their movements and the beauty of their appearance. I had never had an opportunity to observe these animals living and in their native waters, till now. I will not mention all the varieties which passed before my dazed vision, this wonderful collection of the Japanese and China seas. These fishes were more numerous than are birds in the air, and were doubtless attracted by the electric light.
Suddenly light again appeared in the room—the panels were closed, and the enchanting vision disappeared. I thought of what I had seen for a long time, until my gaze fell upon the instruments suspended upon the wall. The compass, I noticed, pointed N.N.E.; the manometer gave a pressure of five atmospheres, corresponding to a depth of fifty yards, and the electric gong indicated a speed of fifteen miles an hour.
I waited for Captain Nemo. He did not appear. It was five o’clock.
Ned and Conseil returned to their cabin, and I went to my room. There I found my dinner prepared. It was composed of turtle soup, mullet fillets, prepared from the “emperor holocanthus,” the taste of which appeared to me to be superior to salmon.
I passed the evening in reading, writing, and reflection. Then sleep asserted its sway, and I retired to my grass couch and slept soundly, while the Nautilus skimmed across the rapid current of the black river.
