26 HISTOEY OF BRITISH CRUSTACEA. 



pieces of stale thornback, of most evil savour, and highly 

 prejudicial to the purity of the sea and the health of the 

 neighbouring herrings. Happy Squinado ! He needed 

 not to discover the limits of his authority, to consult any 

 lengthy Nuisances' Removal Act, with its clauses, and 

 counter-clauses, and exceptions, and explanations of inter- 

 pretations. Nature, who can afford to be arbitrary, because 

 she is perfect, and to give her servants irresponsible powers, 

 because she has trained them to their work, had bestowed 

 on him and on his forefathers, as general health inspectors, 

 those very summary powers of entrance and removal in the 

 watery realms, for which common sense, public opinion, and 

 private philanthropy are still entreating vainly in the terres- 

 trial realms ; so, finding a hole, in he went, and began to 

 remove the nuisance, without c waiting twenty-four hours/ 

 ' laving an information/ ' serving a notice/ or anv other 

 vain delay. The evil was there, — and there it should not 

 stay ; so having neither cart nor barrow, he just began 

 putting it into his stomach, and in the meanwhile set his 

 assistants to work likewise. For suppose not, gentle reader, 

 that Squinado went alone ; in his train were more than a 

 hundred thousand as good as he, each in his office, and as 

 cheaply paid ; who needed no cumbrous baggage train of 



