1802.) 
eully (fays Citizen Geoffroy): the obfer- 
vations that I have made on this fubjeét, 
are accompanied with circumftances fo 
much indetail, as have fcarcely, perhaps, 
occurred to any one before. 
.* Qn the 6th Prairial, year 6,(continues 
the Piofeffir) Iwas on board the fri- 
gate Alce/ié, between Cape Bona and the 
Ifle of Malta. The fea was calm, and 
the fhip’s company began to grow weary 
of its long duration, when their attention 
was fuddenly direéted to a fhark, which 
they faw making towards the veffel. He 
was preceded by his pilots, who kept 
about the fame diftance from the fhark ; 
the two pilots fhiped their courfe towards 
the itern of the veffel, vifted it twice, from 
one end to the other, and, after being fa- 
tisied that was nothing of which they 
could make their booty, they’ fell again 
into the track they were proceeding in 
before. During all their different move- 
ments, the fhark never lof them out of 
fight, or rather followed them as exaétly 
as if they had been drawing him in a train, 
‘¢ No fooner was the fhark efpied, than 
one of the feamen got ready a large hook, 
which he baited with a piece of bacon ; 
but the fhark and his companions had 
proceeded fo the length of 20 tretres and 
upwards, before the man had adjufted ail 
his preparations ; however, at a venture, 
he threw -his lump of bacon into the 
~ fea. The noife which the fall occafioned 
was heard at aconfiderable diftance ; our 
voyagers were, it feems, aftonifhed at it, 
and tuddenly ftopped their courfe : on this 
the two pilots detach themfelves, and re- 
pair to the poop of the veffel in queft of 
information. The fhark, during their ab- 
fence, {ports on the furface of the water 
in a thoufand fhapes, throws himfelf on 
his back, replaces himfelf on his belly, 
dives in the fea, but always appears again 
on the fame fpot. The two pilots, having 
got up to the ftern of the Alcefté, came 
near the bacon, which they had no fooner 
difcovered, than they returned to the fhark 
with more celerity than they had advan- 
ced. When they reached him, the fark 
was for proceeding on hisroute; but the 
pilots, fwimming, one at his right, and the 
other at his ieft, exert all their endeavours 
to get before him; fearcely had they done 
this, when they return together, and come 
a fecond time to the ftern of the veflel ; 
they were now followed by the fhark, who 
thus, by the fagacity of his companions, 
was enabled to difcover the prey defigned 
tor him. : 
*¢ It has been faid‘of the thark, that be 
has a very keen fcent; I-noticed with 
Monrrey Maa.. No. 92. 
Proteedings of Learned Sccieties. | O47 
very particular attention, (fays Citizen 
Geoffroy) what pafled when he came up 
clofe to the bacon. , It appeared to me, 
that he only obtain#? his information at 
the inflant when his guides had, as it 
were, indicated it to him; then it was 
that he fwam with the greateft velocity, 
or rather made a fpring to catch at it.—. 
At firft, he brought off a piece, without 
being entangled by the harpoon; but, at 
the fecond attempt, the hook pierced into 
his left lip, and he was taken and hoifted 
on board. 
«< Jt was not until two hours had elap- 
fed, during which [ was employed-in the 
anatomy of this fqualous fifh, that I ex- 
preffed my concern at not having feen more 
nearly the fpecies of fifh which became 
thus a volunteer in the fervice of the fhark ; 
I was told, however, that it was eafy to 
catch it, as it was certain that it had nct 
quitted the environs of the fhip; andina 
few moments after, I had the pleafure to 
find one handed to me, which I knew 
belonged to the pilot or fanfire tribe, as 
the mariners call it, and to what is called 
the gafferoffeus ductor, by naturalifts. 
‘< It would undoubtedly be curious 
(adds Citizen Geoffroy) to examine what 
intereft could induce two animals, fo dif- 
ferent in their organization, their ize, and 
their habits, to torm this kind of affoci- 
ation. Does the pilot feed on the excre- 
ments of the fhark, as Citizen Bofc ima- 
gines ; and, in order to find fafety and pro- 
tection near fo voracious a {pecies, can it 
have impofed on itfelf the painful duties of 
domelticity ?” 
eee 
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON, 
T one of the Jaft meetings of this 
learned body was read a Paper of 
Dr. HERSCHELL’s, on the Conftru&tionof 
the Heavens. He took a very enlarged view 
of the fidereal bodies compofing the uni- 
verfe; and enumerated a great diverfity of 
parts that enter into the conftruétion of the. 
heavens. The firft {pecies are infulated’ 
ftars, fuch as the author confiders our fun, | 
and all the brighteft ftars, which he fup.’ 
pofes are nearly out of the reach of mu- 
tual gravitations ; for, ftating the annual. 
parallax of Sirius at 1”, he calculates 
that Sirius and the Sun, if left alone, would 
be 33 millions of years in falling together, 
and that the action of the fiars in the Milky 
Way,as well as others, would tend ta prow | 
tra&t this time much more. This learned 
altronomer conjectures, that infulated tars 
alone are furrounded with planets. With), 
refpeét to double ftars, he thinks that” 
they preferve them relative diftances by a> 
i pevicdical 
owe 
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