lass
was the cormorant, greatly resembling a half-starved black swan, that
is, it had a longer and thinner and less graceful body; but in many
points it was superior to the swan, especially in its flying and diving
powers, and in its quickness of action. Its head appears never to be
still, but constantly bobbing and turning from side to side, as if
saying, "Did you ever catch a cormorant asleep?" Knowing that the
Chinese train these birds to catch fish, I endeavoured to induce one to
come to me, and serve his apprenticeship as a fisherman, but to no
purpose. It was just as well I could not catch one, for I find they must
be trained from their young days to the art, as they are intractable in
their grown-up wildness, and I was thus spared a great deal of
unnecessary trouble and irritability of temper.

Although I had a store of simple medicines with me, I scarcely ever
required to open the case. Once and once only, I felt poorly for a whole
week, but that I fancy was attributable to fruit and the heat. Although
not well, I thoroughly enjoyed a whole lazy week, most of which I spent
by the side of my fish pool, studying the habits of my finny comrades
in captivity. Some of the rock fish became so tame that they would rise
to the surface when I dropped crumbs of biscuits on the water, and I
verily believe if I had had the patience, I might have taught them to
feed from my fingers. Sometimes for a treat I would bring "Flap" and
place him near the water, and he seemed to enjoy looking at the
denizens; but they were all too big for him to gobble, or he would have
made an Aldermanic dinner of some of them.

I occasionally saw a snake, but always of the harmless, blindworm
variety. Of this species I caught two and admired them, but I did not
make pets of them as I did of nearly everything else I could lay hands
on.

One big fellow nearly two feet long I threw into the sea, thinking to
rid the island of at least one snake; but to my surprise he swam ashore
on the surface of the water as quickly as he could have progressed on
dry land. He was a veritable sea-serpent, although a small specimen.

There were also two kinds of lizards of which I do not know the name,
but they were only small fellows, and may be what are called "efts."
They would sun themselves on the warm rocks, and on being disturbed dart
into some cranny till danger was past. They ran up and down rocks which
were nearly perpendicular, and were very amusing in t