32 



or at least the tropic, we should have seen whole 

 shoals of sharks, whales, and dolphins wandering 

 about as plenty as sheep upon the South Downs : 

 instead of which, a brace of dolphins, and a few 

 flying fish and porpoises, are the only inhabit- 

 ants of the ocean who have as yet taken the 

 trouble of paying us the common civility of a visit. 

 However, I am promised, that as soon as we ap- 

 proach the islands, I shall have as many sharks as 

 heart can wish. 



As I am particularly fond of proofs of conjugal 

 attachment between animals (in the human spe- 

 cies they are so universal that I set no store by 

 them), an instance of that kind which the cap- 

 tain related to me this morning gave me great 

 pleasure. While lying in Black River harbour, 

 Jamaica, two sharks were frequently seen playing 

 about the ship ; at length the female was killed, 

 and the desolation of the male was excessive: — 



" Che faro senz' Eurydice? " 



What he did without her remains a secret, but 

 what he did with her was clear enough ; for scarce 

 was the breath out of his Eurydice's body, when 

 he stuck his teeth in her, and began to eat her up 

 with all possible expedition. Even the sailors felt 

 their sensibility excited by so peculiar a mark of 

 posthumous attachment; and to enable him to per- 

 form this melancholy duty the more easily, they 

 offered to be his carvers, lowered their boat, and 



