308 



SPLENDOR OF CERTAIN FI8IIEH. 



their lot, fish are, nevertheless, adorned by the hand of 

 Nature with every kind of beauty : variety in their forms, 

 elegance in their proportions, diversity and vivacity in their 

 colors — nothing is wanted to attract the attention of man, 

 and indeed it seems as if that attention was the principal 

 object Nature wished to excite. The splendor of every metal, 

 the blaze of every gem, glitter on their surface ; iridescent 

 colors, breaking and reflecting in bands, in spots, in angles, 

 or in undulating lines, always regular, symmetrical, gradua- 

 ting or contrasting, but always with admirable effect and 

 harmony, flashing over their sides : for whom else have they 

 received such gifts, they who at most can barely perceive 

 each other in the twilight of the deep ; and if they could see 

 distinctly, w^hat species of pleasure could they receive from. 

 such combinations?" 



SWORD FISH. 



