458 FISHES. 



through the air ; the Cormorant sat grave and judge-like 

 on the coral reefs ; the Sea-gull screamed about the ripple 

 of the tide ; and Ducks and Divers were disporting them- 

 selves on the waters of the bays. Most of these, however, 

 were of different species from those that inhabit the coun- 

 tries of Europe. When I first saw the Wren in this far- 

 off region, it instantly recalled scenes familiar to me in 

 childhood by the mere force of association, for certain 

 animals are always connected in our minds with peculiar 

 haunts and localities. We never think of the Chamois, 

 but we fancy him clinging to the cliff; of the Antelope, 

 but we imagine her bounding across the plain ; of the 

 Tiger, but we ruminate on drear and lonely jungles ; of 

 the Wolf, but we dream of forest gloom ; or the Hyaena, 

 but we picture to ourselves grave-yards and desolate burial 

 places. The Spoonbill, the Quail, the Curlew, the Tit- 

 mouse, the Wagtail, and the Teal, are also met with in 

 the Korean Archipelago. 



I have but few words to say with reference to the fishes 

 of this group, the habits and economy of these scaly deni- 

 zens of the deep continuing to remain almost a sealed 

 volume even to the Naturalist. Solitary and retiring, they 

 elude the scrutiny of curious man in the vast regions of 

 old "ocean's grey and melancholy waste," or when "but 

 dimly seen" up rivers and in shallow bays, or playing 

 among the coral reefs, such is in general the rapidity of 

 their movements, that the most eager scientific eye cannot 

 trace the nature of their proceedings. 



The fishes of the Eastern Seas glitter with gold and 

 silver, their sides are marked, banded and spotted with 

 the most vivid colours, and as they cleave the transparent 



