156 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE.

northern latitudes, and furnishes the inhabitants of those frigid
regions with nearly all their necessaries and luxuries. Enor-
mous numbers are caught annually for the sake of their skins
and oil. The Harp Seal frequents the coast of Newfoundland
and is so named from the harp-shaped band which marks the
backs of the males. The Sea Elephant is the largest of the
seals. It is said to attain to the length of twenty-five to
thirty feet, and a circumference of fifteen to eighteen feet.
It belongs to the Antarctic sea.

“Seals when taken young,” says Captain Brown, “are
capable of being completely domesticated, will answer to
their name, and follow their master from place to place. In
January, 1819, a gentleman, in the neighbourhood of Burnt-
island, county of Fife, in Scotland, completely succeeded in
taming a seal. Its singularities attracted the curiosity of
strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the sagacity of a
dog, lived in its master’s house, and ate from his hand. In
his fishing excursions, this gentleman generally took it with
him, when it afforded no small entertainment. If thrown into
the water, it would follow for miles the track of the boat;
and although thrust back by the oars, it never relinquished
its purpose. Indeed, it struggled so hard to regain its seat,
that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely
overcome the natural predilection for its native element.”

The Seals Notwithstanding the absence of external ears

Docility. the common seal has a remarkable sense of hear-
ing and a keen taste for sweet sounds. Seals have been
known to follow a vessel, for miles, upon the deck of which
a violin or a flute has been played. To quote Sir Walter
Scott:

“Rude Heiskar’s seals, through surges dark,
Will long pursue the minstrel’s bark.”

They are also easily tamed, when they are found to be
exceedingly affectionate to those who treat them kindly. Some
years ago a fammer, residing on the east coast of Scotland,