PUBLIC AQUARIUMS IN EUROPE. 27 



will be remembered as admirably adapted to the needs of a public 

 aquarium ; its position on the shore of the Channel brings it direct- 

 ly in contact with rich fishing grounds, while, as a seaside resort, 

 its closeness to London affords it an unfailing stream of visitors. 



The aquarium has been situated in one of the most conspicu- 

 ous points of the town the most convenient for aquarial pur- 

 poses on account of its nearness to the water ; the chain bridge is 

 close by, and the two most fashionable driveways, the Madeira 

 Road and the Marine Parade, intersect at its very door posts. 



It must be confessed that the exterior of the aquarium is not 

 prepossessing ; it suggests the roofed-over foundations of a house ; 

 nor is this appearance bettered by the presence of signs and post- 

 ers. In fact, one is first led to believe that its success is alto- 

 gether dependent upon the restaurant and small theater which it 

 largely advertises. To enter the aquarium the visitor must descend 

 a long, broad staircase, then pass through an entrance hall and 

 reading room. The main corridor which he thus reaches extends 

 directly in front a distance of four hundred feet ; its appearance 

 is, to say the least, an attractive one ; it might even be called 

 stately, with its groined arches of brick and terra cotta, and its 

 aisles and row of central columns ; it suggests, perhaps, the gal- 

 lery of an early Italian palace in the shape of its columns and in 

 the height and varied carvings of their capitals. The corridor 

 shows on either side the large, windowlike fronts of the aquaria. 

 These, however, do not appear to be especially brightly lighted ; 

 they number in all over fifty, the largest one a hundred feet in 

 length, bending around a space in the central part of the hall. 

 At the present day the stocking of the aquaria is not perhaps as 

 carefully attended to as in earlier years, when the profits of the 

 stockholders were doubtless greater. An effort appears to be 

 made on the part of the management to keep one or two of the 

 small cetaceans, dolphins and porpoises, in the largest tank ; and 

 judging from the throng of visitors around the neighboring seals 

 and sea lions, one may reasonably conclude that these pseudo-in- 

 habitants of the aquarium are by no means unpopular. In every 

 season, however, the visitor may find at Brighton an interesting 

 collection of Channel fauna, especially fishes. The general work- 

 ing conditions of the aquarium do not appear widely different 

 from those of Amsterdam. 



The Tibetans whom Mr. St. George R. Littledale met in his journey 

 across their country were men sometimes of strange notions. One of them 

 asked if it was true that there was a big tree near Calcutta, out of the 

 branches of which came all the heat of India ; and whether the tele- 

 scopes of the English party would allow them to see right througli the 

 mountains. 



