CHAPTER XXII 
THE PARROT-FISHES 
“ And there crystal pools, peopled with fish, 
Argent and gold ; and some of Tyrian skin, 
Some crimson-barred. And ever at a wish 
They rose obsequious, till the wave grew thin 
As glass upon their backs, and then dived in, 
Quenching their ardent scales in watery gloom, 
Whilst others with fresh hues rowed forth to win 
My changeable regard.” 
— Tuomas Hoop. 
Ir is said that the gods held the scarus as first 
among fishes, and Pliny tells us that during the 
time of Emperor Claudius an epicure and angler 
of great wealth, one Optatus Elipertius, collected 
a large number of the most beautiful of these 
fishes and liberated them in the Italian sea for 
the benefit of posterity. The waters of the outer 
reef, and of our new colony Porto Rico, abound 
in these birds of the sea, which, in their fanci- 
ful coloring, brilliant, indeed dazzling, tints, are 
among the most conspicuous of the dwellers in 
these tropic seas. In my early days on the reef 
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