CHAPTER XXIII. 



SOME ODDITIES OF FISH-LIFE 



"3 Fish. Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea. 

 I Fish. Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones." 



Pericles. 



/^F fishes which are remarkable for beauty 

 ^^ names might be mentioned by the hundred; 

 alike of food - fishes, of powerful and fierce- 

 tempered kinds, and of those which may be 

 described as purely ornamental. Not all are 

 graceful in shape ; but vast numbers are ex- 

 quisite in colouring, especially when first drawn 

 from the water. As they gasp out their lives, 

 the brilliant tinting fades. 



Among harmless and lovely kinds, perhaps 

 not many could vie with the small radiant 

 creatures of Coral-reefs, described by many a 

 traveller in terms which tell of a lack of 

 sufficient variety in adjectives. But words in 

 these cases convey a dim impression of the 

 reality. Fish-beauty must be seen, and seen 

 at its best, to be appreciated. 



R 241 



