NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 3a7 
domain, had not been dragged for upwards of fifty years, Mr. 
Keene put in the nets, in order to report to the Prince what 
stock of fish he had there. The net brought out a number of 
carp, tench, &c. Keene thought from the commotion in the 
net, that he had caught an unusually large fish. When the net 
shoaled he was delighted to find a monster pike in it ; the fish 
rushed between his legs and nearly upset him. He took his prize 
at once to Cumberland Lodge to the Prince, who was good 
enough to send it on to me immediately. This magnificent fish 
weighed no less than thirty-five pounds ; length, three feet ten 
and a half inches ; girth, two feet. I never saw a fish in such 
perfect condition before : the eye was exceedingly beautiful, the 
head shone like smoked mother-o'-pearl, every scale was perfect, 
the fins as red as those of a perch ; four black bars extended 
some distance from the tail upwards, giving the fish a zebra-like 
appearance. Mr. Keene asked me what I thought was the age 
of the fish. I guessed offhand from twelve to fifteen years, and 
it really appears that I was not far wrong, for about twelve years 
ago Sir James Clark's butler put six or eight jack, weighing 
about a pound and a half each, into Eapley Lake. This great 
fellow was probably the last of them, who had very likely eaten 
up all the rest. The fish was a female ; the roe weighed three- 
and-a-half pounds, and contained over lorty-three thousand eggs. 
The only regret I have is that this freshwater shark was not 
kept alive and sent to Brighton Aquarium. She should have 
been tethered by the gills till I came with a carrier for her. 
That this part of the royal domain is well adapted for growing 
big pike is evident, inasmuch as not many years ago a lad who 
had gone into Inglemere Pond (near Ascot Heath) to bathe 
was attacked and severely worried by a pike. This pike is 
undoubtedly the largest in my collection ; the two next 
approaching in size are one from the Norfolk Broads, thirty - 
two pounds, and Mr. Piooper's celebrated pike, which he was 
fortunate enough to catch with rod and line in Loch Awe, in 
1869. I need hardly say that I and the public in general 
are much obliged to his Eoyal Highness Prince Christian for 
preserving this fish, and enabling me in the interest of science 
to perpetuate its magnificent proportions and unusual weight. 
One of the casts of this magnificent fish has been painted to 
life by Mr. Eolfe and presented by him to the Piscatorial 
Society, who have had it handsomely mounted. The fish is 
represented as lying on grass and weeds. The duplicate cast 
is in my Pish Museum at South Kensington. I am told that 
the best bait for a large pike of this kind is the so-called 
calves'-tail bait. The angler should take about four inches of 
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