Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/231

Rh who have wandered on the banks of my favourite Avon, as it flows through the borders of the New Forest, and seen its clear and sparkling waters passing over the long and yielding rushes, which sometimes show themselves above the surface, and then gently hide themselves as some dragon-fly settles upon them,—those that have watched the graceful bendings of the stream, sometimes opening into shallow broads covered with ephemeræ, and then narrowing into deeper and more rapid channels, will have experienced the quiet enjoyment of the scenery of one of our most beautiful rivers.… It is to the honest and patient angler, that such scenes afford the greatest enjoyment and admiration. Far removed from the noise and turmoil of the world, he prepares his rod, and while standing on the banks of the stream, with the speckled trout rising freely around him, he 'tastes the unrifledunrivalled [sic] freshness of the air,' and is thankful for the innocent enjoyment he is partaking of."

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Fishes differing much from each other in outward appearance are associated in this Family; and, therefore, the characters by which they can be described are few. The single dorsal, placed far behind, and corresponding, both in form and position, to the anal, is the most obvious character, though not wholly without exception, for in Microstoma, the dorsal is rather before the anal.