Fig. 387. The Weever-fish (Trachinus communis).
The Mullets (Mullus) have the body thick and oblong, the profile of the head approaching the vertical line; scales large, two dorsal fins, widely separated—the rays of the first spinous, of the second, flexible; two cirri at the lower jaw. Two species are known, both inhabitants of our west and south-west coasts: the Striped or Red Mullet (Mullus surmuletus), rare as British, and the Red Mullet (M. barbatus). The first is a fine bright vermilion red, with three dominating yellow lines; the throat, breast, ventral, and lower surface of the tail are white, slightly tinged with rose; the fins have their rays more or less red, the iris of the eyes a pale gold colour, just touched with red; the head bears two barbels. This beautiful fish is plentiful in the Mediterranean and sometimes in the Channel, common in the gulfs of Gascony, and is frequently served on the table at Bordeaux and Bayonne, where it is known as the barbel; its flesh is a little flaky, of an agreeable flavour, but less esteemed than the red mullet.
Fig. 388. Uranoscopus vulgaris.
Plate XXX.—Agony of a Red Mullet at the Feast of Hortensius.
The Red Mullet (Mullus barbatus) is clothed in brilliant colours of bright red, mingling with silvery tints upon the side and belly; it presents fine 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 Romans 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 Rome 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 thousand sesterces (about two hundred and forty pounds). Although it is no longer the object of ferocious enjoyment on the one hand, or prodigal expenditure on the other, it is still much sought after, both for its beauty of colour 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 which the head is mailed and cuirassed; the operculum and shoulder-bones are armed with spines, having trenchant blades, which give them a disagreeable, even a hideous, physiognomy, and has procured them various names, such as sea-frog, sea-scorpion, sea-devil, and sundry other equally significant names. With this forbidding appearance, however, the gurnards are among the most resplendent inhabitants of the sea. Nothing can exceed the beauty of their markings; but the brilliancy with which Nature has gifted them is their misfortune; it betrays them to their enemies, which are found in the air as well as in the water, and without their prodigious fecundity this species would long since have disappeared.
Fig. 389. The Red Gurnard (Trigla pini).