THE POISON OF THE MURRY 



of the murry's flesh. Having observed that they 

 flourished in pools and fed readily upon odds and 

 ends thrown to them, they undertook to raise them. 

 Rich epicures had tanks near their seaside villas in 

 which they kept them, together with other marine 

 eels. 



Thus it is that we come to hear the story of Pollio's 

 cruelty to his slaves. Doubtless at a time of proscrip- 

 tions and games in the circus, when a man's life 

 counted for little, the same theme was only too well 

 known. The owners of slaves, having the right of 

 life and death over them, used to condemn to death 

 those whom they wished to punish, and death by 

 drowning was one of the simplest and easiest forms of 

 execution. From this point it was not a long step to 

 make it an occasion for feeding the murry; and this 

 was in fact done. Whatever we may think of their 

 behaviour, we must admit that these particular slave- 

 owners found nothing disgusting in it. 



Though the murry may be much esteemed by the 

 epicure, the fishermen whose business it is to catch 

 them are cautious and try to avoid being bitten. 

 Although these fish show no keenness in pursuing agile 

 prey and seizing them; when they themselves are 

 approached they give evidence of a fierceness which 

 is hardly noticeable at other times. On the defen- 

 sive they are more desperate, quicker than on the 

 offensive. Then they justify their evil looks and 

 their formidable appearance. They try to bite even 

 before they are attacked. Like other eels, it takes 

 them a long time to die when they are taken out of 

 the water, and this is due to the small size of the gill 

 orifice, which enables the gills to remain moist for a 

 long time. At the slightest touch they become active 

 and dash up with mouths open, showing their fangs. 

 Their bite is the more dreaded because it is deep, the 

 teeth being so long. The wound they cause is extremely 

 painful and takes a long time to heal, sometimes 

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