Returning To Show Them The
Seaweed, The Little Fishes Looked So Good That Someone Thought Of A
Certain Net Wherewith The Doctor Catches Ocean Insects, Porpytas, Clios,
Spinulas, Etc.
With this we caught in half an hour amid much screaming,
laughter, and unspeakable excitement, no less than 250 of them.
They
were about five inches long - funny little blue fishes with wholesome-
looking scales. We ate them next day, and they were excellent. Some
expected that we should have swollen or suffered some bad effects, but
no evil happened to us: not but what these deep-sea fishes are
frequently poisonous, but I believe that scaly fishes are always
harmless. We returned by half-past three, after a most enjoyable day;
but, as proof of the heat being much greater in the boat, I may mention
that one of the party lost the skin from his face and arms, and that we
were all much sunburnt even in so short a time; yet one man who bathed
that day said he had never felt such cold water in his life.
We are now (January 21) in great hopes of sighting land in three or four
days, and are really beginning to feel near the end of our voyage: not
that I can realise this to myself; it seems as though I had always been
on board the ship, and was always going to be, and as if all my past
life had not been mine, but had belonged to somebody else, or as though
someone had taken mine and left me his by mistake.
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