THE BASSES: FRES H w ATER AND MARINE 



catfish or the snaky eel upon the same plane with 

 the salmon, trout, or bass. 



" Fish, no doubt, in common with other animals, 

 have the instinct of danger developed almost to 

 the quality of reason; and it is no bar to the 

 truth of this to argue that, because a fish will take 

 the bait with half-a-d,ozen hooks in his jaws, it 

 follows a brutish appetite that is blind to danger; 

 for, look you, be ye an angler or a butcher, that 

 stomach of yours is death to you every day of 

 your life: that smoking dish, be it red herring 

 or canvas-back duck, is causing you to make rapid 

 strides graveward, and you know it; and yet you 

 gorge yourself every day upon your favorite dish. 



" It ill becomes a man to argue that because an 

 animal cannot control its appetite it has not the 

 lordjy gift of reason. To sum up: 



" Can a fish taste? Certainly: he spits out, if 

 he can, an artificial bait. 



"Can a fish smell? Aye, there's the rub; yet 

 why the anointed lures so prized by old anglers 

 and many modern ones, and why does a fresh 

 natural bait kill the most fish? 



"This fact, however, is sure: fish are suscep- 

 tible to anger and jealousy; for we have seen them 

 fight, and we all know how tiger-like in jealous 

 combat salmon and trout are on their nuptial 

 beds." 



The evening's fish of the club had commenced 



106 



