, 1877-02-04
With the Obituary of One Nh1ch
Was So Graceless as
to Die.
The FLYING Fox, the Triple-Tailed Kin
giyo, and the Excitement
of Meal-Time.
Ministers On the Elephnnt--.Aimee's Sue.
ccss-..Nhy They Call It "Au
for HIM.
From Our 0eeu CORRESPONDENT.

water life, admirable studies for the naturalist
The most interesting collection In any single de-
partmcnt, perhaps, vas the collection OF yonns,
ladies' These also were admirable studies for
tho naturalist It may in some cases be confus-
ipr, but It is valuable no doubt to be able to
make immediate comparison between seals in
tanks aud seals in sacques: to note the great
eyes and intelligence OF the ono, and the owncTs
of the other II not, several male naturalists
were in proftlcss employment Some OF the
young ladies, suspect, we're from Packer 11l-
stitute, because they were so bright and
knew so much, which is said TO be the
trouble with all the Packer girls,-pardon the
irrcyerencet / had thought myself tolcrab1y
prepared for the occasion, what with smattcr-
fug of Seth Green on fish culture in my head,
and Zoology in my pocket But, after catch
inc few comments which fell from sundry fair
lips, I knew that conscious ignorance was in
denting deep lines on hitherto uncorrugatcd
brow. Ah, the lshv stories they told III an
hour-morc than I shall ever remember, be lie
never so long. twas 4 Miss Of Packer, by the
way, who astonished her Professor by the clas-
sical conuadrum: s'WThat did 10 die of2'' and as
founded him when he lad given it up, as OF
course he did, by the answer: 81 dide OF
potassinm.'' The Miss has, however, since
graduated, and it will be useless for any young
man to come on from the West with view to
secure her for Chicago and himself
TIE BLESSED ORIGINALS.
There were several hundred people scattered
about the building. In making the tour from
the side where you confront ancmoncs, porgies,
and sea urchins, to the opposing side, where you
70 in, if you wish to for quartcr-dollar to view
the beautiful and butter "Iolanthe,'' saw but
one nose which told Of disdain, heard but ono
expression OF disappointment. This one was
altogether too good to be lost. The lady, who
was beyond middle age and richly dressed,
las,orcd under the misfortune Of having been
to Europe and. seen the aquariums at
Naples and Berlin. t'This is very fair-
good as one could expect, I suppose, in
this country, but oh! if you could have been
with me at Naplcs!'' Such was the burden Of
her song. They paused at a case containing al
gae, live corals, and sponges. The companion
admired much these singular species Of an i'm
perceptiblc existence. and said SO. Yes, to be
surc,'' was tho 1anouid reply, ''thcse arc excel
lent limitations, but they can't compare with the
originals at Naples!" There was little man,
quite leshy, however, and with any amount OF
joll1ty cleaning from his eyeglasses, who heard
this and came very near an aoop1cctic turn, do
believe, in consequence. It was necessary to put
him on bench in the corner, and when came
away he was not only still there. but still
clamping his sides as II lie we're bent On squeez-
ing himself into another world. It must have
been the same lady who went to the watcr-color
exhibit the other day, and insisted that all the
better paintings were copies from oils i'll foreign
galleries, and that she never would buy what
was not original. She certainly ought to buy
herself somehow.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL APPEARANCES.
Outside, tho front Of the Aquarium presents
two stories OF brick and one story Of sign.
The roof Of tho main part is Of IRON and glass,
something like that Of your Exposition Build
ing, but nothing SO ornate Inside the view is
attractive, the arrangement excellent At your
left is long row Of hard cascs,-that is, as hard
as iron, wood: und glass are,-contaiuing every
description OF saltwater life. This row is flanked
on the right BY a candy-stand, OIL the left by
the Matching g-troughs. 4 second line OF small
tanks holds tho fresh-wateT smaller fry, such as
brook-pickcrel and perch, young salmon, New
York sinners, and helI-bendcrs. The rear Of the
room mas a huge piece Of the stage
scenery order, in front OF which is built 4 rocky
aud picturesque grotto for the enjoyment OF
the sca-lion and his guests. Above, and 4 little
in front, is rustic bridge, whercfrom the white
whale was most satisfactorily seen while hc was
alive and spoutfng, and whcrcfrom also the best
general view is to be had both Of the place and
the people Nevertheless, anxious mothers
know that the rustic bridge ought to come
down. l figured it out that every chair up
there was the cyclcss witness of FIVE firtations
to the hour, which is an extremely low esti-
mate
THE BIG TASEs AND BIG FISH.
The right and front walls are faced with the
large tanks, which show rocky 1cccsscs and rest
less residents. Here arc the sha1p-noscd and
the blunt-nosed sturgeon, the summer skate
(which ought to go on whcels), the spotted dog
fish, the BlaclS Sea bass, the great star-hsh, and
. the golden carp. Here, too, In with the Tautog
md Tomcod, is Capt Quigley. the diver, who
stays under the water five hours day, to the
wondcr OF visitors and to his own gradual decay.
The constant pressure Of his sub-watcrlfe is too
much Tor the Captain. He has already lost
nearly all his hearing power and nearly all his
flesh. His lungs arc weakening, and some day,
it is feared, will suddenly giye way, as do those
Of the whale.
In the centre is the tank, twenty-five feet in
diameter, which WAS till Saturday night the
prison of the white whale, which now is for the
present the prison Of the hoE1id hfppopotamus.
The white whale died. His obituary will appear
further On. Near by this tank is that Of tho
seals, Ned and Fannie, the fayorites Of al1 both
BY reason Of their brown eyes end backs, and
their knowing Ways. Sitting places arc pro-
yidcd in every part of the building. Statues OF
an indifferent character arc yariously placed,
mostly a1oft where they find broad band Of
rustic woodwork for background. The effect,
the whole, is fair'y artistic, which Is very de-
sirab1e in an institution so largely visited BY the
young: And, looking upon the Aquarium as q
school, it would be we'll for the superintendent
to revise the written explanations posted on one
OF two Of the cases. It is hardly advantageous
to hare pupils see *'asainst :" divided on the
second "a,'' "disp!syed" on the "p," or
careful - On the s'r''; or to sec misspclling
like t'compas - In so prominent station.
4 CHAT ABOUT WHALES.
The superintendent, Prof. Butler, gave me
sn account of some OF his experiences with
wha1es. Prof. Butler, may say incidentally,
undertook the establishment in Chicago, sixteen
,cars OF 20 ago. Of what soon became known as
foods Museum, Col. Wood purchasing the