48 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE, 
town, and procured several living specimens of loaches, which 
he brought, safe and brisk, in a glass decanter. They were 
taken in the gullies that were cut for watering the meadows. 
From these fishes (which measured from two to four inches in 
length) I took the following description : “The loach, in its 
general aspect, has a pellucid appearance ; its back is mottled 
with irregular collections of small black dots, not reaching 
much below the lateral line, as are the back and tail fins; a 
black line runs from each eye down to the nose; its belly is of 
a silvery white ; the upper jaw projects beyond the lower, and 
is surrounded with six feelers, three on each side; its pectoral 
fins are large, its ventral much smaller; its dorsal fin large, 
containing eight spines; its tail, where it joins to the tail-fin, 
remarkably broad, without any taperness, so as to be charac- 
teristic of this genus; the tail-fin is broad, and square at the 
end. From the breadth and muscular strength of the tail it 
appears to be an active, nimble fish.” 
In my visit I was not very far from Hungerford, and did 
not forget to make some inquiries concerning the wonderful 
method of curing cancers by means of toads. Several intelli- 
gent persons, both gentry and clergy, do, I find, give a great 
deal of credit to what is asserted in the papers, and I myself 
dined with a clergyman who seemed to be persuaded that what 
is related is matter of fact; but, when I came to attend to his 
account, I thought I discerned circumstances which did not a 
little invalidate the woman’s story of the manner in which she 
came by her skill. She says of herself “that, laboring under 
a virulent cancer, she went to some church where there was a 
vast crowd; on going into a pew she was accosted by a strange 
clergyman, who, after expressing compassion for her situation, 
told her that if she would make such an application of living 
toads as is mentioned she would be well.” Now is it likely 
that this unknown gentleman should express so much .tender- 
ness for this single sufferer, and not feel any for the many 
