CHAMELEON TROUT 61 



preserve them from being poached out were of a 

 very black colour : this arose, no doubt, from the 

 privation of light. Sometimes I have seen them 

 lying on the shallows within a few yards of the hide, 

 where they still retained their black hue. I caught 

 with a minnow one of these dirty-looking animals in 

 the month of June last. He was not only black in 

 the back, so that he could be seen at a considerable 

 distance in the water, but was also of a granulated 

 inky cast on his sides and underneath : his resort 

 was under a hide in comparative darkness. He was 

 not wasted, but of the same proportions with his 

 brighter companions. I concluded, however, that 

 from his African appearance he would cut but a 

 sorry figure at the table ; but being about three- 

 quarters of a pound, with no promise of amendment, 

 I bagged him notwithstanding. As this was the 

 first Trout I took that morning, he lay at the bottom 

 of my basket. After catching a few more lower 

 down in the river, I thought I would have another 

 look at my swarthy captive. I found him more 

 praiseworthy than at first ; for the upper side, 

 which came in contact with the other fish, became 

 also bright, and of a colour exactly similar to them, 

 whilst the lower side that touched the dry basket 

 retained its original dark hue ; but by turning that 

 part of the fish also towards the others, the whole 

 Trout after a time became of a uniform bright colour, 

 and was not in that respect dissimilar to the rest. I 

 do not mean to hint that the blackamoor was dyed 

 by his dead companions, because I think that a wet 

 cloth would have produced the same effect ; but it 



