THE FISH OF BOUILLABAISSE 



making anything that had happened to catch in them, 

 fall into the bottom. At last that bottom appeared, 

 swollen and distended by its contents, which we 

 could see through the meshes, strips of seaweed, 

 fluttering fins, glittering scales, the waving tentacles 

 of poulps. A final effort brought the well-filled net 

 out of the water, carried it over the side, and deposited 

 it upon the deck. Armand unfastened it in a place 

 previously prepared, and the whole contents poured 

 out and spread over the planks of the deck, creatures 

 of every shape and form and size, of every conceivable 

 colour, mingled with the broad green seaweeds, and 

 long narrow leaves of grass-wrack which the net had 

 caught and brought up. 



The first thing which strikes us, and the most 

 remarkable, is the mixture itself. We do not expect 

 to see such a mass of creatures so different one from 

 another. The first time one has this experience, and 

 even after becoming accustomed to it, the result is 

 still astounding. Another surprising thing is the 

 strong odour exhaled by this assemblage of plants 

 and animals, an intense, exciting, iodized, ozonated, 

 phosphorated odour. It is similar to, but much stronger 

 than, that of rocks beaten by the surf, it is that of the 

 bouillabaisse fish placed on sale in the market-places. 

 Here we breathe it, we have it at its very source, 

 without mitigation, gripping nose and throat at the 

 same time, almost nourishing, and capable of being 

 tasted, so strong it is in these circumstances. 



When the net has been emptied, the sail is set 

 again, and we go back to the creek from which we 

 started. The boat speeds through the water now that 

 it is freed from the resistance of the net. Armand, 

 keeping his place at the helm as a skipper should, 

 watches the incidents of the trip. I, with the help 

 of Narcisse, sort the catch and set them out according 

 to their nature, the fish in a large wooden tub, the 

 other animals in glass containers, for later study. 



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