176 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



I afterwards caught a strange fish with dark 

 skin and a bright purple stripe, looking as un- 

 wholesome as it really was. But it made a 

 beautiful specimen. 



Next, I nearly ran down a large, slumbering 

 shark ; and, seeing a number of exquisite little 

 paper nautili gracefully floating, their tentacle 

 wings spread, and their fragile, fluted shells reflect- 

 ing the sunshine in a hundred changing shades of 

 colour, I steered for them, but they, being sensitive 

 to the least sound, heard the plash of water on the 

 boat's bows, and drew in their sails. Their equili- 

 brium being thus disturbed, their shells capsized 

 and they disappeared to the bottom. 



Finally, I landed at some rocks where were 

 many deep pools, and began to explore. They 

 were perfect aquaria ; no artificial ones could give 

 an adequate idea of their beauty, and lying flat 

 down by the margin of one of them, I gazed 

 entranced. 



It was like a luxuriant flower-garden. There 

 were sea-anemones of every hue and kind — dahlia, 

 sunflower, marigold, carnation, and many others 

 undefinable — the most beautiful being a monster 

 crimson one with cream-coloured tentacles. Minute 

 fish, like gobies and blennies, lurked under sea- 

 weed or stones, darted out, and, as if frightened at 



