Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/236

222 many enemies, and lives longer than his greatest foe, man. His voracity is unbounded; and like the most accomplished corporate officers, he is nearly omnivorous, his palate giving the preference, however, to fish, flesh, and fowl. Dyspepsia never interferes with his digestion; and he

possesses a quality that would have been valuable at La Trappe,–he can fast without inconvenience for a se’nnight. He can gorge himself then to beyond the gills, without the slightest derangement of the stomach. He is shark and ostrich combined.… His intemperate habits render him an object of disgust and dread. He devours his own children; but, strange to say, likes better, (for eating,) the children of his