344 THE VIVIPAROUS BLENNY. 



changed colour, the small Blenny still retained its 

 natural hue. How did this happen? it will be 

 asked. I answer, by little Dornbey (doing as his 

 brethren had always hitherto done in similar circum- 

 stances) leaping on to a ledge of rock that projected 

 out 01 the water, and there breathing the fresh air 

 in safety. 



On the following morning I peeped into the vessel, 

 and saw by their upturned gills that all my finny 

 proteges were dead ! 



' All my pretty ones ? 

 Did I say all ? ' 



All except the smallest of the pack, he was still 

 dressed in his sombre coat, and gracefully reclining 

 upon the rocky couch above mentioned. 



How thankfully he received the breakfast that I 

 temptingly offered upon the tips of my feeding brush, 

 and how grateful he seemed to be, when, after the 

 lapse of a few hours, I was enabled to let him float 

 again in his pure native element, a fresh supply of 

 which had been procured with as little delay as 

 possible ! 



The Viviparous Blenny differs from the other 

 British Blennies ' in the circumstance to which its 

 name refers that of bringing forth its young alive, 

 which seem perfectly able to provide for themselves 

 from the moment they are excluded/ 



It is a most gentle, graceful-looking fish, but as 

 far as my experience goes, one that is impossible to 



