HYPOCRITICAL FISH. 83 



him in an instant. If he is a trout, I find his stomach 

 distended with flies. That beautiful one called the 

 May-fly, who is by nature almost ephemeral, — who rises 

 up from the bottom of the shallows, spreads its light 

 wings, and flits in the sunbeam in enjoyment of its new 

 existence, — no sooner descends to the surface of the water 

 to deposit its eggs, than the unfeeling fish at one fell 

 spring numbers him prematurely with the dead. You 

 see, then, what a wretch a fish is ; no ogre is more blood- 

 thirsty, for he will devour his nephews, nieces, and even 

 his own children, when he can catch them ; and I take 

 some credit for having shown him up. Talk of a wolf, 

 indeed, a lion, or a tiger ! Why these are all mild and 

 saintly in comparison with a fish. When did any one 

 hear of Messrs. Wolf, Lion, and Co. eating up their 

 grandchildren ? What a bitter fright must the smaller 

 fry live in ! They crowd to the shallows, lie hid among 

 the weeds, and dare not say the river is their own. I 

 relieve them of their apprehensions, and thus become 

 popular Avith the small shoals. 



When we see a fish quivering upon dry land, he looks 

 so helpless without arms or legs, and so demure in ex- 

 pression, adding hypocrisy to his other sins, that we 

 naturally pity him ; then kill and eat him with Hervey 

 sauce, perhaps. Our pity is misplaced, — the fish is not. 

 There is an immense trout in Loch Awe in Scotland, 

 which is so voracious, and swallows his own species with 

 such avidity, that he has obtained the name of Salmo 

 ferox. I pull about this unnatural monster till he is 

 tired, land him, and give him the coup de grace. Is this 

 cruel ? Cruelty " should be made of sterner stuff." 



G 2 



