Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE SONG OF THE BASS When summer nights are hard to bear, And dog-days come again; When fetid grows the city air, And fagged the weary brain; Then free ye from the stifled throng,— With rod and reel away To where bright riven rush along ''Mid fash of rainbow spray! In limpid lakes the lilies blow, Though breathless be the town; On woodland banks wild roses glow, And silver thistle-down Caught lightly on the placid stream Like goblin craft drift by; While here and there more subtle gleam Intrigues the watchful eye. Fresh fern a-plenty for his creel, A snack within the shade, A fragrant pipe, a singing reel;— The angler's day is made! And some the lordly salmon praise, And some the lusty trout; To many men are many ways Of fishing, without-doubt. To many men are many minds ( Who would dispute or blame t), And many boasts of many kinds, Yet this my modest claim : In rocky lair the Bass is found, Where the swirling eddy dims, Inch for inch and pound for pound, The gamest Jish that swims! A doughty knight in armor bright, No gage witt he let pass. The artful Jly, the helgramite, Young frog from swampy grass, He ''tt gorge; then, turning, dare his foe To equal Jight and free,— Or salt, or fresh, while waters Jlow, No bolder fah than he. He never skulks, he never sulks, Above, below the food, With valiant lunge and prismy plunge, His challenge he V/ make good, Till every cunning trick is tried,— Ye gods! we Y/ haul him in, By gaff and net snatched from the tide, A vanquished paladin! The night-moth and the dragon-fly No more need fear his leap; No more on balanced Jin he Y/ lie Guarding his castle-keep. THE FRESH-WATER BASSES The Study of Fishes DURING the last quarter of a ...