26 
HISTORY OF BRITISH CRUSTACEA 
pieces of stale thornback, of most evil savour, and highly 
prejudicial to the purity of the sea and the health of the 
neighbouring herrings. Happy Squinado ! He needed 
not to discover the limits of his authority, to consult any 
lengthy Nuisances^ Removal Act, with its clauses, and 
counter-clauses, and exceptions, and explanations of inter- 
pretations. Nature, who can afford to be arbitrary, because 
she is perfect, and to give her servants irresponsible powers, 
because she has trained them to their work, had bestowed 
on him and on his forefathers, as general health inspectors, 
those very summary powers of entrance and removal in the 
watery realms, for which common sense, public opinion, and 
private philanthropy are still entreating vainly in the terres- 
trial realms ; so, finding a hole, in he went, and began to 
remove the nuisance, without f waiting twenty-four hours/ 
‘ laying an information/ f serving a notice/ or any other 
vain delay. The evil was there, — and there it should not 
stay ; so having neither cart nor barrow, he just began 
putting it into his stomach, and in the meanwhile set his 
assistants to work likewise. For suppose not, gentle reader, 
that Squinado went alone ; in his train were more than a 
hundred thousand as good as he, each in his office, and as 
cheaply paid ; who needed no cumbrous baggage train of 
