PERCH. 47 



Second pike, which we found had been taken 

 by our host, who smiling, and with some kind 

 of mystery, asked Chemicus if he thought it 

 weighed 10 Ibs. Chemicus refused to acknow- 

 ledge an identity between such a fish and the 

 monster he had hooked ; when my friend took 

 out of his pocket a paper containing some 

 hooks and tackle carefully wrapped up, and 

 asked Chemicus if he had ever seen such an 

 apparatus. Chemicus owned they were the 

 hooks and tackle the great fish had carried 

 away. " And I found them," said our friend, 

 " in the mouth of that very little fish which 

 you see on the table, and which I caught half 

 an hour ago." 



HOST. I answer for the correctness of 

 this anecdote, but I do not sanction its ap- 

 plication to the case of our novitiate in angling, 

 I have seen a fish under that bank where he 

 was so unfortunate, which I am sure was 

 above four pounds, and which I dare say was 

 the subject of his unsuccessful experiment. 



POIET. From what our host has just said, 

 I conclude, Halieus, that fish do not usually 

 change their stations. 



