THE FISHERIES. 65 



Ardglass. In company with a friend we made an 

 excursion from that locahty to witness a take of her- 

 rings during a serene night in August. We were 

 hardly on board when the lamentably defective state 

 of the tackle and fishing-gear came under observation, 

 and, on losing sight of the land, were quite dismayed 

 at finding that such a thing as a compass was not 

 amongst our naval stores. The Manx boats, how- 

 ever, were fishing in all directions about us ; what their 

 capture may have been we cannot say, but ours was 

 just what might be expected, very deficient ; indeed, 

 the nets were totally unfit for any operation on an 

 extensive scale. The value of a proper train of nets 

 is somewhere about £80, an amount which, we need 

 scarcely say, could not well be put together by any 

 boat's crew, from their own unaided resources; and, 

 indeed, our co-voyageurs seemed sunk in abject 

 poverty, brooding upon their misfortunes and the 

 depressing causes which baffled all their efforts at 

 industry. One of them, during our return home- 

 wards, '' did salutation to the morn," and, in plain- 

 tive note, sang for us the " Mountains of Mourne," 

 which were then heaving in sight — a fine, athlete 

 fellow, who, we thought, under proper discipline, 

 might have made a model seaman on board a man- 

 of-war or merchantman : the mournful cadence har- 

 monised but too well with the tattered garb and bro- 

 ken nets, and disappointed hopes of these uncultured 

 fishermen. The observations we then made, and the 

 reflections arising from them, satisfied us that these 



