STUDY X. 377 



AU the kingdoms of Nature prefent themfelves 

 to Man with the fame correfpondencies, the abyf- 

 fes of the Ocean themfelves not excepted. The 

 fifhes which Hve on animal fubftances, as the 

 whole clafs of the cartilaginous do, fuch as the 

 feal, the fea-dog, the (hark, the flipper, the thorn- 

 back, the polypus, and many others, have dif- 

 gufting forms and colours. Fifhes which live in 

 the open fea, have colours marbled with white, 

 black, brown, which diftinguifh them in the bo- 

 fom of the azure billows, fuch are whales, blowers, 

 porpoifes, and others. But it is among thofe 

 which frequent the dufky fhores, and particularly 

 in the number of fuch as are denominated y^/.v^///^, 

 becaufe they live among the rocks, that we find 

 the fifhes, the luftre of whofe fkin and fcales far 

 furpafTes all the efforts of the pencil, efpecially 

 when they are alive. It is thus that legions of 

 mackaiel and herrings diffufe the radiance of filver 

 and azure over the northern ftrands of Europe. 



It is around the black rocks which bound the 

 Seas of the Tropics, that the fifh known by the 

 name of captain is caught. Though his colours 

 vary with the latitude, it is fufhcient, in order to 

 convey an idea of his beauty, to detail the defcrip- 

 tion given of it by Francis Caucbe *, in a fpecies 



* Confult Francis Caucbe, his relation of Madagafcar. 



caught 



