Besides, like everything in that submarine garden, much of its charm is derived from the medium through which we behold it—the clear translucent water, which spreads a glamour of enchantment over objects already beautiful, glorifying the scarlet corallines and the waving branches of green and brown weed, wherein play exquisite fish of all vivid hues and sizes, from the tiniest gem-like atoms which flash in the light like sapphires and rubies, to the great big-headed parrot-fish, which has strong white teeth specially adapted for crunching the coral, and thence extracting the insects on which he feeds. There are great red fish, and purple-green fish, and some of bright gold, with bars or spots of black; but loveliest of all are the shoals of minute fish, some of the most vivid green, others of a blue that is quite dazzling. Some have markings so brilliant that I can only compare them to peacocks’ feathers. These all congregate in families, and a happy life they surely must have. Some of the loveliest of these are so tiny that you can keep a dozen in a tumbler; others are about the length of your finger. Only think what a prize they would be if we could convey them safely to the great aquariums of Britain! Besides these myriads of minute fish, there are all manner of living creatures which peep out from their homes beneath the ledges and crevices of the coral,—vigilant crabs of all sizes and colours, and sea-anemones in endless variety, and wonderful specimens of Echini. Picture to yourself first cousins of the fragile sea-eggs which used to rejoice our childhood, and make us marvel how they ever came ashore unbroken. These Fijian relations are armed with spikes like slate-pencils, nearly as thick as your middle finger, and a good deal longer. I think Mr Layard said their name is Acrocladia. To-day we captured a most extraordinary creature, a star-fish, which seemed as if it must be nearly related to the sea-urchin, for its fifteen arms were each covered with grey and orange spines, very sharp, precisely like those of the echinus, while the under side was a mass of pale-yellow fleshy feelers, like those of a sea-anemone, with a sucker at the end of each. It was a strange and most interesting creature when we first beheld it, but looked very unhappy when it found itself in a bucket; and when reduced to “a specimen,” it will be a poor ugly object.[7]