Paying the Pike. 81 



in respect to water and food, that no general rule can be laid down for 

 it. In some places pike will hardly grow a pound a year ; in others, 

 they have been known to grow eight or nine pounds. In this latter 

 case, the consumption of food was necessarily very large. I am satisfied 

 that big pike do not naturally feed every day ; perhaps not more than 

 twice, or at most three times a week. The pike is like the boa constrictor ; 

 he has a great gorge, and then lies torpid and dormant while digestion 

 proceeds — indeed, he will often eat one fish which will take him 

 twenty-four hours or more to swallow — the head part of the fish being 

 completely digested while the tail sticks out of Ms mouth, still hard 

 and firm. 



Dear J., — I've got a day on Lord Tompson's water for self and friend. I mean to go 

 the first open day in February, so rig out some big live snaps and watch the weather. I'll 

 take the lunch, and I will leave the drinks and baits to you. 



Thine Piscatorially. 



Thus I wrote, some years ago, to my friend J., a slayer of mighty 

 pike, indeed, his friends call him " Jack-the- Giant killer." Now, I am 

 not going to tell you where Lord Tompson's water is — old pike fishers 

 keep these things to themselves ; and you need not look for Lord 

 Tompson's name in the peerage, and so on to his country seat, because 

 it isn't in it, and I shan't give what old Nicholas used to call "my 

 sportive readers" a chance to mob Lord T. with letters for asking per- 

 mission. The cheek and perseverance of the London pike fisher in 

 pursuit of permissions for his recreation is unbounded ; and the ingenious 

 multiplicity of pleas which he will put in to a perfect stranger, of 

 whom he knows nothing save that he has some pike fishing, is wonderful. 

 Old D., the well-known cricketer, was a desperate hand at ferreting 

 out permissions ; but he got a rebuff once, which made him look aU 

 round the compass, and wonder whether he was D. or some one else who 

 had been " stumped " for a " duck's egg." There was a grand match 

 on at Lord's, and old Squire L. of L. always attended all the matches at 

 Lord's. D. happened to hear that he had about the best pike fishing in 

 the Kingdom, but was rather " sticky " in giving orders ; but thinking 

 that when he got him well on in a chat over his favourite pastime he 



M 



