Flying Fish and their Enemies. 267 



through the water, without perceptibly "slowing" the 

 mysterious engine power with which it has been invested. 



Very earnestly did everybody wish to welcome a few flying 

 fish to the deck. The mouths of those passengers to whom 

 the morning and evening publications of the ship — to wit, 

 the neatly got-up breakfast and dinner tnenus — were all im- 

 portant as official gazettes, remembered that there had been 

 no fresh fish for many days, and the officers and stewards 

 drove them frantic by repeating at every meal their descrip- 

 tions of the luscious morsel. It was little short of mockery 

 to tell us that the cook — and a capital cook that yellow- 

 bearded Frenchman was — had a special gift in the browning 

 of flying fish, and that, to a well-regulated human being who 

 was not hypocrite enough to affect contempt of good living, 

 nothing more delicately succulent, more exquisitely flavoured, 

 could be offered. 



Was it only to tantalize that the chief officer told us how 

 last year, in the same latitude and almost the same longitude, 

 the deck one morning was covered with welcome fish, which 

 had taken a flight, alas ! in the dark, from which there was 

 no return ? If so, the second officer was in the plot, for he 

 supplemented his superior's experiences with his own ; the 

 effect of his asseverations being that many a time and oft he 

 had hung lanterns over the bulwarks and attracted the fish 

 to their doom — a cause and effect in which the sailor places 

 unhesitating belief, though I suspect there is about as much 

 ground for the notion as there was for the statement of the 

 ancients that the flying fish invariably flew ashore every night 

 to escape its manifold enemies at sea. 



The flying fish undoubtedly does fly on board ships when 

 lanterns are suspended from the chains ; but, then, just as 

 often it is found on deck when no such reputed lure has 

 been exhibited. However, that not at all uncommon cir- 



