seal, which was exhibited under the name of the "Talking fish," and whose bark was similar to that of these watch-seals.
I was told that the naturalists of the country do not consider these fierce seals as indigenous to the country. It is supposed that the original parents had been found on board some vessel—a whaler, probably—that had been wrecked on its voyage from the South Seas, or that they had been captured when endeavouring to make their way from one latitude to another. From some peculiarities about them, the parent stock is believed to have inhabited a much colder region of the earth. However this may be, their descendants seem thoroughly acclimatized to the scorching heat of the tropics, and perform their duties in the most satisfactory manner.
Other pets this charming water Lily possessed, such as sea-anemones, of every variety of shape and colour, which she daintily fed every morning with tiny morsels of mussels, or other common shell-fish. She also kept a hideous squid in a dark hole, and would pull it out and let it crawl all over her with its eight long arms. Crabs and sea-urchins she detested, and she had trained her little seal to attack and destroy any that might venture into her room.
Like other girls of her station in life, Lily had received a tolerable education. She was well read in English literature, an accomplished musician, and skilled in the small ornamental arts which occupy much of the time of the Colymbian ladies. In her parents' house there was a small but select library of English authors; and from a neighbouring establishment all the recent works of lighter literature were procurable. All books used in the subaqueous country
