HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



51 



Catfield bells,— four churches nearly placing us in 

 the centre of a cross ; but to none of these did we 

 owe so much at such a time as the latter. To hear 

 the music of these evening bells, "by distance 

 mellowed o'er the waters sweep," is enough to 

 recall nowadays many happy hours, when we listened 

 to them in the heyday of youth, before care had 

 marked— never mind ! 



Our rods for boat-fishing were light walking-stick 

 rods, ending in a braided silk line, with light swan's 

 quill float ; and, oh ! tell it not in Cockney-land, a 

 pair of hooks dangling at the end. It requires a 

 little practice to throw a pair of hooks just up to the 

 edge of the weeds, within two or three inches of 

 them, or into a bare spot, apparently not much larger 

 than a hand-basin, and not catch the reeds instead 

 of fish. To hook well into a reed in the midst of 

 good sport is no joke; you may tug and manoeuvre to 

 your heart's content, and have no sign of clearing, 

 unless by leaving the hook behind, until at last, in 

 desperation, the boat is quietly dropt down, and the 

 release accomplished. Of course no sport follows 

 for some time. What sport? Why, catching 

 "roud" to be sure ! Just such a quiet evening, of 

 all others, is' the time to make a good bag of this 

 fish. It is the " rudd," or, as locally called, the 

 "roud" [Cyprinus eryophtJiahmcs). The edge of a 

 reed bank is their delight, as well as a calm evening, 

 when they will swim out and in amongst the reeds, 

 knocking against them as they pass, so that all the 

 reeds seem to be trembling in unison. They are a 

 beautiful fish, with their golden sides and crimson 

 fins, especially when just fresh from their native 

 element. We seldom had more than ten or twelve 

 inches of foot-line between the hooks and the float ; 

 one hook hanging an inch or two below the other, 

 each baited with a ragged scrap of worm. Roach 

 often float amongst them, so that a stray roach or 

 two comes in with every score or two of rudd. 

 Their bite is so distinct that it is quite sufficient for 

 determining to which species the fish belongs. With 

 roach the float goes bob-bob-bob, straight up and 

 down ; but directly a rudd touches the bait, off he 

 swims with it into the reeds,— the float is sloped at 

 an angle of 45° and glides off. Two at a time, over 

 and over again, up they come, as fast as we can work, 

 hour after hour till it is deep into the night. Some- 

 times the merest shred of sodden skin of worm 

 conceals the tip of the hook, but, no matter, it is 

 taken, and again they rise in pairs. The sun is fast 

 sinking when the sport begins, and gradually the 

 gloom deepens, until at length it is impossible to see 

 our floats as we stand ; so we crouch down to get 

 them sideways or to bring them into the reflection 

 of some lighter part of the sky ; two or three of us 

 crouching together at the stern of the boat, 

 constantly whipping in the garnished hooks, and 

 whipping out the golden rudd. It was not always 

 that we could secure such sport, but we have done 



so on more than one occasion. Who could think 

 of time, or even of the " eternal pipe," under such 

 circumstances. At length, unable to see the floats 

 by any effort, we trusted awhile to the tug at the 

 end of the line, and many a good fish was the 

 reward of our labour. "And you call that angling?'' 

 half inquires some very scientific brother of the 

 craft. "Call it what you please," is our only answer; 

 "we caught the fish, and we thoroughly enjoyed it, 

 and you could do no more." 



In all seriousness this was a remarkable evening 

 " on the Broad." As we prepared to draw off for 

 the night, we heard the distant oars of friends 

 coming off in boats in search of us. Alarm had been 

 taken at home on account of the lateness of the 

 hour; it was believed that something serious had 

 happened, since it is quite possible to be drowned, 

 and very easily too, "on the Broad." 



The fish, which had been cast into the bottom of 

 the boat as they were caught, had to be gathered 

 up, but it was too dark to see them. By dint of 

 feeling, the majority of them were stowed in baskets, 

 and, when we reached the shore, we bore them 

 between us, slung to a pole and carried on our 

 shoulders. How many, or what weight there was, 

 no one can tell with exactitude ; but there is a faint 

 recollection that when counted out by candlelight, 

 the number was about three hundred, some a few 

 ounces, and many from three-quarters of a pound 

 to a pound in weight, and only three rods had been 

 at work, for not more than three hours. As we 

 rowed off joyfully, singing " Row, brothers, row," 

 we did not feel at all disposed to quarrel with any- 

 body. Old " Snuffers " himself would have been 

 treated with affection, instead of grim condemnation. 

 After a good day's sport your true angler is one of 

 the best-humoured of all "jolly good fellows." 



And thus ended our evening "on the Broad." 

 Let 'no one condemn us for cherishing this vision 

 of the past in our heart of hearts, as one of the 

 pleasant reminiscences of youthful days. There is 

 pleasure to be derived from such dreams, and even 

 the realities of our present days may in the future 

 give us occasion for dreams. It may be that these 

 dreams will excite pleasurable emotions, Or it may 

 be painful ones. Much depends on the contrast 

 which after-years may afford to the present. Ask 

 an old naturalist to cull from his memory scenes of 

 his most robust enjoyment in the past, and it 

 seems to us exceedingly probable that some country 

 excursion, in the enjoyment of the hospitality of a 

 friend, will give the most vivid dreams. Cockneys 

 think that moors, and fens, and broads must be 

 dreary places for a man to withdraw into for enjoy- 

 ment ; and so they would be to the despondent 

 and melancholy ; but, in the vigour of health and 

 in good companionship, and with a purpose withal, 

 to furnish occupation, commend us to a day " on 



the Broad." 



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