84 COMPARISONS OF STRUCTURE IN ANIMALS. 



curious fish is seen, find affords some variety 

 to the tedium of a ship ; the passengers amused 

 themselves by watching its flight, and some- 

 times its ])ersecution, when pursued by bonitos, 

 dolphins, albicores, among the finny, and 

 tropic birds, boobies, and gannets, among the 

 feathered tribe. I have frequently derived 

 both information and amusement, by watching 

 the flight of these fish, to observe them skim 

 the surface of the water for a great distance, 

 sometimes before, at other times against, the 

 direction of the wind, elevating themselves 

 either to a short height from the surface, or 

 to five or six feet, and then diverging a 

 little from their course, drop suddenly into 

 their proper element. Sometimes, when their 

 flight was not high above the water, and it 

 blew fresh, they would meet with an elevated 

 wave, which invariably buried them beneath 

 it ; but they would often again start from 

 it, and renew their flight." 



These fins quiver, we believe, as the fish 

 skims along, though Mr. Bennett assures us, 

 that he was never able to see any percussion 

 of them ; yet Cuvier, he observes, says, the 

 animal beats the aii* during the leap, that 

 is, alternately closes and expands its pectoral 



