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Here with his much-loved Stream, his Life he leaves,
And his last parting Breath the Air receives.

important. The Cod is valuable, and when fresh supplies a palatable and good Aliment. The Whiting may be given to the weakest Digestion; the Haddock is more firm, and consequently less digestible; the Mackarel is drier, and not so Nutritive. The common Flounder and the Sole are tender, the Turbot and the Holibut more viscid. Mons. GOSSE discovered that the Solution of Skate was very tardy in the Stomach; and other Persons have found the Salmon and Sturgeon to be equally so.

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"The Shell-Fish are usually deemed great Dainties, though not in general quick of Digestion; upon some Constitutions they produce Anxiety and Fever, and affording perhaps the most viscous Gluten of those three Kinds of Food, and should never be taken without Vinegar. The Crab is so heavy, that it is rarely tasted, without the Addition of Acids and Condiment. The Lobster and Shrimp are mostly used in Sauces; the Cockle is rather tasteless, and the Muscle, though more savoury, is often attended with poisonous Consequences, which, it is asserted, may be entirely prevented by well washing them, in Vinegar and Water. The Oyster a Delicacy, and vast quantities are Consumed in a raw state; they form also a very common Mixture as a Sauce to other Animal Food of an insipid Nature, both Fish, Flesh, and Fowl; they are more easily digested when raw, than dressed in any form whatever; are esteemed nourishing, without being heating, and are extremely proper in Consumptive Cases, or for People who are recovering from Sickness, where weak Stomachs will not digest Flesh Meat, &c. The ROMANS, observes Mr. WHITTAKER, in his History of MANCHESTER, first taught us the Art of fattening our Oysters in artificial Beds; the Feeding Pits being first invented about Ninety Years before CHRIST, and first constructed upon the Shore of BAIE, and even as early as the Reign of VESPASIAN, the British Oyster was deemed famous among the ROMANS, and thought worthy to be carried into ITALY"."

crosses the Water to the opposite Island, the Herrings will desert the Coast. BOETIUS tells the same of some other Place. This Tradition is not Uniform. Some hold that No Woman may pass, and others that none may pass but a MACLEOD.

So superstitious and ignorant were the ancient GREEKS and ROMANS, that they believed Oysters to grow fat with the two first Quarters of the Moon, and become lean with her Waning.-Ostries et conchyllis omnibus, says AULUS GELLIUS, contigit, ut cum Luna crescant pariter, pariterque decrescant: so says CICERO. GELLIUS Quotes LUCILIUS, Luna alit Ostrea. HORACE also says, nascentes implent conchylia Luna. It is true they had some Taste respecting the Relish of Oysters, and knew how to distinguish well. What says JUVENAL of the nicely discriminating Gusto of an Oyster Epicure?

That he could tell at the first Taste whether they came from the Circean Rocks, the Bay of Lucrinum in CAMPANIA, OF from RICHBOROUGH, IN KENT County, in ENGLAND.

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Lest the whole Breed should undistinguish'd die,
Take the small Fish that at the bottom lie,

Into new Ponds the little Wand'rers place;
And there preserve the Hopes of all the Race.
They swim surpris'd, the vacant Lakes survey,
And all their Father's wat'ry Empire sway.

The Ponds now drain'd, the cautious Eel lies roll'd
Deep in the Mud, and wound in many a fold.
While here he lurks, conceal'd beneath the Ooze,
With griping hand the smooth Deceiver close*;
Lest he, like Fortune, when you think the Prey
Securely your's, should subtly glide away.

The following Rules have been given regarding the Consumption of Fish.

FISH should be as fresh as possible, when tainted, even in the slightest Degree, they contain something very noxious to the Constitution; they should be Eaten quite hot, and in less Quantity, and not after other solid Food, and none, Oysters excepted, in a cold state. Fish, though alkalescent, like other sorts of Animal Food, yet as they are defective in Nutritious Qualities, they require more Condiment; thus Acids, fermented and even Spirituous Liquors, are often taken to assist their Digestion. Fish is certainly improved by the Use of Butter, yet at the same time, it must make it heavier, and hence those disagreeable Consequences arise, which render Drams necessary, and the Fish is blamed, when the Fault is in the Sauce. Of all Sea and River Fish, those are best that live in Rocky Situations, next to them, in Sandy or Gravelly Places, and in clear, sweet, and running Water, Those are bad, that are in Pools, Oozy Lakes, Marshes, and in any still muddy Water. The middle-sized Fish are most desirable, and the preferable mode of dressing, is to Broil them, secondly, to Boil them, and to Fry them is the worst.

* Sero sapiunt Phryges.

"The Prouerbe saieth, so long the Potte to water goes,

That at the lengthe it broke returnes, which is appli'de to those,
That longe with Wyles, and Shiftes, haue cloaked wicked partes,
Who haue at lengthe bene paied home, and had their iust Desertes ;
Euen as the slymie Ecle, that ofte did slippe awaie,

Yet, with Figge leaues at lengthe was catch'de & made the Fisshers praie."
GEFFREY WHITNEY'S Emblems, 1586.

No sweeping Drag-net should the Fish alarm,
That through your streams, congenial breeding swarm;
Lest you destroy young Natives of the Flood,
And all your Fruit prove blighted in the Bud;
Bow-nets still use; or, in a darksome Night,
Fires on the Margin of the River light;
Struck with the dazzling Flame, ne'er seen before,
Surpris'd they slow approach the shining Shore;
While thus for Knowledge greedy they appear,
Or to the crackling Billets lend an Ear,
Insnare with Nets, or fix 'em with a Spear*.

Still other Arts your Leisure may employ,
Amusement yield, nor all the Race destroy:
On the green Margin dark secluded stand
A taper Angle waving in your Hand;
The wand'ring Fish with choicest Bait invite,
And fatal Steel conceal'd by Skill from sight+.

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*"The Glow-worme shining in a frosty Night,
Is an admirable thing in Shepheard's sight.
Twentie of these Wormes put in a small Glasse,
Stopped so close that no issue doe passe;
Hang'd in a Bow-net and suncke to the ground,
Of a Poole, or Lake, broad, and profound:
Will take such plentie of excellent Fish,
As well may furnish an Emperor's Dish."

BRETON'S Ourania.

+ TO ANGLERS.

"O take away that wily, treach'rous Hook! Why are the harmless tenants of the Brook

(Secure, poor things, till now, amongst each other) To be of cold Barbarity the Sport?

Perhaps each Fish that from the flood you court,

May mourn its Parents kind-a Sister-Brother.

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The Boy commanded Silence with a nod,
And threw his twisted line into the flood:
By chance a Mullet in the Stream appear'd
Large, and conspicuous by a length of Beard:
He nibbled at the Bait in sportive play,

And then refusing seem'd to swim away.

Now with the Current down the Stream he glides,
Now with his Tail the adverse Waves divides;

But soon returns the Odour to regain,

And winds in Circles through the liquid plain;

Thus heedless Moths display their painted wings,

And flutter round the Flame which sure Destruction brings.

Meanwhile the Boys, attentive, scarce appear

To breathe, by turns inflam'd with Hope and Fear;

Now certain, now despairing of their Prize,

On this alone they fix their greedy Eyes;

At length Fear yields to Hunger, and the Bait

He credulously swallows; the Deceit

Soon by his Blood discovering, he in vain
Attempts to void the Hook and ease the Pain;

When from his Mouth the Steel he would withdraw,

Deeper the Steel is rooted in his Jaw;

The Fisher jerks his Rod, with nimble hand,
And throws the Mullet gasping on the Sand;
He, looking on the River in despair,
Leap'd slightly twice or thrice into the Air,
But when his Strength unable now he found
To lift his ponderous body from the Ground,
Flapping his Tail upon the bank in Death
He struggling panted and resign'd his Breath;

Farewell, my Rod, and to my Lines farewell,
No more shall Sports like these my Bosom swell-
No more shall ye to Cruelty invoke me:
Perhaps some Fish, with patriot Rage may burn-
Perhaps some Trout be savage in his turn-

And, dying for his injur'd Brethren, choak me."

J. T.

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