398 MODERN SEA FISHING 



CHAPTER XII 



FLAT-SIDED AND FLAT-BACKED FISHES 



CERTAIN of the flat fish take a high place among the freaks 

 which Nature loves to produce. Regard a fishmonger's slab 

 and note the expression on the face of sole, dab, or flounder 

 the kind of paralytic twist in the mouths of these fish which 

 gives them an unamiable and perpetual sneer. So far as the 

 plaice is concerned, the supercilious appearance together with 

 the red spots are well accounted for by a very old legend which 

 is, or was, current in the Isle of Man. There had been disputes 

 among the fish of the sea, happily ending with a general con- 

 sensus of opinion that the election of a king to settle their 

 quarrels was desirable. So a great meeting was held. The 

 plaice, however, stayed at home overlong, covering himself 

 with red spots so as to appear beautiful and worthy of being 

 elected ruler over the inhabitants of the ocean. When he 

 arrived at the meeting-place he found another had been chosen. 

 Giving his mouth that disdainful twist which it now exhibits, he 

 remarked, ' Fancy a simple fish like a herring being King of 

 the Sea ! ' And fate so ordered it that he should wear those red 

 spots and that proud sneer for ever. 



Soles, dabs, and flounders neither lie nor swim on their 

 bellies, but on one side which is light in colour, the other 

 being dark. If we would discover how this came about, we 

 may either consult works on natural history or the legends of 

 Upper Egypt. Let us take the legend first. Moses, so it was 



