NOTES BY THE WAY 



things, are seen in his light " touch and go " phrases 

 and comparisons as clearly as in his more deliberate 

 and central work. 



In "Much Ado about Nothing," Benedick says 



to Margaret : 



"Thy wit is as quick as the. greyhound's mouth it 

 catches." 



One marked difference between the greyhound and 

 all other hounds and dogs is, that it can pick up its 

 game while running at full speed, a feat that no 

 other dog can do. The foxhound, or farm dog, will 

 run over a fox or a rabbit many times without being 

 able to seize it. 



In " Twelfth Night " the clown tells Viola that 



" Fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to herrings 

 the husband 's the bigger." 



The pilchard closely resembles the herring, but is 

 thicker and heavier, with larger scales. 



In the same play, Maria, seeing Malvolio com- 

 ing, says : 



" Here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling." 



Shakespeare, then, knew that fact so well known 

 to poachers, and known also to many an American 

 schoolboy, namely, that a trout likes to be tickled, 

 or behaves as if he did, and that by gently tickling 

 his sides and belly you can so mesmerize him, as it 

 183 



