30 FISHES AND FISHING. 



through a deeper part ashore. I went to the porter's 

 lodge, got into his bed, between the blankets, whilst 

 my clothes were being dried at the furnace-fires, and 

 my father never knew I had been in the water till 

 some years afterwards. All of us, except my mother, 

 enjoyed our barbel, baked, with a pudding in his 

 belly, with some savoury gravy; and a friend of ours 

 having come from London to our house, on an angling 

 excursion, dined with us, and anticipated what rare 

 sport HE should have with his beautiful tackle, if a 

 boy like me could take such a fish. I had three or 

 four holidays to go out angling with him. I shewed 

 him all the best spots, and we had capital sport ; 

 when he went away, he gave me quite a stock of 

 tackle, so that I was completely furnished as an an 

 gler for bottom fishing ; and my father, after the visit 

 of our friend, did not object to my reasonable use of 

 the amusement, to which he saw I was attached. 



Amongst my father's men, there was one who had 

 been all his life-time a fisherman, and I now believe 

 was not very particular how he caught fish, so that he 

 only obtained them. We had a great number of 

 pike in our waters, and large eels, which were very 

 destructive of other species of the finny tribes. This 

 man taught me how to lay trimmers, and I often suc 

 ceeded in taking pike from three to eight pounds in 

 weight, and eels two to three pounds. When I came 



