FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 



moray, or mursena, a cousin of the conger, common throughout the 

 Mediterranean and in most warm seas. Though to all appearance no more 

 than a mottled sea -eel, the mureena is as vicious as a rattlesnake, and 

 I have even seen one, that had been flung on the dry rock, turn some 

 moments later and snap at a passing ankle. The last mursenas that I saw 

 were in the admirable aquarium (one of the best in Europe, and im- 

 measurably superior to anything in this country) in the Avenue Louise, 

 Brussels, and, true to their nature, they snapped angrily at the glass as 

 soon as a finger was laid against it. 



Now, what I am about to relate may, once again, tax the belief of the 

 reader, but I can only pledge my word to the truth of it. The fishermen 

 of Madeira exorcise the hiding moray, or moreia, with song, and it is a 

 fact that the dirge seems, as I have repeatedly seen for myself, to entice 

 the eel forth from its hiding-place. There are two forms of moreia, one 

 (moreia do rolo) a slaty grey all over, and the other (moreia pintada), 

 a " painted " eel, yellow with black mottling. The first is adjured to bite 

 the dust; the second to have a good time. It is a curious and unexplained 

 fact that three of these eels are usually found in company, though whether 

 these are all of one sex, or whether a polygamous male and his harem, 

 I know not. Anyhow, the third, and last, verse of the incantation bids 

 each of the three die in its own fashion. And here, in the Portuguese of the 

 island, are the words : 



Moreia do rolo 

 Vem a terra 

 Comer polvo. 



Moreia pintada 



Vem a terra 



Regalada. 



Moreias todos trex 

 Cader qual 

 Per sua vez. 



Quo, Moreia, quo! 



Chanting these words again and again through his nose, and whistling 



softly after each verse, the native fisherman stoops over a likely pool 



into which the Atlantic is breaking. It is not only the song which attracts 



the reluctant moreia, for, while singing his invitation, the fisherman dips 



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