CHAP. x.J THE FISH HARVEST AT COMACCHIO. 459 



out to each man his proper modicum of food, taking care to 

 respect those rights of precedence which have been indicated. 

 Eels, cooked upon the gridiron, form the staple of the repast, 

 and the dinner is washed down with a little bosco-eli-esco wine. 

 After dinner is over, the labourers return to their work. 

 When evening arrives some remain awake all night, seated in 

 arm-chairs, and others lie down in hard beds similar to those 

 of the barracks. None of the employes of the valley are 

 allowed to be absent from duty without a written permission, 

 and heavy fines are exacted on any occasion of this rule being 

 infringed. The discipline of each valley is the same, and one 

 cannot conceive of a more monotonous life than that led by 

 these humble fishermen, which season after season is ever 

 the same, and goes on for years in one dull unvarying round. 

 An unexpected tourist excites quite a commotion among the 

 simple people, and they have great hopes that as the place 

 becomes known to the outer world their prison life will ulti- 

 mately be ameliorated. 



The fish season is opened with great solemnity of prayer, 

 and many of those other ceremonies of the church peculiar to 

 Roman Catholic communities one of which is the consecra- 

 tion of the lagoon. The labyrinths, which have been con- 

 structed from hurdles in each watery field (see plan in " Fish 

 Culture ") are crowded with fish, so that there is comparatively 

 little trouble in the capture, and the salter waters of the sea 

 being let in, the migratory instinct of the animal is excited, 

 so that it becomes an easy prey to the fishermen. Upon the 

 occasion of taking a great haul of fish in any particular valley, 

 a gun is fired to announce the glad tidings to the other 

 islanders, and next day a feast is held to celebrate the cap- 

 ture, which must, however, be of a certain amount. 



The town of Comacchio is chiefly a long street of one- 

 storied houses, situated on the principal island of the lagoon. 

 There is a cathedral in the town, but it is entirely destitute of 



