THE TALKING FISH.
THE public has been invited to witness the performances of a "Talking Fish. We have seen the animal, and find it eufficienty docile. It cornea to its keeper, and shakes hands; it " dances " or rolls over on the water at bidding ; it utters the words, or is said to utter the words, "papa" and " mamma." It is in fact, a very intelligent beast, but no fish at all, and its " talking " is very doubtful. The animal is a seal, between nine and ten feet long, and as far as can be judged of by external characters, it belongs to the species known as the " Sea Leopard." Many suspected that the talking was a mere trick produced by ventriloquism ; but the sound is undoubtedly produced by the animal, as it is emitted at times when no person connected with the exhibition is in sight. It consists of the utterance of the wards "manna*" and " papa." " Papa" is indistinct and not very different from " mamma," which is unquestionably, the iiaturai cry of the seal. It is given in the hoarse barking manner usual among these animals, and it is evident to naturalists to whom an esteemed contributor has spoken about it, " that the proprietor of the wonder has taken advantage of what is the na- tural voice of the seal to make up the story of its being able to talk."
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