According to the ancients, this little fish fastened to the keel of a ship could stop its course, and one of them in this way kept back the galley of Antony at the battle of Actium, and thus facilitated the victory of Augustus. On how little the destinies of nations hang! I also noticed some beautiful anthiæ which belong to the lutjan order, a fish sacred to the Greeks, who attribute to them the power to chase marine animals from the waters they frequent. Their name means flower, and is justified by their colours, which comprise every shade of red, from the rose to the ruby-tint. I was gazing earnestly at these marvels of the sea, when an unexpected apparition appeared.
A man appeared suddenly—a diver, carrying at his waist a leathern purse. He was not shipwrecked, but a vigorous swimmer, disappearing occasionally to breathe, and then returning immediately.
I turned to Captain Nemo and exclaimed: “Here is a shipwrecked man, we must save him at all hazards.”
The captain made no answer, but approached the window.
The diver came near, and putting his face against the glass he looked at us.
To my utter astonishment Captain Nemo made a sign to him. The diver waved his hand; at once ascended, and did not again appear.
“Don’t alarm yourself,” said Captain Nemo. “It is only Nicholas, of Cape Matapan, surnamed Pesca. He is well known in the Cyclades. A daring diver, water is his element, he lives in it more than on land, passing between the islands even as far as Crete.”
“You know him, captain?”
“Why not, M. Aronnax?”
