A VOYAGE FROM LIVERPOOL TO BOMBAY, 241 
to say, the best view I ever had ofa whale was between Kurra- 
chee and this. Four or five were playing within a mile or so of 
the steamer, and one monster several times rose above the surface 
like avoleanic island, quite near enough to give me a distinct view 
of it. This was, I suppose; Balaenoptera mdica, which is sometimes 
stranded on opr coast. The skeleton of one which was so stranded 
near Bassein forms the ‘piece of resistance’? in the Victoria and 
Albert Museum, If whales avoid steamers, there is one marine 
mammal which has no such fear, This is the dolphin (Delphinus 
delphis), a near relation of the porpoise, which is common enough in 
our harbour, but easily distinguishable by its sharp snout, slender 
form and colour, which, in the water, appears to be silvery grey 
above and white beneath, though I believe that when the 
animal is out of the water its back ig almost black. There is some- 
thing very fascinating in the high spirits and jubilant happiness of 
this creature, It is just the animal to offer its back to. Orpheus, 
though I would be scientifically sceptical about its being charmed by 
his musig, on the ground that its ears being usually under water, his 
strains could hardly have reached them. The dolphin is very 
common in the Mediterranean, going in pairs or small companies. 
When they catch sight of a steamer, they race for it, leaping out 
of the water in concert when they want to breathe, as if they were 
steeple-chasing and clearing hurdles. When they reach the steamer 
they get in front of it, just under the bows, and sport in the 
foam which it drives before it, rolling over on their backs, leaping out 
of the water, diving, and performing marvels of agility, without 
betraying, by any motion which you can detect im fin or tail, that 
they are exerting themselves. All the time there is an expression 
of fun and happiness on their faces, if I may use the term, which is 
infectious and makes this one of the most delightful of the small 
excitements which enliven a sea voyage. Every dolphin in the 
Mediterranean secms to know the trick, and when we neared Port 
Said on my way out last month, three of the porpoises, which are so, 
common in that harbour, came out to meet us and tried to disport 
themselves in the same way, but the clumsiness of their efforts was 
positively ludicrous to one who had seen dolphins doing the thing. - 
All the way from Gibraltar to Port Said the ship is visited 
occasionally by land birds, butterflies, moths, and other insects. At 
two seasons in particular, about April and again about September, 
hundreds of migratory ‘birds, crossing the sea, are glad to geta 
