Chapter XXII 



A Window ot the Sea 



IN the old days of Roman supremacy it was the cus- 

 tom of epicures and gentlemen of cultivation and 

 well ripened tastes to have the surmullet or the 

 maigre served that day introduced on the splendidly 

 appointed table in an aquarium, where its freshness 

 was demonstrated beyond question to the assembled 

 guests. 



The angler can now go a-fishing in Avalon Bay, sit 

 in the boat and fish while looking down through a win- 

 dow of the sea ; not only see his game slightly magnified, 

 but watch it take the lure in water from ten to fifty feet 

 deep, thus observing what has nearly always been a 

 mystery to the fisherman. 



Where this pastime is possible, twenty miles out at 

 sea, due to the clearness and absolute stillness of the 

 water, a fleet of glass-bottom boats is found ; ranging 

 from a rowboat with a window for a single, or two an- 

 glers, to a steamer holding fifty or more passengers 

 who drift over the kelp beds to enjoy the vistas of 



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