48
Give me a hand with the line, Exposure; here he is. Now, my best of fishes, what do we make of you? Salmo Cynicus, that is what you are. Good gracious, what teeth! Aha, my brave fish, caught snapping up trifles in the rocks, where you thought you could lurk unobserved? But now you shall hang by the gills for every one to look at you. Pull out hook and bait. Why, the hook is bare; he has not been long assimilating the figs, eh? and the gold has gone down too.
48
Make him disgorge; we want the bait for some more.
48
There, then. Now, Diogenes, do you know who it is? has the fellow anything to do with you?
48
Nothing whatever.
48
Well, what do you put him at? threepence was the price fi I the other day.
48
Too much. His flavour and his looks are intolerable— a coarse worthless brute. Drop him head first over the rock, and catch another. But take care your rod does not bend to breaking point.
48
No fear; they are quite light—about the weight of a gudgeon.
48
About the weight and about the wit. However, up with them.
49
Look; what is this one? a sole? flat as a plate, thin as one of his own fillets; he gapes for the hook; down it goes; we have him; up he comes.
49
What is he?
49
His plateship would be a Platonist.
49
You too after the gold, villain?
49
Well, Plato? what shall we do with him?
49
Off with him from the same rock.
50
Try again.
50
Ah, here is a lovely one coming, as far as one can judge in deep water, all the colours of the rainbow, with gold bars across the back. Do you see, Exposure? this is the sham Aristotle. There he is; no, he has shied. He is having a good look round; here he comes again; his jaws open; caught! haul up.
50
You need not apply to me; I do not know him.
50
Very well, Aristotle; over he goes.
51
Hullo! I see a whole school of them together, all one colour, and covered with spines and horny scales, as tempting to handle as a hedgehog. We want a net for these; but we have not got one. Well, it will do if we pull up one out of the lot. The boldest of them will no doubt try the hook.
