OSSEOUS FISHES. 
581 
bright red, mingling with silvery tints upon the side and belly ; it 
presents line indistinct reflections, but none of the yellow lines which 
occur in the preceding species. It is to its brilliant colouring that 
the red mullet owes much of its celebrity. When we add that its 
flesh is white, firm, and agreeable to the taste, the estimation in which 
it was held by the ancients is sufficiently explained. With the Homans 
the mullet was an object of luxury on which they expended fabulous 
sums ; they cultivated the fish in their fish-ponds not only as a delicacy 
of the table, but for the beauty of form and colour. This fierce love 
of beauty, however, too often approached to cruelty. Seneca and 
Pliny both give us to understand that the rich patricians of Kome 
gave themselves the barbarous pleasure of seeing the mullet expire 
under their eyes, in order to witness the various shades of purple, 
violet, and blue which succeed each other — from cinnabar red to the 
palest white, as the animal gradually loses its strength, and expires 
by a slow and cruel death. The great rival of Cicero, the advocate 
Hortensius, who attracted crowds of people to the Forum by his 
eloquent and elegant discourses, had an inordinate passion for this 
kind of enjoyment. These little inhabitants of the waters were led 
by a small canal which was carried under the festive table, and his 
great enjoyment was to witness the agonies of the unhappy fish just 
taken from its native element and carried to the table, palpitating 
with its dying convulsions, as it perished beneath his eyes, he in the 
meanwhile enjoying a sumptuous banquet. The possession of these 
poor creatures had, in short, become the rage, a furious passion, and 
their price soon became excessive. A fish of three pounds produced 
a considerable sum to the fortunate fisherman, while one of four and 
a half pounds was simply ruinous, says Martial. Asinius Gelius 
purchased one for eight thousand sesterces (upwards of sixty pounds). 
Under Caligula, according to Suetonius, three mullets cost thirty thou- 
sand sesterces (about two hundred and forty pounds). Although it is 
no longer the object of ferocious enjoyment, on the one hand, or pro- 
digal expenditure on the other, it is still much sought after, both for 
its beauty of form and excellent table qualities. It is found in many 
seas, but particularly in the Mediterranean, where it is taken all 
round the coast, usually in muddy bottoms ; it is fished for both by 
line and net. 
The Gurnards ( Trigla ) are remarkable for the singular manner in 
