364 



LETTER LVir. 



liancy to which nothing but nature's pencil can* at- 

 tain. The eyes are large, beautiful, and surrounded 

 with ' shining circles of gold colour. In the seas 

 where they abound, these fishes are always in motion, 

 playing round the ships. They are continually in a 

 state of active warfare, pursuing or pursued, defend- 

 ing themselves against the shark, or darting after the 

 small fishes. 



Above all others, the flying fish most abound* in 

 these seas; and as it is a small animal, only of the 

 size of a herring, it is chiefly-, sought by the dorado. 



THE FLYING FISH 



properly belongs to the fourth order, that of abdomi* 

 naies, to be spoken of hereafter; but to render in this 

 place the picture more complete, I shall anticipate 

 its history, and exhibit it in the same view with the 

 dorado. 



The head of the flying fish is scaly; its belly is an- 

 gular; the pectoral fins being the instruments of 

 flight, are very large, and by their means it can, when 

 pursued by any other fish, raise itself out of the wa- 

 ter, and support itself in the air until they become 

 diy; but as soon as their moisture is exhausted, it 

 drops down again into its native element. 



As to the depredations carried on by the dorado 

 against this fish, the curious observer will perceive 

 that nature has, in an eminent degree, furnished each 

 of them respectively with the powers of pursuit and 

 evasion. The dorado, being above six feet long, and 

 not thicker than a salmon, cuts its way through the 

 water with amazing vapidity: on the other hand, the fly- 

 ing fish being furnished with fins longer than its body, 

 and these being moved by a set of muscles exceed- 

 ingly strong, this equality of power furnishes one of 

 the most animated scenes which those remote seas can 

 exhibit. The efforts of pursuit on one side, and the 

 arts of escape on the other, present a spectacle per- 

 fectly amusing. The dorado is, on these occasions, 

 seen darting after its prey, which will not leave the 

 water while it can ensure its safety by swimming ; 

 but, like a, hunted hare, being at last wearied, it then 



