USELESSNESS OF THE SHARK. 321 



sidered good practice to "play" it a little, with its mouth at 

 the surface, till it becomes somewhat exhausted. Captain 

 Hall writes, that during this operation one would almost 

 fancy the enraged animal was conscious of the abuse 

 showered down upon it; for, while it turns and twists and 

 flings itself about, its eye glares upwards with a ferocity 

 of purpose which makes the blood tingle in a swimmer's 

 veins, as he thinks of the hour when it may be his turn 

 to writhe under the tender mercies of his sworn foe ! 



When the shark is hauled on board, the first operation 

 always is to deprive it of its tail ; after which it is cut 

 open, and the contents of its capacious interior are sub- 

 mitted to public inspection. Of the multifariousness of 

 these contents we have already given the reader an idea, 

 and we need dwell no longer on details which are, to say 

 the least, unsavoury. 



The shark, to Europeans generally, is a very useless 

 prize. They do not care for its flesh, and it has no com- 

 mercial value. It is true that Athenseus, the old Greek 

 writer, has penned an eulogium upon it; but his eulogium 

 does not improve its quality. It is hard and leathery, 

 except in the case of very young individuals. This does 

 not prevent the negroes from feeding upon it. They 

 remedy the hardness by keeping it from eight to ten 

 days, until it begins to smell badly ; it is then as tender 

 as anybody could wish. It is also eaten by the coast 

 population of the Mediterranean, but only when they 

 have no other choice. The sole endurable portion is, it 

 is said, the belly; which, after lying in pickle for four- 

 and-twenty hours, is boiled in water and eaten with oil. 

 Among the Icelanders the fat of the shark is used instead 

 of pig's fat ; they eat it with their stock-fish. 



