When your eye-witness entered the exhibition
room, and when he saw it lying at the bottom of its
tub, he was struck first of all by the creature's eyes,
by their intelligence, their soft beauty, and by the
glance of helpless appeal which it directed from
one to the other of the faces by which it was
surrounded. This was what struck him first.
Then it struck him that, if convenient, he should
like to have a large ship ready in the Pool of
London, to convey the Talking Fish back to the
coast of Africa from which it had been brought;
then it struck him that as this was perhaps not
convenient, he should like to have a rifle loaded
with ball, with full liberty to discharge the same
at the head of the poor seal, and so put her out
of her misery at once and for all. These different
inclinations having passed through the head of your
eye-witness, and there appearing to be obstacles
to the gratification of every one of them, it occurred
to him next to resign himself to circumstances,
to look about him, and see what was
going on.

Nothing was going on. A large seal was lying
at the bottom of an immense tub, round which
about twenty persons were standing with their
mouths open, wondering when the performance
was to begin. The seal appeared to be almost
in a torpid state, except when, as has been
described above, it turned from time to time its
languid eyes to the faces round the bath, looking
from one to the other with vexed perplexity. It
uttered, too, at intervals a sharp and painful cry,
which was accompanied by a snapping sound,
occasioned probably by the meeting of its teeth.
A fat man, whom your witness liked, who spoke
kindly to the seal; another man like a foreign
ambassador, or Royal Duke, whom your witness
disliked, who spoke savagely to the seal; and a
faint-hearted man, whom your witness regarded
in a negative light, who spoke childishly to the
seal, seemed all to have a share in exhibiting
the animal, and all tried, in their different ways,
to make the poor beast exert itself.

It has been said that the seal uttered now and
then a cry like a bark. This was only at
intervals at first; but when the Royal Duke,
mounting on a " coign of vantage," commenced
a scientific lecture on the animal, winch was, he
said, to be " the subject of a few remarks," the
seal took to barking violently and frequently,
and at last never left off at all, taking it evidently
as an insult that it should be lectured upon, and
determining that not a word that was said about
its nature and habits should reach the public.
The Talking Fish not only declined to talk itself,
but was an enemy to talkativeness in others.

"The extraordinary animal," the lecturer
began—" the extraordinary animal—bow-wow—
subject of the present exhibition—bow-wow,
bow-wow—on the coast of Africa—bow-wow—
mouth of the—bow-wow—river—bow-wow,
bow-wow—disputed point—bow-wow—naturalists
—bow-wow—indeed Professor—bow-wow
—expresses himself to this effect—bow-wow,
bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow—while that
eminent comparative anatomist, Dr.—bow-wow
—in treating on this subject—bow-wow, bow-wow
—in his work on the function of—bow-wow
—has been understood to say—bow-wow, bow-wow,
bow-wow, bow-wow, bow-wow——

This was all that was audible of the lecture,
the rest was lost in an uninterrupted volley of
barking of the loudest and most overpowering
description. The Royal Duke descended from his
bad eminence in evident disgust, and saying to
the faint-hearted man, " See what you can do
with her," proceeded to look moodily on as if
he were a spectator from outside, and to lash
with many taunts the faint-hearted man, who for
his part had evidently no hope of the seal from
the beginning. The Talking Fish, it must be
mentioned, was a female talking fish, and her
name it seemed was Jenny.

"Will um's Jenny come and kiss um's hand?"
said the faint-hearted man, leaning over the tub
to address the seal. " No, of course she won't,"
he added, when the seal declined the invitation
with a bark of disgust; " I knew she wouldn't."

"You've got no perseverance" said the Royal
Duke; "why don't you go on at her till she does?"

"Much better leave her alone," said the fat
man. "Poor Jenny," he continued, stooping
over the bath. The seal rose up out of the
water, and lifting up her face, kissed him as he
uttered the words. " Poor Jenny," said the fat
man, "have they been beating you, Jenny?"

Had they? Why did Jenny wince when the
Royal Duke happened to wave his hand; why
did she wince, and, shrinking away to the other
end of the bath, look again from face to face
in mute but strong appeal. Poor Jenny!

"Try her again," said the Royal Duke to the
faint-hearted man.

"What's the good?" answered that despondent
gentleman.

"Never mind asking, ' What's the good?' " retorted
the Regal Potentate, " but try her again."

The gentleman who, according to the proverb,
was disqualified for the winning of fair ladies,
did try her again.

"Um's Jenny's naughty lickle girl not to kiss
um's hand—come zen, kiss um's hand," said the
faint-hearted man. There," he continued, when
this appeal proved no more successful than the
last—" there, what did I tell you? Are you satisfied
now?"

"No," said the Royal Duke, " I'm not. Try
showing her some fish."

"Give um's Jenny pretty lickle fish, if um's
Jenny'll kiss um's hand," said the faint-hearted
man, showing a highly flavoured flounder to the
unfortunate animal.

The Talking Fish, knowing it would not get
the flounder, or perhaps not liking the smell of
it, remained stationary at the other end of the
bath, and sure enough the flounder was taken
away again and put into a basket whose
perfume was not agreeable.

"Oh, hang it!" the fat man interposed,
"don't break faith with a fellow—with a fish,
I mean—like that. Give it to her. What's the
good of tantalising her like that?"

"What's the good of anythink?" said the despondent
man. This was one of those propo-