Colonel ZTbomas Vbornton 67 



him. The servants, foreseeing the consequences of my 

 situation, rowed with great expedition towards the fish, 

 which now rose about fifty yards from us, an absolute 

 wonder ! I relied on my tackle, which I knew was in 

 every respect excellent, as I had, in consequence of the 

 large pike killed the day before, put on hooks and gimp 

 adjusted with great care ; a precaution which would 

 have been thought superfluous in London, as it certainly 

 was for most lakes, though here barely equal to my fish. 

 After playing him for some time I gave the rod to 

 Captain Waller, that he might have the honour of landing 

 him, for I thought him quite exhausted, when to our 

 surprise, we were again constrained to follow the monster 

 nearly across this great lake, having the wind too, much 

 against us. . . . Frequently he flew out of the water to such 

 a height that, though I knew the uncommon strength of 

 my tackle, I dreaded losing such an extraordinary fish, 

 and the anxiety of our little crew was equal to mine. 

 After about an hour and a quarter's play, however, we 

 thought we might safely attempt to land him, which was 

 done in the following manner ; Newmarket, a lad so 

 called from the place of his nativity, who had now come 

 to assist, I ordered, with another servant, to strip and 

 wade in as far as possible, which they readily did. In 

 the meantime I took the landing-net, while Captain 

 Waller, judiciously ascending the hill above, drew him 

 gently towards us. He approached the shore very 

 quietly, and we thought him quite safe, when, seeing 

 himself surrounded by his enemies, he in an instant made 

 a last desperate effort, shot into the deep again, and, in 

 the exertion, threw one of the men on his back. His 



