FISHES. 567 



water, the chances are in favour of its meeting its fate in the Scylla of 

 the atmosphere; if it escapes the jaws of the shark, it will probably 

 fall to the share of the sea-gull. The dolphin is also a formidable 

 enemy to the much-persecuted flying-fish. Captain Basil Hall gives 

 a very animated description of their mode of attack.* He was in a 

 prize, a low Spanish schooner, rising not above two feet and half out 

 of the water. " Two or three dolphins had ranged past the ship in 

 all their beauty. The ship in her progress through the water had 

 put up a shoal of these little things (flying-fish), which took their 

 flight to windward. A large dolphin, which had been keeping com- 

 pany with us abreast of the weather gangway at the depth of two or 

 three fathoms, and, as usual, glistening most beautifully in the sun, no 

 sooner detected our poor dear friends take wing than he turned his 

 head towards them, darted to the surface, and leaped from the water 

 with a velocity little short, as it seemed to us, of a cannon-ball. But 

 though the impetus with which he shot himself into the air gave him 

 an initial velocity greatly exceeding that of the flying-fish, the start 

 which his fated prey had got enabled them to keep ahead of him 

 for a considerable time. The length of the dolphin's first spring 

 could not be less than ten yards, and after he fell we could see him 

 gliding like lightning through the water for a moment, when he again 

 rose, and shot upwards with considerably greater velocity than at 

 first, and of course to a still greater distance. In this manner 

 the merciless pursuer seemed to stride along the sea with fearful 

 rapidity, while his brilliant coat sparkled and flashed in the sun quite 

 splendidly. As he fell headlong in the water at the end of each 

 leap, a series of circles were sent far over the surface, for the breeze 

 just enough to keep the royals and topgallant studding-sails extended 

 was hardly felt as yet below. 



"The group of wretched flying-fishes, thus hotly pursued, at 

 length dropped into the sea ; but we were rejoiced to observe that 

 rjiey merely touched the top of the swell, and instantly set off again 

 in a fresh and even more vigorous flight. It was particularly in- 

 teresting to observe that the direction they took now was quite 

 different from the one in which they had set out, implying but too 

 obviously that they had detected their fierce enemy, who was follow- 

 ing them with giant steps along the waves, and was gaining rapidly 

 upon them. His pace, indeed, was two or three times as swift as 

 theirs, poor little things ! and the greedy dolphin was fully as quick- 

 sighted ; for whenever they varied their flight in the smallest degree, 



*" Lieutenant and Commander." By Captain Basil Hall. Bell&Daldy, London. 



