THE JACK. 195 



of pins, or a young porcupine or full-grown hedgehog, if 

 only presented to him artistically, and atmospheric and 

 electrical influences were conducive to hunger. He may 

 have his predilections for certain bonnes bouches, such as 

 young ducklings, plump puppies just opening their eyes, 

 tender kittens that are not wanted in this world, and, as a 

 pikish historian relates, for a " Polish damsel's foot" — 

 why not for an English damsel's, and thus show his better 

 taste, and include the ankles also ? But in reality nothing 

 comes amiss to him. He has no more taste, in the true 

 sense of the word, than he has feeling. " All's fish," at 

 least food, " that comes into his net." 



" True glutton-like his stomach rules his eyes." 



Certainly when left to his natural devices he is the sort 

 of gentleman who would eat the toast on which asparagus 

 is placed to drain, the tin foil in which Rochefort cheese 

 is enwrapped, the crust of a game pie, or the envelopment 

 of an Oxford brawn. I had the curiosity to open the 

 14 lb. jack I caught at Cranfordas above mentioned, and I 

 found in her thesemi-digestamoles of a moor-hen, two water- 

 rats, a bream of about two pounds, innumerable smaller 

 fishes, and a variety of other " foreign substances." Kv 

 uno disce omnes. It is on record that the body of a child 

 was once found in the belly of a pike. The only wonder 

 is how he can manage to live at all in certain waters. The 

 truth is that the same kindly Providence which has placed 

 his eyes on the top of his head has also endowed him with 

 the power of long fasting, which doubtless he often exer- 

 cises, either from necessity or choice. If he did not, I 

 am inclined to think that not a living or dead thing would 

 be found in his haunts, and that he would devour and 



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