254 PEOSE HALIEITTICS. 



cess. Having first scraped away the surface sand with 

 the jugular fins before-mentioned^ and hid her whole 

 body up to the eyes, she leaves the vermicular processes 

 to writhe and wriggle above the ooze : whether these give 

 out any attractive odour, as Oppian conceives, or else 

 that the mere muscular movements are themselves the 

 attraction, is uncertain; but certain it is that shortly 

 after these worms have begun to twist, a whole shoal of 

 small fiy may be seen covering the latent foe, and so 

 Awhile regardless of their doom the tiny victims play ; 

 by degrees, however, the back processes are one by one 

 drawn in and concealed, whilst those nearest the mouth 

 maintain a brisker motion; and when these scaly sim- 

 pletons, having sported round, and nibbled, and plucked 

 at the treacherous threads, are meditating yet further 

 liberties, the open sepulchre suddenly starts forward, and 

 closes upon the unwary brood : thus the grey mullet,* 

 whose name it derived from her nimbleness of tail, and 

 who is the very hare of swimmers, is caught and fre- 

 quently found pouched in the bag of this tardy tortoise, 

 who but for such a rme could never have tasted cefalo. 

 The sea-frog, as it can live longer out of water than 

 most other fish, is said to pass some of its time on shore ; 

 E/Ondolet indeed once found one on land holding a fox 

 fast by the leg — Reynard had apparently been prowling 

 during the night in search of fowl, but inadvertently put 

 his foot into the mouth of this fish, who, instantly closing 

 upon, held it fast, as in a trap, till next morning, when 

 the astonished naturalist surprised them in his early 

 walk, and thus quite unexpectedly obtaiaed a satis- 

 factory answer to Plutarch's proposed inquiry, as to 

 whether land or sea animals are the more astute j since 

 the most cunning of land animals here was overmatched 

 by a fish. 



* Mugil capito. 



