Clearly and formally forbids the trick
Of reconciling stale fish to the nose
By constant watering. But if some poor wight
Detect him in the fact, forthwith he picks
A quarrel, and provokes his man to blows.
He wheels meanwhile about his fish, looks sharp
To catch the nick of time, reels, feigns a hurt:
And prostrate falls, just in the right position.
A friend placed there on purpose, snatches up
A pot of water, sprinkles a drop or two,
For form's sake, on his face, but by mistake,
As you must sure believe, pours all the rest
Full on the fish, so that almost you might
Consider them fresh caught.—J. A. St. John.
Antiphanes. (Book vi. § 7, p. 357.)
What miserable wretched things are fish!
They are not only doom'd to death, to be
Devour'd, and buried in the greedy maw
Of some voracious glutton, but the knaves
Who sell them leave them on their board to rot,
And perish by degrees, till having found
Some purblind customer, they pass to him
Their dead and putrid carcases; but he,
Returning home, begins to nose his bargain,
And soon disgusted, casts them out with scorn.—Anon.
Alexis. (Book vi. § 8, p. 358.)
The rich Aristonicus was a wise
And prudent governor; he made a law
To this intent, that every fishmonger,
Having once fix'd his price, if after that
He varied, or took less, he was at once
Thrown into prison, that the punishment
Due to his crimes, still hanging o'er his head,
Might be a check on his rapacity,
And make him ask a just and honest price,
