THE GURNARD &EOUP. 177 



staring on, unscared by the descending meshes, are easily 

 circumvented, and learn too late that safety is not always 

 in a crowd, nor numbers and nonchalance any protection 

 against diligence and drag-nets. 



The orata is as well authenticated an ancient fish as 

 the dentex, to which it bears a considerable resemblance, 

 and with which it has been uniformly grouped. M. Du- 

 hamel confirms many of Aristotle's miscellaneous re- 

 marks respecting it, as touching the relative position of 

 the fins, the frequency of its occurrence in the Mediter- 

 ranean, and its passing thence at certain seasons into 

 salt-water marshes ; also as regards the diet of the fish, 

 which consists of coquillage, its extreme sensibility to all 

 vicissitudes of weather, and its liability to perish in win- 

 ter from cold. He also mentions that the orata consti- 

 tuted in his day as favourite a side-dish at the tables of 

 the rich as whUom in the days of Attic good cheer, and 

 that the old approved mode of grilling was still in vogue 

 amongst the culinary knowing ones of the south. To 

 these details we may add that the orata is flat like a 

 bream, which it moreover resembles in general shape, 

 that it has large eyes, golden eyebrows (whence the ori- 

 gin of its Greek name, 'Xpvcro(ppv';, ' auri chrysophrys 

 imitata decus'), and a mouth literally paved with crushing 

 teeth — ^perfect millstones in their way, by which all 

 kinds of sheU-fish, cockles, limpets, pectens, and oys- 

 ters, ' let them be living, or let them be dead, are ground 

 to powder to make his bread / for few objects, it is said, 

 can resist their pulverizing powers, which crack every- 

 thing, except perhaps stones, and even indent soft iron. 



Amongst ancient sea-delicacies, the &\{ra dakda-aoa of 

 Hippocrates, orata stood high. It is registered more 

 than once in the savoury pages of Athenseus, and, in the 

 description of an Attic feast, is mentioned as the best 

 thing at table ; so that in reference to its taste as well 

 as teeth, it might not inaptly, if in want of an alias, be 



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