Red mullet

“ Icon of Rondeletius vnder the name of mullus ruber asper [no crossed out] butt not the tast of the vsually knowne mullet as [being butt crossed out] affording butt a drye & leane bitt.
[63] The Common Mullet I take to be the Grey Mullet (Mugil capito) , which is at times plentiful on our coast, coming into Breydon and the mouths of the rivers, but the Red Mullet (Mullus barbatus) is far less frequently met with. ”

“ The body is covered with large thin scales. The form of the head is peculiar; its anterior profile slopes downwards to the small mouth, which has very small and feeble teeth, and from which two cylindrical barbels are suspended. These organs of touch are generally laid backwards and hidden in a groove between the branches of the lower jaw, but can be erected and called into action independently. About forty different species of red mullets are known, chiefly from the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indo-Pacific ocean. ”

“ The mullet that is found on the coast is not2415 highly esteemed, and the most esteemed of all have a strong flavour2416 of shell-fish. Fenestella is of opinion, that this fish received its name of mullet mullus from its resemblance to the colour of the red or mullet-coloured shoes.2417 The mullet spawns three2418 times a year: at all events, the fry makes its appearance that number of times. ”

“ The masters in gastronomy inform us, that the mullet, while dying, assumes a variety of colors and a succession of shades, and that the hue of the red scales, growing paler and paler, gradually changes, more especially if it is looked at enclosed in glass. ”

“ Little is known about the habits of red mullets; during winter they retire into deep water, late in spring and during summer they approach the coasts and enter even brackish water, but the state of their sexual organs shows that they do not come towards the shore to breed. At Naples they spawn from May to August, and their ova are buoyant and transparent. In June, July and August the young are about an inch long, and already furnished with the two barbels. ”

“ When the ebb of tide commences, the mullet begin to retire, and when they discover that their egress is obstructed, their attempts to effect a passage are both constant and curious—now running down the nets, trying for a broken mesh by which to force an aperture—now with a bold spring endeavouring to clear the buoy-ropes, and, even after repeated failures, leaping at it again and again. The last effort is directed to the bottom, but there the heavy stones resist every attempt to dislodge them, and deserted by the treacherous water, the mullet are left upon the bare sands. ”

“ As to the estoile, of course, their practice is similar to the English. But in Scotland a straight-pointed charge is a mullet if it be pierced, and a star if it be not. As a mullet is really the "molette" or rowel of a spur, it certainly could not exist as a fact unpierced. Nevertheless it is by no means stringently adhered to in that country, and they make confusion worse confounded by the frequent use of the additional name of "spur-rowel," or "spur-revel" for the pierced mullet. The mullet occurs in the arms of Vere, and was also the badge of that family. ”

“ Buffon speaks of a shell, the diameter of which was equal to that of a carriage-wheel, and which was used for a mill-stone.
Changing Colors in a Dying Mullet.
The mullet is a fish that was much esteemed by the ancients. The Italians have a proverb which says: "He who catches a mullet is a fool if he eats it and does not sell it"—owing to the high price which the fish commanded. When it is dying, it changes its colors in a very singular manner until it is lifeless. ”

“ The mullet is found in great plenty on several of our sandy coasts, and, in particular, haunts those small bays that have influxes of fresh water; they are very cunning, and when surrounded with a net, the whole shoal frequently escapes by leaping over it; for when one takes the lead, the others are sure to follow.
They come in great shoals into the rivers with the tide during the summer, and keep rooting, like hogs, in the sand or mud, leaving their traces in the form of large round holes ”

“ Fiery Red Hair indicates a quick and fiery disposition. Persons with such hair generally have intense feelings—love and hate intensely—yet treat them kindly, and you have the warmest friends, but ruffle them, and you raise a hurricane on short notice. This is doubly true of auburn curls. It takes but little kindness, however, to produce a calm and render them as fair as a Summer morning. Red-headed people in general are not given to hold a grudge. They are generally of a very forgiving disposition. ”

“ His large, dark hat was thrust far back on his head; his hair, rising straight in a sort of elastic wave from his brow, was powdered white; the effect of his florid color and his dark eyes was accented by the contrast; his pointed beard revealed its natural tints because of his habit of frequently brushing his hand over it, and was distinctly red. He was lithe and lean and nervous, and had the impatient temper characteristic of mercurial natures. ”

“ One should be used intense, and the other in a gray tone. For example, in combining color with hair, greens, particularly gray greens, are very pleasing with auburn hair. Barbara Oakes discovered that fact with her auburn hair. Violet tends to make yellow hair look more golden, so care must be taken to have a gray violet so the gold color in the hair will not be overpowered. "Red" hair is made to look brighter when a blue costume is worn. So you see one can avoid unfortunate combinations if one studies the strength of the color of the hair in relation to the colors to be used. ”

“ My hair is too red—brilliant, dark, fiery red, like a chestnut when it tumbles out of its shell, only burnished like metal. If I had the usual white eyelashes I should be downright ugly, but, thank goodness! by some freak of nature mine are black and thick, and stick out when you look at me sideways, and I often think when I catch sight of myself in the glass that I am really very pretty—all put together—but, as I said before, not a type to please every one. ”

“ Miss Larches. But, Mr. Grey, I remember your finding fault with the powder on the head-dress of that marquise costume, because it concealed the red hair of the wearer. In such a case I should consider powder a blessing. Do you really admire red hair?
Grey. When it is beautiful, I do, and prefer it to that of any other tint. I don't mean golden hair, or flaxen, or yellow, but red,—the color of dark red amber, or, nearer yet, of freshly cut copper. There is ugly red hair, as there is ugly hair of black and brown, and every other hue. ”

“ The ancient civilized nations passionately admired red hair. Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Turks, and Spaniards have given it to their warriors and beauties. Somehow among the Anglo-Saxon race it has a bad reputation. Both in novels and plays it is common to give the rascal of the plot “villanous red hair;” and in the English school of painters, the traitor Judas is generally distinguished by it. In the East, black is the favorite color, and the Persians abhor a red-haired woman. Light brown or golden hair is the universal favorite. The Greeks gave it to Apollo, Venus, and Minerva. ”

“ Lady Merrenden is so nice—one of those kind faces that even a tight fringe in a net does not spoil. She is tall and graceful, past fifty perhaps, and has an expression of Lord Robert about the eyes. At luncheon she was sweet to me at once, and did not look as if she thought I must be bad just because I have red hair, like elderly ladies do generally. ”

“ The significance of colour is exceedingly far reaching. The ordinary liveries of Royalty in this country are red; the red shirt of the followers of Garibaldi, the red cap of Liberty in the French Revolution, the red rose of Lancaster, call to mind great struggles. The platelayer, it is said, is instructed to wear a red tie so that on emergency it may be used as a danger signal. A red ribbon worn in the hair of a girl in some places on the Continent shows that she is engaged to be married, and it is with a red rag that the chulos in the bull fight enrage the bull. ”

“ There is much doubt as to why the label was chosen for the eldest son's badge, but though many writers interpret the symbolism of the other marks of cadency in various ways, most are agreed as to the meaning of the crescent, mullet, and martlet—viz., the crescent represents the double blessing which gives hope of future increase; the mullet implies that the third son must earn a position for himself by his own knightly deeds ”

“ Really, men are very trying and tiresome, and if I shall always have to put up with these scenes through having red hair, I almost wish it were mouse-colored, like Cicely Parker's. Mrs. Carruthers often said, "You need not suppose, Evangeline, that you are going to have a quiet life with your coloring; the only thing one can hope for is that you will screw on your head."
Lady Ver and Lord Robert were already in the hall waiting for us, but the second I saw them I knew she had been saying something to Lord Robert. ”

“ They have also the same habit of plucking the hair from various parts of the body; but that of the head, in the females, is only suffered to attain to the shoulders, whilst the men permit theirs to grow to its full extent. They even regard long hair as an ornament, and many wear false hair fastened to their own by means of an earthy matter, resembling red clay, and depending in many instances (particularly the young beau) to their knees, in the form of queues, one on each side of the head, variously decorated with ribbon, like slips of red and blue cloth, or coloured skin. ”

“ Rex answered his question. “People merely stare at one, and point one out, and make remarks about one; and one has to be absolutely certain that his coat fits. No one ever worries about the fit of a coat if it is on a pug-nosed man; they don’t notice it if his trousers bag at the knees, or if he wears a brilliant red necktie that matches his brilliant red nose.”
“True, beauty has its obligations,” mused the wonder-girl. ”

“ The presence of red hair in all parts of Italy, although only in small quantities, is also difficult of explanation. Strange to say it is the most common in regions which are poorest in fair hair. From this we must suppose it to have some relation to dark hair, an opinion which agrees with the observation that in England dark hair in young children is sometimes interspersed with red hairs, which either change or disappear with age. ”

“ With these three tints they contrive to produce a variety of effect on their faces, that is only to be rivalled by the fancy displayed in their hair-dressing. Sometimes the face is all scarlet with the exception of the nose, which is black, and sometimes the face is divided like a quartered heraldic shield, and painted red and black, or white, red, and black in the different quarterings. Some men will have one side of the face black and the other white, while others paint their countenances black as far as the nose, and finish them off with white. ”

“ Red hair may be transformed into beautiful black tresses;—baldness may be made to give place to flowing locks; and all these oils, pastes, and masks, which periodically change their name, are in fact the same villanous cosmetics which never yet restored elasticity to a withered skin, converted black to white, or bestowed curls upon a bald pate. Art is great, but Time far greater ”

“ Their common 221 uniform was the red waistcoat introduced by Théophile Gautier—not the red chosen for their symbol by the men of the Revolution, but the scarlet-red which represented the hatred felt by these enthusiastic young men for all that was grey and dull, and their preference for all that is luminous and magnificently coloured in life. ”

“ A waistcoat of red increased the impression [Pg 30] of color. He might have been some gigantic tropical plant, so gorgeous and so varied were these commingling hues. Over all he wore a garment, neither coat nor cloak, with wide, hanging sleeves. His countenance was as singular as his costume; his eyes keen, yet half-furtive, half-deprecating in their expression; his chin clean-shaven, showing the hollow, cavernous cheeks with fearful distinctness. ”

“ In the writer’s opinion the red plumage in the male is acquired at the first moult or immediately after the juvenal dress, and is usually only retained for one season; in some males a duller red dress is carried through the second summer, or more rarely a salmon-pink one; but in most cases the dress of the second summer is a gray one like the females, with yellow head and rump. Females may sometimes be seen with decidedly red heads and rumps,—from the size and shape of the bill these seem to be very old birds. ”

“ The nose is sharp, the belly bowed; the head plain and flatted; the scales are very large, and cover the body entirely. The back is of a dusky blue, or greenish-brown colour; the belly white, and the sides variegated, from the head to the [22] tail, with green and black lines; its tongue is rather rough; it has no teeth. It preys upon no fish, and is therefore supposed to feed on weeds. At certain times it comes up the river, but it is generally caught at sea.
The Mullet is a very good tasted fish; we make tobago of its spawn. ”

“ He looked across at Red Shirt and grinned. "He's layin' on th' wrong side of that rock an' don't know it. I'll tell him, an' get rid of that climber at th' same time. Hope he busts his neck gettin' down."
Wriggling back from the edge so that the man in the house could not locate him by the smoke, he took deliberate aim at Red Shirt and gently squeezed the trigger. Red Shirt soared into the air and dove over the bowlder headfirst and with undignified speed.
"Knowed it was deceivin'," growled Johnny. "Shot plumb over him. Can't be more'n eight hundred yards. ”