AUTHORS ON SEA AND RIVER FISHING. 27 



laden with killing baits. Upon these the vagrant crowd of fishes, 

 unskilled in snares, rush, and their gaping jaws feel too late the 

 wounds inflicted by the hidden steel; their quivering tells the 

 fisherman of his success, and the wavy rod yields to the quivering 

 tremor of the shaking line ; and at once the angler jerks sideways 

 his stricken prey with a whistling sound (i.e. the rapidity of his 

 action in bringing out his line makes the air whistle). The air 

 receives the blow, as when it resounds with the cracking of a 

 whip, and the wind hisses from the air in motion. The watery 

 spoils (i.e. caught fish) jump on the dry rocks, and dread the 

 death-dealing beams of the light of day. They, that were so full 

 of vigour in their native waters, spiritless gasp out their wasting 

 lives in our air ; now with weakened body they wriggle feebly on 

 the ground — the torpid tail quivers its last ; the jaws do not close, 

 but through its gills, dying it gives back in mortal gasps the 

 breath it draws ; as when the wind plays on the fires of a work- 

 shop the (opening) mouth of the beech-covered (sided) bellows 

 alternately draws in and expels the blast. Some (fish) I have 

 seen even at the point of death gather up their strength, then 

 spring aloft and fling their curved bodies headlong into the 

 stream below and regain enjoyment of the waters lost to hope ; 

 while after them the fisherman, impatient at his loss, wildly leaps, 

 and by swimming vainly strives to grasp them again." 



It has been suggested by Mr. Lambert that as the Saline 

 flows into the Moselle, it was probably from it that the 

 salmon took its name, unless, indeed, it was the fish that 

 gave its name to the river, just as "colours" have often 

 given their names to " materials." Mr. Lambert also 

 mentions that Ansonius wrote a poem " on the oyster " — 

 a subject which we can well understand does not readily 

 lend itself to poetical treatment, unless the " blessed bi- 

 valve " were dilated upon as being happy in love, as well as 

 " crossed in love," in accordance with the suggestion in The 

 Critic of Sheridan. 



^sop in the sixth century introduced fish and fishing 



