FISHES. 



36'! 



copper-mines found in America. In ^liort, as we cannot de- 

 scribe the alembic by which the rattlesnake distils its malignity, 

 nor the process by which the scorpion, that lives among roses, 

 converts their sweets to venom, so we cannot discover the man- 

 ner by which lishes become thus dangerous ; and it is well foi 

 us of Europe that we can thus wonder in security. It is certain 

 that with us, if nshes. such as carp or tench, acquire any dis. 

 agreeable flavour from the lakes in which they have been bred^ 

 this can be removed, by their being kept some time in finer and 

 better water ; there they soon clear away all those disagreeable 

 qualities their flesh had contracted, and become as delicate as if 

 they had been always fed in the most cleanly manner. But this 

 expedient is with us rather the precaution of luxury than the 

 effect of fear : we have nothing to dread from the noxious 

 qualities of our fish ; for all the animals our waters furnish are 

 wholesome. 



Happy England ! where the sea furnishes an abundant and 

 luxurious repast, and the fresh waters an innocent and harmless 

 pastime ; where the angler, in cheerful solitude, strolls by the 

 edge of the stream, and fears neither the coiled snake, nor the 

 lurking crocodile ; where he can retire at night, with his few 

 trouts (to borrow the pretty description of old Walton) to some 

 friendly cottage, where the landlady is good, and the daughter 

 innocent and beautiful ; where the room is cleaidy, with lavender 

 in the sheets, and twenty ballads stuck about the wall ! Tliero 

 he can enjoy the company of a talkative brother sportsman, have 

 his trouts dressed for supper, tell tales, sing old tunes, or make 

 a catch ! There he can talk of the wonders of nature with 

 learned admiration, or find some harmless sport to content liiin, 

 and pass away a little time, without offence to God, or injuiy tu 

 man! 



END OF VOLUME THIRD. 



GLASGOW: 



HI. I. .11- lUN AND CO., UllNTEH.'!, VII.L.\riE I.P. 



