142 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



ing its prey. When the shoals of herring and other 

 fish which periodically visit our coast make their appear- 

 ance, they are harassed, among other enemies, by this 

 active and voracious animal, which revels in the luxury 

 of a perpetual feast ; and as its appetite is enormous 

 and its digestion rapid, the slaughter in which it appears 

 incessantly occupied must be very great. The porpoise 

 is common at the Nore, and few have sailed to Margate 

 or Ramsgate who have not seen these animals tumbling 

 along, as they appear to do, in the rushing waves. The 

 peculiarity of their motion results from the horizontal 



94. — Common Porpoise. 



position of the tail -paddle, and the up-and-down stroke 

 which it gives ; and their momentary appearance is for the 

 purpose of breathing, which accomplished, they plunge 

 down in search of their food. In former days the flesh of 

 the porpoise was highly esteemed as a delicacy for the 

 table, and was served at public feasts ; indeed, it is but 

 lately that it has fallen into disrepute, and been omitted 

 at City entertainments, where the turtle usurps its place. 

 Our forefathers must have had a different notion about 



