S02 



OF THE DOLPHIN, THE GRAMPUS, AND THE POR- 

 POISE, WITH THEIR VARIETIES. 



All these fish have teeth In the upper and lower jaw ; 

 and all are much inferior in size to the whale. The 

 grampus, which is the largest, never exceeds twenty 

 feet, and may easily be distinguished by the flatness of 

 its head, which, in appearance, resembles a boat turned 

 upside down. There is but little distinction between 

 the porpoise and the grampus, and that is only to be 

 found in the snout, which measures about eight feet in 

 length. The dolphin bears a strong resemblance to the 

 porpoise, though the snout is more pointed, and exceeds 

 it in length. All of them are found with fins upon the 

 back, and, like the whale, are formed with'dispropor- 

 tionate heads. 



The great agility which these animals are endowed 

 with, prevents them from being easily secured, for they 

 seldom remain a moment above the water ; and, unless 

 they pursue their prey into shallows, there is little pro- 

 bability of their ever being slain. All this tribe, but 

 particularly the dolphin, are no less destructive than 

 they are alert ; and no fish would be able to escape 

 from them but for the awkward position of their mouths, 

 which, in a manner, is placed under the head. 



What could induce the Ancients to a predilection in 

 the dolphin's favour, is a circumstance for which we can- 

 not easily account ; yet historians and philosophers seem. 

 to have contended which should invent the most sur- 

 prising tales. In the earliest ages this fish was celebrated 

 for its natural affection to the human race ; and scarce 

 an accident at sea could happen to individuals, but the 

 dolphin was in readiness to convey them to the shore, and 

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