280 

 CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE WHALE FISHERY. 



PORTUGUESE MAN OF WAR. PALATE OF THE WHALE. BILL OF THE 



DUCK. SPERMACETI. AMBERGRIS. WHALE FISHERY. VILLAGE 



OF SMEERENBERG. DECLINE OF THE WHALE FISHERY. 



There leviathan, 



Hugest of living creatures, on the deep 

 Stretched like a promontory sleeps or swims, 

 And seems a moving land; and at his gills 

 Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out, a sea. 



PARADISE LOST. 



HENRIETTA. 



AUNT, I was reading- some voyages this morning, in which 

 the author frequently mentions seeing the " Portuguese man 

 of war" floating about on the surface of the ocean. What 

 kind of animal is it? 



MRS. F. 



It is one of the Zoophytes (Physalia genus), and is ren- 

 dered remarkable by the beautifnl appearance which it pre- 

 sents when, in calm weather, it is seen swimming on the 

 water suspended by a little oblong bladder filled with air, 

 surmounted by a rising crest, which it employs as a sail. 

 This inflated or bladder portion of the animal glows with the 

 most delicate .crimson tints, and floats upon the waves, whilst 

 its long tentacula, of a deep purple color, extend beneath, as 

 snares to capture its prey. 



HENRIETTA. 



Where is it found? 



