462 EEL-CURING. [CHAP. x. 



them for some time in the brine obtained from the above pro- 

 cess of salting and then drying them. It is found necessary 

 to put them into this liquid when alive, as otherwise the 

 entrails would not absorb enough of salt to preserve them. 

 In order to render the operation still more effective, powdered 

 salt is introduced into the intestines by a wooden rod. After 

 this they are washed in lukewarm water, and then hung up to 

 dry below the ceiling of the kitchen or in a room somewhat 

 smoky. The eels dried in this manner become of a bronze 

 colour and are called smoked, a name which is also applied 

 to all the fish prepared by the drying process, although smoke 

 has nothing to do with the process. When the fish are des- 

 tined for speedy consumption they are only half-dried. A 

 barrel of pickled eels contains one hundred and fifty pounds 

 weight, and costs a little more than ninety-seven francs. The 

 fish of Comacchio are sent to all parts of Italy, and in Venice, 

 Eome, and Naples they are greatly in demand. 



As I have already indicated, the income obtained at 

 Comacchio from this one fish is something wonderful ; labour 

 being so cheap, the profits are of course proportionately large. 

 The population of the lagoon is about seven thousand indi- 

 viduals, and, as I have endeavoured to show, their mode of 

 life is exceedingly primitive, the one grand idea being the 

 fishery, of the ingenuity and productiveness of which the 

 population are very proud. 



The short and simple annals of the fisher-folk are all 

 tinged with melancholy there is a skeleton in every closet. 

 There is no household but has to mourn the loss of a father 

 or a son. Annals of storms and chronicles of deaths form the 

 talk of the aged in all the fishing villages. The following nar- 

 rative is a sample of hundreds of other sad tales that might 

 be collected from the coast people of Scotland. It was related 

 to a friend by a woman at Musselburgh : " Weel, ye see, sir, 

 I hae'na ony great story till tell. At the time I lost my guid- 



