56 FISH AND FISHING. 



of you, O ye Jishes? Do you think it was by mere 

 chance, that when the Redeemer of the world was to pay 

 a tribute to Caesar, he thought fit to find it in the mouth 

 of a fish ? These are, all of them, so many mysteries and 

 sacraments, that oblige you in a more particular manner 

 to the praises of your Creator. 



" It is from God, my beloved fish, that you have 

 received being, life, motion, and sense. It is He that has 

 given you, in compliance with your usual inclinations, the 

 whole world of waters for your habitation. It is He that 

 has furnished it with lodgings, chambers, caverns, grottoes, 

 and such magnificent retirements as are not to be met 

 with in the seats of kings or in the palaces of princes. 

 You have the water for your dwelling, a clear transparent 

 element, brighter than crystal ; you can see from its bot- 

 tom everything that passes on its surface ; you have the 

 eyes of the Lynx, or of an Argus ; you are guided by a 

 secret and unerring principle, delighting in every thing 

 that may be beneficial to you, and avoiding every thing 

 that may be hurtful to you ; you are carried on by a 

 hidden instinct to preserve yourselves, and to propagate 

 your species ; you obey, in all your actions, walks and 

 motions, the dictates and suggestions of nature, without 

 the least repugnancy or contradiction. 



"The colds of winter and the heats of summer are 

 equally incapable of molesting you. A serene or a 

 clouded sky are indifferent to you. Let the earth abound 

 in fruits, or be. cursed with scarcity, it has no influence 



