SCOMBEEID-ffi. 201 



Pirst be tKe fislier's limbs compact and sound, 

 Witli solid flesh, and well-braced sinews bound; 

 Let due proportion every part commend, 

 Nor leanness sbrink too much., nor fat distend.* 



And more perfect figures than theirs poetry could not 

 describej nor the classic chisel of Greece portray : every 

 man was an Academy model : to perfect symmetry of 

 limb were added dark flashing eyes^ jet black hair, beard, 

 and moustache ; irreproachable noses, ivory teeth, and 

 the rich-coloured complexion of the South. What a con- 

 trast to a body of sandy-haired, freckled, hard-featured, 

 stockingless Highlanders, landing from a Scotch steam- 

 boat, and challenging, by their self-satisfied air, atten- 

 tion to an ungainly gait and knock-kneed deformity of 

 person ! 



Presently a simultaneous shout proclaimed, ' La pipa ! 

 la pipa !' — our own boatmen, after repeating the cry, in- 

 formed us that a sword-fish, or pipa, as the Palermo 

 sailors designate it, had been seen to enter the decoy 

 with the thunny, and must now be in the net': as the 

 flooring had been drawn up several fathoms, the pipa 

 presently swam towards the surface, to see what was the 

 matter, and some well-practised eyes having caught a 

 first glimpse of him, the crews testified their delight by 

 three loud vociferations. Frightened by the noise and 

 the confused scene above, the long form of the fish might 

 soon be distinguished, shooting now here, now there, 

 athwart the hempen court ; he rose at last, in much agi- 

 tation, to the top, but instantly dived down again, scat- 

 tering the spray far and wide with a lash of his powerful 

 tail. This plunge only carried him among the trembling 

 thunnies, pelamyds, and alalongas, which covered the 

 bottom of the net ; then up he came again, to find every 

 eye looking fishy, and every hand ready to deal the fatal 



* 0pp. J. J. trans. 



K 3 



