A HARD-WORKING DIET. 89 
circumstances be duly weighed. I will invent no 
strange things of this noble river, therewith to nobili- 
tate and make it more honourable, but this I will 
plainly affirm, that it neither swalloweth up bastards 
of the Celtish brood, or casteth up the right begotten 
that are thrown in without hurt into their mother’s lap, 
as Politian fableth of the Rhene (Epistolarum lib. 8, 
epi. 6), nor yieldeth clots of gold as the Tagus doth; 
but an infinite plenty of good fish, wherewith such as 
inhabit near unto its banks are fed and fully nourished. 
What shall I speak of the fat sweet salmon, daily Salmon. 
taken in this stream, and that in such plenty (after 
the time of the smelt be passed) as no river in Europe 
is able to exceed! 
What store also of barbels, trouts, chenins, 
pearches, smelts, breames, roches, daces, gudgins, 
flounders, shrimps, &c., are commonly to be had 
therein. I refer me to them that know, by reason 
of experience of their daily trade in fish, better 
than I. 
Albeit it seemeth from time to time to be as it 
were defrauded in sundry wise of these her large 
commodities, by the insatiable avarice of the fishermen, 
yet this river complaineth (commonly) of iio want, but 
the more it looseth at one time, the more it yieldeth 
at another. Only in carps it seemeth to be scant, Carp. 
since it is not long since that kind of fish was brought 
over into England, and but of late into this stream, 
by the violent rage or sundry land-floods, that brake 
open the heads and dams of divers gentlemen’s 
ponds, by which means it became (somewhat) par- 
taker also of this said commodity, whereof earst it 
had no portion that I could everhear. (Oh! that this 
ee 
