THE DOLPHIN. 51 



Voracious, active, and roving. 



dusky; the belfy whitish; it swims with great 

 swiftness, and its prey is fish. The dolphin is 

 longer and more slender than the porpesse, mea- 

 suring nine or ten feet in length, and two in 

 diameter. 



Ail these species have fins on the back; very 

 large heads, like the rest of the whale kind; and 

 resemble each other in their appetites, their man- 

 ners, and conformation, being equally voracious, 

 active, and roving. No fish could escape them, 

 but from the auk ward position of their mouth, 

 which is placed in a manner under the head ; 

 and their own agility is so great as to prevent 

 them from being often taken. They seldom re- 

 main a moment above water though their too 

 eager pursuit after prey sometimes exposes them 

 to danger; a shoal of herrings often allures them 

 out of their depth, and they continue to flounder 

 in the shallows till knocked on the head, or the 

 returning tide comes to their relief. And when 

 taken they sometimes have a plaintive moan, 

 with which they continue to express their pain 

 till they expire. 



A shoal of dolphins will frequently attend the 

 course of a ship for the scraps that are thrown 

 overboard, or the bernacles adhering to their 

 sides. They inhabit the European and Pacific 

 ocean. 



This fish was in great repute with the ancients; 

 it was consecrated to the Gods, celebrated in the 

 G 2 



