POLYNEME. 
191 
or perhaps to sleep. During this time the cake be- 
gins to dissolve, pieces fall off, the broken dates 
dipped in honey flow down the stream, and the 
large fish below catch eagerly at them as they pass. 
Thus tempted, they rush up the stream, collecting 
the pieces as they go, till they arrive at the principal 
mass ; where they immediately seek the dates buried 
in the composition, and, without suspecting the 
snare, greedily swallow them together with the hooks. 
As soon as a fish feels himself fast, he makes off as 
speedily as possible, and in attempting to escape 
from the line by which he is fastened, pulls the 
palm branch and consequently rings the bell. As 
soon as the fisherman hears this welcome sound he 
runs to the water, and, having drawn his prisoner 
on shore, passes an iron ring through his jaw; 
he then fastens a few yards of cord to it, which he 
makes fast to the bank, and again commits the 
fish to the water. This precaution is necessary, as 
dead fish will not keep in Egypt. The inhabitants 
of Girge, a large town opposite the place where they 
are taken, come to the spot as to a fish market, and 
every man takes the quantity he wants, buying 
them alive. Mr. Bruce bought two, which, he in- 
forms us, fully dined his whole boat’s crew. It is 
rare to find even one hook empty ; the fisher- 
man had then ten or twelve fastened to the shore, 
which he took out of the water on purpose to show 
them. 
The fish is thus described by Dr. Shaw: The whole 
body is covered with scales of a brilliant silver colour, 
