A shark came a little nearer; it swam round our vessel for a few moments, so that I could easily look at him: it must have been from sixteen to eighteen feet long.
The so-called flying-fish afforded a pretty sight.

The sea was as calm as a mirror, the evening mild and moonlight; and so we remained on deck till late, watching the gambols of these animals.

As far as we could see, the water was covered with them.

We could recognise the younger fishes by their higher springs; they seemed to be three to four feet long, and rose five to six feet above the surface of the sea.

Their leaping looked like an attempt at flying, but their gills did not do them good service in the trial, and they fell back immediately.