THE JACK. 185 



oblong, blunt ; jaws, palatine bones and vomer, furnished 

 with teeth of various sizes ; body elongated, rounded on 

 the back ; sides compressed, covered with scales ; dorsal 

 fin placed far back over the anal fin ; whole body mottled 

 with white, yellow, and green/' His general beauty, 

 for beauty he has, may be more enthusiastically enlarged 

 upon. A baby jack of a few inches is really " pretty." 

 I look on a jack in good season as a handsomely marked 

 fish, though of villainous aspect. His formidable teeth and 

 wicked eyes are sufficient to inspire any amount of terri- 

 ble description in poetic vein. A Dante would need hardly 

 a more terrible looking creature for his pen, or a Dore for 

 his pencil, i. e. as far as a head goes, which might be fitted 

 to any monster, informe, ingens, with his teeth strong and 

 sharp, a very phalanx of bristling " pikes," and, let it be 

 noticed, all pointing inwards and downwards thoracically. 

 " Vestigia, nulla retrorsum " would be a fit inscription 

 for the portals of those wide, opening jaws ; or " All 

 hope abandon, ye who enter here." And his eyes ! Writers 

 on " Natural History for the Young " would tell us that 

 a kind Providence has provided the jack with eyes on the 

 top of his head, so that, by looking upwards, he may 

 be better able to provide for his living by seeing his 

 prey as they swim over him. Quite so; but many 

 writers on natural history in this vein would say nothing 

 about the effect of this admirable arrangement of a 

 kindly Providence as affecting the jack's prey. I should 

 like to know. what the roach, bleak, dace, &c, think of it. 

 I should imagine that they must long ago have come to 

 the conclusion that the " arrangement " is very conducive 

 to the destruction of themselves and other innocent 

 fishes. To equalize matters, fish which swim high in the 



