AND OF STILL WATERS. 93 



details, all are agreed that the gudgeon is fat 

 and well liking, " praepinguis, teres," as Auso- 

 nius remarks, and worthy to appear on the table 

 of the most epicurean oi gourmets. 



The loach is another member of the tribe of 

 small fry who is worthy of more notice than he 

 generally gets. He is a tiny little fish, rarely 

 attaining five inches in length, and he somewhat 

 resembles a small gudgeon, though his barred 

 tail and mottled sides make him richer in colour 

 and better looking. The loach is even more 

 slippery a customer than the gudgeon, on 

 account of his very small scales, which not only 

 offer no resistance to the touch, but are also 

 covered with a slimy secretion. He lives 

 almost entirely at the bottom of the stream, 

 where he finds the worms and aquatic insects 

 that form his food, and where he usually lies 

 concealed behind or beneath a stone waiting 

 for his prey. The loach never uses his eyes for 

 the purpose of seeking his prey; the barbs 

 encircling his mouth are possessed of nerves 

 far more developed and of higher sensibility 

 than those that provide his eyes with sight, and 



