Natural Hiftory of the Ancients. 2 1 9 



from other fifh. This circumftance is known by 

 the fifhers from the fadl of the fifh moaning and 

 uttering a roar when it keeps off intruders." 

 With the exception of this latter marvel, the 

 procedure of the glanis is precifely that of the 

 ftickleback. Although Ariftotle has miftaken the 

 fifh, the obfervation is acute, and mews how much 

 the philofopher was in advance of his age. The 

 habits of the fepia, in difcharging its ink, were alfo 

 familiar to him. A paragraph refpecling the 

 poulpe will mew the fingular manner in which 

 facl: and fable are mingled with the ftatements of 

 even the beft of ancient naturalifts : " Now the 

 polypus is a foolifh creature, for it will come to a 

 man's hand if he puts it into the water ; yet it is 

 a creature of fome contrivance, for it collects all 

 its prey into the den where it lives, and, when it 

 has confumed the mofl ufeful parts, it cafts out the 

 fhells and fragments of the crabs and fea-fnails and 

 the fpines of the little fifh, and chafes the fifh 

 which then come together to them, changing its 

 colour, and adapting itfelf in hue as much as 

 poffible to the ftones around. It adopts the fame 

 device when terrified." He is fomewhat narrow 

 in his views in a fucceeding fentence: "Among 

 fifh, the rhine " (feemingly a kind of mark) " is the 

 only one to change colour like the polypus." This 

 is probably a common device with moft fifh, and 

 is well known to be the cafe with trout. In Mr. 

 St. John's " Natural Hiftory and Wild Sports of 

 Moray," fome fmgular inftances are related of this 



