230 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 
Vedius Pollio,a Roman knight, has even acquired through these 
fishes a scandalous renown, by causing now and then a slave 
that had been guilty of some slight offence to be cast alive and 
naked into their piscina, and amusing himself with the sight of 
the murrys lacerating and devouring the body. That this 
wretch was a friend of the Emperor Augustus harmonises but 
badly with the ideas of the urbanity of his court which we may 
have formed from the poems of Horace and Virgil. It is but 
fair, however, to the character of the emperor to state that 
he reprobated Pollio’s cruelty, and ordered his fish-pond to be 
filled up. 
The Launces are distinguished from the eels by their large 
gill openings, and their caudal fin being separated from their 
dorsal and anal fins. The common 
Sand Launce abounds on many parts 
of our shore. On account of its 
silvery brightness it is highly esteemed 
ienmncayiesor cieurted: by the fishermen as bait for their 
hooks, and its remarkable habit of 
burrowing in the sand as the tide recedes affords easy means 
of capture. While underground, it most likely gets hold of 
many an unfortunate lob-worm, mollusc, or crustacean, but on 
emerging from its retreat it is in its turn preyed upon by 
the larger fishes. On a calm evening it is an interesting sight 
to see the surface of the water broken by the repeated plunges 
of the voracious mackerel as they burst upon the launces 
from beneath. On the sands at Portobello, near Edinburgh, 
people of all ages may be seen when the tide is out diligently 
searching for the sand launce, and raking them out with 
iron hooks. On the south coast of Devonshire, where the 
sand launces are extremely plentiful, the fishermen employ a 
small seine with a fine mesh, and are frequently so successful 
that six or seven bushels are taken at one haul. The usual 
length of the sand launce is from five to seven inches. In 
many localities it is prepared for table, and considered a great 
delicacy. 
Although the Lamprey essentially differs from the eel in the 
formation of its gills, the softness of its cartilaginous skeleton, 
and its funnel-shaped mouth provided with sharp teeth, disposed 
in circles, yet it resembles it closely in its outward form. Its 
