The celebrated St. Anthony is among the believers in the consummate happiness of the finny tribe. There is on record a discourse said to have been preached by him to an assembly of fish, in which they are flattered to an amazing extent. It almost rouses one's jealous ire to find such fulsome adulation bestowed upon the lower animals, at the expense of all other objects in nature, not excepting _man_ himself. There is, however, such a singular force and truthfulness in some of the expressions and sentiments which occur in the Jesuitical discourse alluded to (given by Addison in his 'Remarks on Italy'), that I cannot resist the temptation of quoting a few of its most prominent passages. We are told that St. Anthony, feeling annoyed at certain heretics not listening devoutly to his preaching, he determined to teach them a lesson; and for this purpose went down to the sea-shore, and called the fishes together in the name of God, that they might hear his holy word. The fish soon swam towards the speaker in vast shoals, and, having ranged themselves, according to their several species, into a very beautiful congregation, were addressed just as if they had been rational creatures. The sermon commences in the following words:-- 'My dearly-beloved Fish,--Although the infinite power and goodness of God discovers itself in all the works of his creation, as in the heavens, in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars--in the lower world, in man, and in other perfect creatures,--nevertheless, the goodness of the divine Majesty shines out in you more eminently, and appears after a more particular manner, than in any other created beings. 'It is from God, my beloved fish, that you have received being, life, motion, and sense. It is he that has given you, in compliance with your natural inclinations, the whole world of waters for your habitation. It is he that has furnished it with lodgings, chambers, caverns, grottoes, _and such magnificent retirements as are not to be met with in the seats of kings or in the palaces of princes_! 'You have the water for your dwelling--a clear, transparent element, brighter than crystal; you can see from its deepest bottom everything that passes on its surface. You have the eyes of a lynx or of an Argus; you are guided by a secret and unerring principle, delighting in everything that may be beneficial to you, and avoiding everything that may be hurtful; you are carried on by a hidden instinct to preserve yourselves, and to propagate your species; you obey, in all your actions, works, and motions, the dictates and suggestions of nature, without the least repugnance or contradiction.