24 THE GUDGEON. 



nows, especially in hot weather, from one place to 

 another, fill the bottle half full of water, insert the 

 fish, and cork it tightly down. Of course, this is 

 all against philosophy, analogy, and so forth, but 

 it is the true method, I have proved it. Now for 

 the gudgeon. 



Gudgeon-fishing may be considered as the very 

 accidence of the grammar of fishing, and, unless 

 with the minnows I have referred to, I could hardly 

 commence lower in the scale than with the phase 

 of Thames angling known as " gudgeon-fishing." 

 Reader ! do not curl your lip in scorn ! Thames 

 angler! dread not a sneer! We have heard your 

 craft contemned, we have known it mentioned 

 with deprecatory and faint praise, as though it 

 required an excuse. In our estimation, nothing of 

 the sort holds place ; we are fishermen pure and 

 simple. As a learned judge said to his brother 

 judge at a bar-dinner, "No, brother; not bad 

 port wine : there is no bad port wine ; some port 

 is better than other but there is no bad port 

 wine." So say we of fishing : some fishing is 

 better than other, but there is no bad fishing ; and 

 we would rather angle for a stickleback in a ditch, 

 or a newt in a tank, than not angle at all. There 

 are degrees, too, in gudgeon-fishing. Every man, 

 .no doubt, can catch gudgeons; but one will catch a 



