CHAPTER XVII 



WITH ROD AND LINE 



MANY, both great and small, are the fishes I have caught with rod 

 and line, and, although I angle no more, having long since given 

 up the " gentle art " as Walton would say, a place must assuredly 

 be found for a few of my fishing experiences in this volume. 



As indicated in the opening chapter, " How I Became a 

 Naturalist," angling had for me, as a small boy, youth, and young 

 man, an indefinable charm. It took me into the open air, it 

 enabled me to study at close quarters many aquatic creatures, 

 and, even if my creel was often empty, I was able to spend long 

 days by the water's side, which helped to cement more firmly the 

 inherent love I possessed for Wild Nature. 



I remember how expectantly we used to look forward to those 

 fishing expeditions, always in private waters, and how, on the 

 night previous to the excursion, great preparations were made, 

 getting rods, tackle, food, and bait together. On many a stormy 

 night I have been out of doors searching for Earthworms upon 

 the grass plot, vainly endeavouring to rescue a fat lobworm 

 from its subterranean dwelling-place, and, at the same time, to 

 keep the candle from blowing out. We rarely commandeered 

 any other bait except worms, and nearly always secured a supply 

 under the cover of darkness, when these useful mould-makers 

 steal above ground for the purpose of obtaining food, so as to 

 deposit their casts, and perpetuate their race. 



My earliest recollection of being by the water's edge watching 

 a float goes back some thirty-six years, when my family (great 

 fishers all !) used to regularly visit the fine expanse of the River 

 Lea in Brocket Hall Park, the seat of Lord Mountstephen. In 

 those days the present owner of the estate was in Canada, making 

 railways and fortune with Lord Strathcona, and the Earl Cowper 

 was, I believe, then in residence. Brocket Hall acquires its 

 name from Sir John Brocket, who died in 1599, and whose tomb 

 is in Hatfield church. Lord Palmerston resided at the former, 

 and died there in 1865. It was a wonderful place in which to 



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