Owned by George E. Wilt 
Address to Goldfishes 
HARTLEY COLERIDGE 
(1796-1849) 
Restless forms of living light 
Quivering on your lucid wings, 
Cheating still the curious sight 
With a thousand shadowings; 
Various as the tints of even. 
Gorgeous as the hues of heaven, 
Refiected on your native streams 
In flitting, flashing, billowy gleams! 
Harmless warriors, clad in mail 
Of silver breastplate, golden scate;— 
Mail of Nature’s own bestowing, 
With peacefu: radiance mildly glowing— 
Fleet are ye as fleetest galley 
Or pirate rover sent from Sal!lee; 
Keener than the Tartar’s arrow, 
Sport ye in your sea so narrow. 
Was the sun himself your sire? 
Were ye born of vital fire? 
Or of the shade of golden flowers, 
Such as we fetch from Eastern bowers, 
To mock this murky clime of ours? 
Upwards, downwards, now ye glance, 
Weaving many a mazy dance; 
Seeming stil to grow in size 
When ye would elude our eyes— 
Pretty creatures! we might deem 
Ye were happy as ye seem— 
AS gay. as gamesome, and as blithe, 
As light. as loving, and as lithe, 
As gadly earnest in your play, 
As when ye gleamed in far Cathay; 
And yet, since on this hapless earth 
There’s small sincerity in mirth, 
And laughter oft is but an art 
To drown the outcry of the heart; 
It may be that your ceaseless gambols, 
Your wheelings, dartings, divings, rambles, 
Your rest ess roving round and round 
The circuit of your crystal bound— 
Is but the task of weary pain, 
An endless labour, dull and vain; 
And while your forms are gaily shining, 
Your litte lives are inly pining! 
Nay—but still I fain would dream 
That ye are happy as ye seem. 
Broad-tail Calico Telescope Goldfish 
Photograph by H. W. Schmid 
oso 
| 
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Fishes that live in the great depths of 
the ocean are usually blind, but are pe- 
culiarly adapted to their environment. 
The pressure where they live is sufficient 
to powder glass. ‘To overcome this the 
skeleton is porous and the water appears 
to circulate through them as through a 
sponge. They are so fragile out of water 
that when taken from the nets they al- 
most drop in pieces. This will seem re- 
markable because they are fierce carniv- 
orous creatures. Some are phosphores- 
cent, having one or even more colors. 
ee 
Mr. C. A. Holtgreve, 7419 North 
Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois, desires to 
obtain by purchase the first volume of 
Aguatic LiFe; the bound edition, an un- 
bound set, or single copies. 
——S 
Please discontinue my advertisement. 
I have disposed of all the fishes I had for 
sale. I have had very good results from 
the advertisement; in fact I received 
more orders than I was able to fill—Otto 
Gneiding. 
