196 THE OCEAN. 
in the sun, suddenly detected a shoal of Flying-fish 
rising from the sea at some distance. With the 
rapidity of lightning he wheeled round, made one 
tremendous leap, and so timed his fall as to arrive 
fairly at the place where our little friends, the Fly- 
ing-fish, were forced to drop into the sea to refresh 
their weary wing. A flight of sea-gulls now joined 
in the pursuit; we gave up our protégés for lost, 
when, to our great joy, we beheld them rising again, 
for they had merely skimmed the wave, and, thus 
recruited, continued their flight. Their restless foe 
pursued them with giant strides, now cutting the 
wave, which flashed and sparkled with the reflection 
of his brilliant coat, and then giving one huge leap, 
which brought him up with his prey: they seemed 
conscious that escape was impossible; their flight 
became shorter and more flurried, whilst the Dolphin, 
animated by the certain prospect of success, grew 
more vigorous in his bounds; exhausted, they drop- 
ped their wings, and fell one by one into the jaws 
of the Dolphin, or were snapped up by the vigilant 
Gulls.”* 
Captain Basil Hall has described a very similar 
scene in nearly parallel terms; but, to prevent mis- 
understanding, he also informs his readers that “the 
Dolphin” of his narrative is the Coryphena hippuris 
of naturalists, and a true fish. 
“Shortly after observing a cluster of Flying-fish 
rise out of the water, we discovered two or three 
Dolphins [Coryphenes] ranging past the ship, in all 
their beauty; and watched with some anxiety to 
* Miss Lloyd’s Sketches of Bermuda, 
