FISHES AND FISHING. " 11 



in the High Street of the town ; on one occasion 

 when my father was taking me there, and had nearly- 

 reached the door of the school, we were astonished to 

 see two short, fat, middle-aged, well-known inhabi- 

 tants, rush out of the church, where there had been 

 a vestry meeting, and the moment they reached the 

 street, they each knocked off the cocked hat and 

 bushy powdered wig of his opponent, then the 

 fashionable dress of that class of persons, and began to 

 pommel each other most furiously. A crowd soon col- 

 lected, and the post-boys (an impudent and numerous 



set of fellows) called out, ** Well done, B n ; hit 



him again B ^r." They were not separated until 



they had drawn blood from each other, and it was 

 some time before either could walk the streets with- 

 out eliciting the same cry from idle urchins or others ; 

 and I believe the circumstance gave rise to some em- 

 ployment for gentlemen of the long robe. 



I also remember seeing large bodies of troops pass 

 through the town to form a camp at Coxheath, and 

 the King, George III., also going through to inspect 

 it. Many ladies on horseback, and in phaetons, at- 

 tired in military costume, as to the upper part of 

 their dress, alone, or accompanied by officers, were 

 continually passing to the same place. 



The comforts and luxuries of my father's house at- 

 tracted a succession of visitors from London, and 



