50 THE SMELT 



till, not very long ago, it was discovered that meddle- 

 some men of science, never weary of dissecting, 

 classifying, and inventing long-tailed names, had 

 assigned the smelt a distinguished position between 

 the char and the grayling, to which it was clearly 

 entitled in virtue of possessing an adipose fin and other 

 structural peculiarities. Henceforth, the unobtrusive 

 little smelt was to hold an exalted place among that 

 haute noblesse of scaly creatures the Salmonidce to 

 share all the benefits conferred on these by the wisdom 

 of Parliament, and to entail on the unwary all the 

 penalties enacted against unlawful fishing. 



This discovery spread dismay among certain quiet 

 estuarine communities. For generations the fisher-folk 

 had netted the smelts in their passage to and fro, 

 believing them to be just as legitimate quarry for the 

 white fisher as haddocks or flounders. Suddenly the 

 lessees and owners of salmon fisheries asserted their 

 right to the smelts as ' red fish,' whereby some stormy 

 feelings have arisen among the dwellers at the mouths 

 of rivers frequented by this dainty little fish. 



Londoners have no idea of the real excellence of 

 smelts. To be eaten in perfection, the fish should be 

 carried from the nets into the kitchen and served 

 forthwith. There comes to mind a quiet fishing village 

 on Solway shore. It is early on a winter morning, but 

 the air is still and warm. The small-meshed seine is 

 coming slowly to shore, filled with a shoal of pearly 

 ' sparlings.' As they are drawn from the muddy water 

 of the estuary, a fragrance as of cucumbers and violets 



