318 THE OCEAN. 



puted a very cautious fish,) has left his sword in 

 the hull of a ship. The Foxhound, a South Sea 

 whaler, was cruising in the Pacific in 1817, when 

 one day, when most of the crew were below at 

 dinner, a loud splashing was suddenly heard in the 

 sea by a New Zealander on deck, who, on looking 

 over the side, saw a large dark body sinking, and 

 immediately gave the alarm of a man overboard. 

 The crew, however, were found to be complete, 

 and the occurrence passed over. Soon after, one 

 of the men observed a rugged object projecting 

 from the vessel's side, which, on examination, proved 

 to be the snout of a Sword-fish, with part of the 

 head attached, broken off by the fracture of the 

 skull. On the vessel's arriving at Sydney, the pro- 

 jecting part was sawn off, after vain endeavours to 

 extract the weapon ; and at the conclusion of the 

 voyage, the pierced wood was taken out and placed 

 in the British Museum. 



It is worthy of observation that, with very few 

 exceptions, the immense population of the Ocean 

 is carnivorous. The principal circumstance that 

 regulates the choice of diet among fishes seems to 

 be the power of mastery. Of terrestrial creatures, 

 a very, large number are peaceful, never, under 

 ordinary circumstances, willingly taking the life of 

 even the most helpless around them ; but the sea 

 is a vast slaughter-house, where nearly every inha- 

 bitant dies a violent death, and finds a grave in the 

 maw of his fellow. We have just seen the Sword- 

 fish preying upon the Albacore, and the Albacore 

 upon the Flying-fish; while the Flying-fish itself, 



