ON FISH. 15 



or formed in some countries to what those are 

 which you take in your nets off the Brighton 

 coast ; and in so doing always bear in your 

 minds that Divine Wisdom knows no bounds. 

 His will is the well-being and well-doing of all 

 His creatures, each of them in its own place or 

 sphere, and His Almighty power enables Him 

 to give peculiar formation and faculties to those 

 beings which His wisdom created and His will 

 decreed. 



After these remarks, I may tell you that it is 

 by a muscular movement of their ribs that fish 

 can propel themselves along dry land, somewhat 

 in the same way that eels and serpents are 

 known to do. Now, if you will look at this 

 sketch of a fish I have brought with me, you 

 will see that what may be called ribs can be 

 used as organs of muscular motion, according to 

 the will of the animal. I should be making this 

 lecture of too great a length if I were to enter 

 more minutely into the particulars of the ana- 

 tomy of these crawling fishes; but I hope 

 enough has been said to convince you that they 

 exist. As to the fact of fish ascending trees, I 

 will only mention one proof of it, which is, that 

 there is a little climbing perch well known to 



