SMOOTH BLENNY, ETC. 65 



Scallop, I found that the white dots or cells had 

 become blackish blue. On opening a third, I found 

 that the generality of the dots, instead of adhering to 

 the shell, were disengaged, and were swimming in a 

 little water in the concave valve, like a number of 

 sparkling diamonds. On applying a magnifying- 

 glass, I found that I had got a shoal of little fish, and 

 that their sparkling eyes were the diamonds I saw; 

 moreover, that round the edge of the patch many of 

 the dots were still adhering ; and that round the head 

 and eyes, which were prominent in the centre, the 

 body of the little fish was wrapped, pretty much in 

 the manner in which the cook sends up Whitings to 

 table, with their tail in their mouth, very much, I am 

 sure, against the will of the Whitings, if they had any- 

 thing to say in the matter, but a most easy and elegant 

 position for those nascent gelatinous fish. It was in 

 the disengaged state, however, that they chiefly ex- 

 cited our admiration. By the aid of a lens we saw 

 that the two eyes were the sparkling diamonds; that 

 the body, which consisted of transparent gelatine, 

 filled with grey granules, dwindled away towards the 

 tail : so that each little fairy fish of half-an-inch in 

 length resembled a tiny pair of scissors. Prosecuting 

 our investigations, I found them half grown, and at 

 last full grown; so that I had the satisfaction of 

 ascertaining, that the little beauties we had so much 

 admired were the fry of Lepidogaster binaculatus 

 the little two-spotted Sucker-fish. How wonderfully 

 the Lord teaches the feeblest of His creatures to pro- 

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