MEN AND MANNERS 61 



information. Thacker coloured up and, turning on his heel, 

 walked away, to my friend's amazement, who shortly after, 

 to his great amusement, remembered the coincidence of 

 names. " Had it been any one but a gentleman gunner," 

 said Thacker to a chum " Well !" By which remark it was 

 to be inferred the Breydoner would have found his tongue 

 with a vengeance, for he had a rich and varied vocabulary at 

 hand, and could on occasion surprise even those who knew 

 him best. 



A gossip with one other ancient Breydoner, still living, 

 but who is feeble and exceedingly deaf, may be mentioned. 



Jack Gibbs recently sat by my fireside and made himself 

 very much at home. 



" Sixty year ago," said he, " small parcels of ruffs, with 

 frills on, used to frequent that little hilly bit of ground near 

 the old ashen tree. 1 It was very amusin' to see 'em fight : 

 very funny to see 'em dancing round each other, like so 

 many bantam cocks ; but they didn't hurt one another it 

 was all 'show'; they didn't even make the feathers fly, 

 and I never know'd 'em ever to draw blood. 



" Breydon altered ? I should think so. You know the 

 North Wall drain ? Well, I often had nets set in it the water 

 used to be quite fresh, and there was plenty of it and I 

 caught roach and perch and bream by the maund full 2 with 

 the butts (flounders). 



" I was babbin' one night near the ' London boat/ and 

 caught an eel about three-quarters of a pound in weight, and 

 noticed a lump in it. On skinnin' it I turned out a clay pipe 

 with a bit of the shank attached. No doubt some one had 

 dropt it, and the eel seized on it, as fish sometimes will seize 

 strange things movin' in the water. I caught a quarter-pound 

 eel once on a hook, and outside that eel I found a larger one, 

 nearly two pounds weight, that had been hooked through the 

 first one and couldn't clear itself. 



" There were queer accidents sometimes on Breydon. Old 

 ' Chivvers ' Parmenter, who shot there long afore my time, 



1 A well-known landmark that for many years reared its head on a marsh 

 adjoining the New Road, near the railway signal-box. It was blown down a 

 few years since during a heavy gale. 



2 A maund is a large wicker basket, used during the herring fishery season to 

 carry herrings from the luggers to the fish wharf for sale. These baskets often 

 float up Breydon. 



