208 ACANTHOPTERYGIT. MACKEREL FAMILY. 



ning, the Pilot came up, smelt at the dainty morsel, 

 and instantly swam back again to the Shark, swim- 

 ming many times round his snout, and splashing, 

 as if to give him exact information as to the bacon. 

 The Shark now began to put himself in motion, 

 the Pilot showing him the way, and in a moment 

 he was fast to the hook/' M. Geoffroy, in his 

 Memoir Sur V Affection naturelle des quelques Ani- 

 maux, relates a similar incident; and both Fisli 

 and Naturalist have been smartly criticised for 

 the part they play in this tragic narrative ; the for- 

 mer for acting the traitor, and the latter the goose, 

 in not discriminating the true character of the service 

 rendered. We pretend not to judge in this knotty 

 matter. Whether the poor Pilot is justly reprehensible 

 for not considering that the pork concealed a hook, is 

 first to be settled ; and meantime, allowing that the 

 nimble Pilot has no more occasion to fear the un- 

 wieldy Shark, than the agile Swallow the pouncing 

 Hawk, yet we remark that the evidence rather 

 goes to show that there is something very like a 

 confiding familiarity subsisting between these two 

 companions of the weary mariner. The time and 

 space during which the Pilot will follow a vessel 

 is great, through its whole run, for many weeks. 



The Pilot is a pretty little fish, about a foot in 

 length ; like the Mackerel, having five conspicuous 

 transverse bands round its body. On these Dr. 

 Moore has recently made the following remarks : 

 the circular bands did not appear to surround the 

 body, being undistinguishable on the back, which 



