Fish Story

One of the prerogatives still left to the British Crown is the right to claim all sturgeon caught in British waters. It is a privilege few monarchs avail themselves of, for English sturgeon, unlike its zestier Russian cousin, is a flat and flavorless fish unfit for a Queen. For this reason, royalty's rights became a matter of mere second thought last week when Fisherman Fred Warman sailed into Grimsby with a 40-lb. sturgeon in his hold. Warman let the sturgeon go at auction along with the rest of his catch, to Fishmonger Oscar Cleve for 3s, 4 3/4d. (about 45-c-) a pound.

Cleve packed the sturgeon in ice and shipped it off to Yeovil to Fishmonger Tom Moore, who in turn earmarked it for a local hotel. After these practical matters had been attended to, Cleve bethought himself of form, and sent a telegram offering the fish to the Queen. Next day the startling reply came back from Sandringham, where the Queen was vacationing. "Your very kind offer accepted. Please send fish to comptroller."

Fishmongers Cleve and Moore both announced themselves astounded, and then set desperately to work to get the fish to the Queen before it spoiled. Moore waited in agony while an overdue train from Grimsby crept toward him through the fog. A crew of cold-storage experts stood by to repack the sturgeon in a new load of ice on Moore's truck. When all was set, Moore's general manager nipped off through the fog with the precious burden to London, 125 miles away. Meanwhile, in Grimsby, Fishmonger Cleve fretted for fear Moore was stealing the show. "The acceptance was to me," he insisted. "I offered the fish. I sent it to Mr. Moore on condition the Queen did not want it."

And did the Queen like the sturgeon? "Once the fish entered the palace," a lofty official told reporters, "it became a private, domestic matter."

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