The Pike. 473 



Boulker, in his Art of Angling, says, that his father 

 caught a Pike, which he presented to Lord Cholmon- 

 deley, that was an ell long, and weighed thirty-six 

 pounds. His lordship directed it to be put into a canal 

 in his garden, which at that time contained a great 

 quantity of fish. Twelve months afterwards the water 

 was drawn off, and it was discovered that the Pike had 

 devoured all the fish, except a large carp that weighed 

 between nine and ten pounds, and even this had been 

 bitten in several places. The Pike was again put in, 

 and an entire fresh stock of fish for him to feed on : all 

 these he devoured in less than a year. Several times he 

 was observed by workmen who were standing near, to 

 draw ducks and other water-fowl under water. Crows 

 were shot and thrown in, which he took in the presence 

 of the men. From this time the slaughtermen had orders 

 to feed him with the garbage of the slaughter-house ; 

 but being afterwards neglected, he died, as is supposed, 

 from want of food. 



Jn December, 1765, a Pike was caught in the river 

 Ouse, that weighed upwards of twenty-eight pounds, 

 and was sold for a guinea. When it was opened, a watch 

 with a black riband and two seals were found in its 

 body. These, it was afterwards found, had belonged to 

 a gentleman's servant, who had been drowned in the 

 river about a month before. 



The Pike is a very long-lived fish. Jn the year 1497, 

 one was caught at Heilbrun, in Swabia, to which was 

 affixed a brazen ring, with the following words engraved 

 on it in Greek characters : " I am the fish, which was 

 first of all put into this lake, by the hands of the gover- 

 nor of the universe, Frederick the Second, the fifth of 

 October, 1230." 



