COLOURS OF ANIMALS. 35 



excitement of the sport consists in the endeavour to 

 follow out the axiom of Mrs. Glasse, and on tlie prin- 

 ciple which that worthy lady laid down about " first 

 catching your hare," to first catch your flounder. 

 You cautiously and softly paddle out to shallow water 

 in your punt, and you drift over the flat, sandy beach 

 at a depth of from two to three feet. Below, the 

 water is as clear as crystal. Here and there you see 

 a lazy starfish on the march, exerting himself to the 

 utmost, as he slowly extends ray after ray, and crawls 

 at the rate of about a mile a month or so, by aid of 

 his hundreds of sucker-feet. The sand-eels annoy you 

 ns they burrow downwards and send up little clouds of 

 dust on your approach ; but the flounders you came 

 to spear where are they? and echo seems but to 

 answer ' ' Where ?" But the practised sportsman bids 

 you learn (as in all other sciences and arts) the first 

 lesson namely, how to see and observe. As your 

 boat creeps along, he points to what seems a mere 

 sandy lump, but in which his keener eye has detected 

 the merest wriggle of a fin. Dash ! goes the spear, 

 and up comes a flounder, and as you watch the ground, 

 you see dozens, it may be, of similar sandy patches 

 swimming off in rapid alarm. The flounder's " back," 

 it is really the side of the fish, on which it lies is 

 white enough, as we know ; but the " other side " is 

 as close a representation of a sandy patch as you 

 can either see or imagine. Small wonder then that 

 in flounder-spearing you experience the difficulties 

 which nature throws in the way of capture through 



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