116 FISHES AI^D riSSING. 



blow on the head ; the fish then turned his tail to the 

 top of the water, and went down out of sight ; the 

 other boys assisted him to dress, bound up his hand 

 with their handkerchiefs, and brought him home. 

 We took him down to Mr. Brown, surgeon, who 

 dressed seven wounds in one hand, and so great was 

 the pain the next day, the lad fainted twice ; the 

 little finger was bitten through the nail, and it was 

 more than six weeks before it was well ; the nail came 

 off, and the scar remains to this day. 



**A few days after this occurrence, one of the wood- 

 men was walking by the side of the pond, when he 

 saw something white floating in the pond ; a man on 

 horseback rode in and found it to be a large pike in a 

 dying state ; he twisted his whip round him, and 

 brought him to shore. Me and my son were imme- 

 diately sent for to look at it, when the boy recognized 

 his antagonist immediately; the fish appeared to have 

 been a long time in the agonies of death, as the body 

 was very lean, and curved like a bow. It measured 

 41 inches, and died the next day, and I believe was 

 taken to the Castle at Windsor." 



There can be no doubt but this fish was in a state 

 of complete starvation ; if some of his scales had been 

 examined with a microscope, his age might have been 

 ascertained ; and if he had been well fed, it is proba- 



