CH. VII.] HERRINGS TAKEN WITH BAIT. 97 



our nobility. In fact they were so bad that we 

 had serious doubts whether it was worth while 

 to attempt fishing with them at all. However, our 

 spirit of enterprise prevailed over our doubts, and 

 we concluded to try our luck. The first omen of 

 our success was a Herring, which was caught with 

 a piece of one of his putrid predecessors, almost 

 as soon as we commenced fishing. I need hardly 

 say that the new-comer's appearance was hailed 

 with a shout of welcome, and that, in a trice, 

 bright strips from his sides were doing duty upon 

 all the available hooks. 



" At length they caught two boobies and a noddy, 

 And then they left off eating the dead body." 



After this god-send we began catching fish in 

 earnest, and were, in fact, as hotly engaged in 

 hauling in, baiting and letting down again as could 

 well be, until, remembering that the ladies would 

 be waiting dinner for us, we unwillingly wound up 

 our lines, having then been fishing only about a 

 couple of hours, and pulled homewards. 



It is very unusual for Herrings to be taken with 

 bait, but that which first gave us our real start, 

 was not the only one which we caught that day, 

 no less than eight others having been, one after 

 another, brought on board and converted into bait. 



H 



