20000 лье под водой

           Thelightproducedathousandcharmingvarieties,playinginthemidstofthebranchesthatweresovividlycoloured.Iseemedtoseethemembraneousandcylindricaltubestremblebeneaththeundulationofthewaters.Iwastemptedtogathertheirfreshpetals,ornamentedwithdelicatetentacles,somejustblown,theothersbudding,whileasmallfish,swimmingswiftly,touchedthemslightly,likeflightsofbirds.Butifmyhandapproachedtheselivingflowers,theseanimated,sensitiveplants,thewholecolonytookalarm.Thewhitepetalsre-enteredtheirredcases,theflowersfadedasIlooked,andthebushchangedintoablockofstonyknobs.

           Chancehadthrownmejustbythemostpreciousspecimensofthezoophyte.ThiscoralwasmorevaluablethanthatfoundintheMediterranean,onthecoastsofFrance,ItalyandBarbary.Itstintsjustifiedthepoeticalnamesof"FlowerofBlood,"and"FrothofBlood,"thattradehasgiventoitsmostbeautifulproductions.CoralissoldforL20perounce;andinthisplacethewaterybedswouldmakethefortunesofacompanyofcoral-divers.Thispreciousmatter,oftenconfusedwithotherpolypi,formedthentheinextricableplotscalled"macciota,"andonwhichInoticedseveralbeautifulspecimensofpinkcoral.

           Realpetrifiedthickets,longjointsoffantasticarchitecture,weredisclosedbeforeus.CaptainNemoplacedhimselfunderadarkgallery,wherebyaslightdeclivitywereachedadepthofahundredyards.Thelightfromourlampsproducedsometimesmagicaleffects,followingtheroughoutlinesofthenaturalarchesandpendantsdisposedlikelustres,thatweretippedwithpointsoffire.

           Atlast,afterwalkingtwohours,wehadattainedadepthofaboutthreehundredyards,thatistosay,theextremelimitonwhichcoralbeginstoform.