The Fourth Day 135 



killing. And the gentleman that did affirm this 

 to me, told me he saw it ; and did declare his belief 

 to be, and I also believe the same, that he thought 

 the other Carps, that were so strangely lost, were 

 so killed by the frogs, and then devoured. 



And a person of honour, now living in Worcester- 

 shire, assured me he had seen a necklace, or collar 

 of tadpoles, hang like a chain or necklace of beads 

 about a Pike's neck, and to kill him: Whether it 

 were for meat or malice, must be, to me, a question. 



But I am fallen into this discourse by accident ; 

 of which I might say more, but it has proved longer 

 than I intended, and possibly may not to you be 

 considerable: I shall therefore give you three or 

 four more short observations of the Carp, and then 

 fall upon some directions how you shall fish for him. 



The age of Carps is by Sir Francis Bacon, in his 

 History of Life and Death, observed to be but ten 

 years; yet others think they live longer. Gesner 

 says, a Carp has been known to live in the Palatine 

 above a hundred years. But most conclude, that, 

 contrary to the Pike or Luce, all Carps are the better 

 for age and bigness. The tongues of Carps are 

 noted to be choice and costly meat, especially to 

 them that buy them : but Gesner says, Carps have 

 no tongue like other fish, but a piece of fleshlike fish 

 in their mouth like to a tongue, and should be called 

 a palate : but it is certain it is choicely good, and 

 that the Carp is to be reckoned amongst those 

 leather-mouthed fish which, I told you, have their 

 teeth in their throat ; and for that reason he is very 

 seldom lost by breaking his hold, if your hook be 

 once stuck into his chaps. 



I told you that Sir Francis Bacon thinks that the 

 Carp lives but ten years : but Janus Dubravius has 

 writ a book Of fish and fish-ponds in which he says, 

 that Carps begin to spawn at the age of three years, 



