mong English sailors, that if you hoist a sail on a calm night in a
boat where flying-fish abound, and hang a lantern in the middle of it,
the fish will fly in shoals at the lantern, strike against the sail, and
fall in heaps in the boat. It MAY be true, but I never spoke to anybody
who has seen it done, nor is it the method practised in the only place
in the world where flying-fishing is followed for a living. So I told
Mr. Jones that if we had some circular nets of small mesh made and
stretched on wooden hoops, I was sure we should be able to catch some.
He caught at the idea, and mentioned it to the mate, who readily gave
his permission to use a boat. A couple of "Guineamen" (a very large
kind of flying-fish, having four wings) flew on board that night, as if
purposely to provide us with the necessary bait.

Next morning, about four bells, the sea being like a mirror, unruffled
by a breath of wind, we lowered and paddled off from the ship about a
mile. When far enough away, we commenced operations by squeezing in the
water some pieces of fish that had been kept for the purpose until they
were rather high-flavoured. The exuding oil from this fish spread a
thin film for some distance around the boat, through which, as through a
sheet of glass, we could see a long way down. Minute specks of the bait
sank slowly through the limpid blue, but for at least an hour there
was no sign of life. I was beginning to fear that I should be called
to account for misleading all hands, when, to my unbounded delight,
an immense shoal of flying-fish came swimming round the boat, eagerly
picking up the savoury morsels. We grasped our nets, and, leaning over
the gunwale, placed them silently in the water, pressing them downward
and in towards the boat at the same time. Our success was great
and immediate. We lifted the wanderers by scores, while I whispered
imploringly, "Be careful not to scare them; don't make a sound." All
hands entered into the spirit of the thing with great eagerness. As for
Mistah Jones, his delight was almost more than he could bear. Suddenly
one of the men, in lifting his net, slipped on the smooth bottom of the
boat, jolting one of the oars. There was a gleam of light below as the
school turned--they had all disappeared instanter. We had been so busy
that we had not noticed the dimensions of our catch; but now, to our
great joy, we found that we had at least eight hundred fish nearly as
large as herrings. We at once