IN THE MIDLANDS. 105 



thirty minutes this morning " he told his brother Neville- 

 he wrote seven four-line verses of elegy on the death of a 

 gentleman, drowned in the Trent while bathing, and says : 



" Of thee, as early I, with vagrant feet, 



Hail the grey-sandal'd morn in Colwick's vale; 

 Of thee my sylvan reed shall warble sweet, 

 And wild-wood echoes shall repeat the tale." 



When the dark days of disease and anxiety called upon 

 the poet to recruit his overworked frame he went across to 

 the little village of Wilford, near the Clifton woods, and it 

 was in its churchyard that he applied to the Trent the 

 designation I have repeated: 



" It is a lovely spot ! The sultry Sun, 

 From his meridian height, endeavours vainly 

 To pierce the shadowy foliage, while the zephyr 

 Comes wafting gently o'er the rippling Trent, 

 And plays about my wan cheek. 'Tis a nook most pleasant. " 



The Trent anglers according to my observation are more 

 sportsmanlike than their brethren of the Thames, and much 

 more skilful as " all-round " anglers. Punts on the Trent 

 are the exception instead of the rule ; and the Nottingham 

 anglers tell you that punt-fishing, pure and simple, is not 

 Waltonianism of the highest kind. In the meadows close to 

 Nottingham, even amongst the lads who find a livelihood in 

 catching dace for bait, a frank, generous spirit exists amongst 

 rivals, and there is no jealousy, grudging, or meanness. 

 The Nottingham system, viz., the running line and travelling 

 bait, is more artistic and telling than the tight line, and the 

 Thames and Colne men, recognising this, are adopting it 

 more and more. 



