THE PERCH. 223 



with. " awkward briskness .... perking on a throne," and 

 that Pope sings, — 



" If after all yon think it a disgrace 

 That Edward's miss thus perks it in your face." 



All this may point to " perky" being connected with 

 perched in its bad sense. But I shall suggest that " perky" 

 as an adjective illustrative of character, or rather of man- 

 ner, with a dash of holes in it, takes its origin from our 

 Perch and bis characteristics ! " Perky," as I take it, is 

 an epithet almost exclusively applicable to the female sex, 

 when it has not transgressed a certain limit of years, and 

 that it indicates a somewhat unapproachable and " spinous" 

 little party, difficult and even disagreeable to handle, if 

 handled unjudgmatically. Such a little party is generally 

 associated with a certain compactness of beauty and form, 

 and thus is, like our perch, — " Perky." 



One more etymological memorandum. The author of 

 The Haven of Health says that the " perch" is so called 

 "by a figure of antiphrasis — quia nulli piscium parcet" — 

 " because he does not spare any kind of fish." This is 

 lucus a non lucendo with a vengeance. Our friend Pat 

 does his best to back up this bit of etymology by calling 

 the fish a parch." 



Leaving etymology, let us proceed to admire our Perca 

 fluviatilis. He is handsome, and beautiful too ; though 

 I admit his cast of facial expression is bad and vicious, 

 reminding me somewhat of the wicked look which I always 

 see in a barbel. The downward cut of his lips has perhaps 

 something to do with his bad expression, the lower one 

 seeming to " hang " like that of an idle rough who list- 

 lessly lets a heavy pipe depress one corner of his mouth. 

 Still he (the perch I mean, not the rough) is both hand- 



