully fledged perhaps,-oh, no; to be sure not, but unmistakably an artist; and to that title, which Miss Nancy gave only to painters and sculptors, she bowed with the most curious and common blind reverence in the world. It would be impossible to exaggerate the simplicity of Miss Nancy's attitude toward these arts; in a word, it was of that familiar sort which feels an oil-painting to be an oil-painting, and a very imposing thing too. Of course Beulah did not make oil-paintings; with all her genius she had not yet arrived at that stage-but let us go back for a moment to the beginning of her artistic career.

When the Baptist Female College of her town added a new drawing-master to its "faculty," several young ladies of society, Beulah among the number, had been moved by the fame of his accomplishments so far to renew their connection with the school as to take a course of lessons from him. Beulah had always had clever fingers; she had done beautiful "tatting" when she was only a little girl, and now she distinguished herself in the drawing-class; she was soon drawing her own embroidery patterns, and beginning her ascent of that pinnacle of fame on which ere long she was to sit enthroned. She enjoyed this new outlet for her abundant energies, and in the nature of things she enjoyed the new consideration she won. She began to feel a certain tradition-born awe of her own gifts. Her position toward art was exactly Miss Nancy's own; she felt for it, or rather for the name, the superstitious, unsympathetic veneration which some philosophers explain as a result of art's dependence on religion in the middle ages. At any rate, when Beulah found herself making a recognizable sketch of the water-pitcher, for the new master was very advanced, and insisted on study from the object, her heart palpitated with the magnitude of the dreams of glory that floated in upon her mind. Then came Miss Nancy. Miss Nancy gazed upon the water-pitcher and the flower-embroidery patterns with profound emotion. She urged Beulah to come to New York and have the best instruction, and finally Beulah came. By chance she fell upon the plan of going to the Art Students' League; and now she had had

one season's instruction there, and was beginning her second year.

Naturally within this year her ideas had undergone some changes, but for the greatest change of all—the determination not to marry Tom M'Grath-the League could hardly be held directly responsible. Southerners have a pleasant reputation for friendliness with strangers, because they so readily suppose others to be "nice people," various evidences of niceness being more conclusive in the old Southern world than they are at present in New York; but if Southerners do not feel sure that you are of their own kind, if they are even puzzled as to where you belong (according to their remarkably simple ideas of classification), they are little likely to be friendly, not being apt to care for social experiments. All this is but a preface to the statement that Beulah had scant acquaintance with her fellow-students. She thought the young women generally given to queer clothes, and that the young men lacked what she called "polish "; polish in her language meaning-though perhaps she had never thought of it-deference to women. So the dear girl let her social chances for League associations, with all their educational influences, slip by her in the gentlest, firmest little way in the world-in exactly a nice nineteen-year-old way, in fact. She was a dear girl, and she showed it in failing to become utterly insufferable under the adulation that now-away from the League-surged around her. This it was that might be said to have brought about the momentous change I have spoken of - this adulation and Miss Nancy's hearty and insistent fostering of all the dreams it excited. Miss Nancy had just been explaining Beulah's present position to Mrs. Garner. Mrs. Garner was a friend who lived in Beulah's home county, and was now visiting New York.

"She took a great many sketches home with her last summer," said Miss Nancy, "and everybody was astonished. I reckon a great many people felt that it was a great pity to see a girl with gifts like that just settle down into the ordinary humdrum."

"The duties of a wife and mother," began Mrs. Garner, with slightly agitated solemnity-she was very humble with Miss Nancy, but the "ordinary humdrum" was a phrase that provoked even her to turn to the arsenal of platitudes for a weapon. She had it in her heart to try to remind Miss Nancy that the most important offices of life were the very ones she had never been called upon to fill.

But little could she cope with Miss Nancy, who, secretly amused, swam beneficently on with the conversation, wishing to soothe the little woman's feelings, and without the faintest conception of the complexity of her senti

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