ANGLING. 229 



consciousness. They have the senses of sight, of hearing, 

 of smell, and of taste ; for without these they could not 

 provide for their own wants. They possess a very low 

 form of intelligence and sensibility, and may be severely 

 cut without showing signs of feeling. If we wound a 

 bird, he may lead a life of pain and misery for many 

 weeks. He is a creature of warm blood, endowed with 

 intelligence and a capacity for grief. He is regarded as 

 the companion and benefactor of man, and as having cer- 

 tain inalienable rights, such as the enjoyment of life 

 and liberty, and the means of obtaining a livelihood. 

 But fishes, the voracious devourers of their own young, 

 which they cannot recognize and do not protect, are plain- 

 ly incapable of mental suffering, and may be taken in 

 unlimited quantities without danger of causing an incon- 

 venient scarcity. Hence, though all living creatures are 

 more or less endowed with a power of feeling pleasure 

 and pain, and have a certain right to the enjoyment of 

 life, I regard the destruction of a fish in the same light as 

 the killing of a fly or the trampling on a worm. I would 

 not needlessly destroy an insect or set foot upon a worm ; 

 but I believe the united sufferings of a thousand fishes in 

 the agonies of death would not equal the pangs suffered 

 by one little child with a burnt finger. 



There is no other sport so well adapted to the habits 

 of a thoughtful man as that of angling, leading him out 

 at noonday, under the shade of trees, or in the evening 

 by the glassy stream, on whose mirrored surface he may 

 view the surrounding hills and woods, while watching 

 for the dimpling movements of the water that indicate 

 the nibbling of the fishes. There can be no more delight- 

 ful recreation in serene summer weather, when the heat 

 of the atmosphere will not permit one to engage in more 

 active toil or amusement. And there is no end to the 

 pleasing fancies in which one may indulge the mind, 



