196 FISHES AND FISHING. 



applied them on going to bed, but was soon awakened 

 by intense pain. At an early hour poor old Nanny 

 was called by her master ; she put on her spectacles, 

 and exclaimed, " La, sir ! why they be two as fine 

 blisters as 1 ever did see." The surgeon boldly de- 

 clared, that Nanny explained herself so very imper- 

 fectly, that he thought he did quite right in sending 

 what he had done, and so availing himself of the old 

 maid's delicacy, he avenged himself for the trick 

 the tanner had played him, who discovered that he 

 had had the worst of the joke, and that it is dange- 

 rous to play with edged tools. The story became 

 known, and the tanner, instead of laughing, as he ex- 

 pected, at his angling friends, was laughed at himself. 

 In 1813, 1 joined my family with that of a friend, 

 who had obtained a large house and pleasure grounds, 

 and land, upon very reasonable terms, on the borders 

 of Henhault Forest. Outside our gates, upon the 

 waste, there was a large pond, the water of which 

 was very clear, and the bottom a loamy gravel ; a 

 one end there was a clear space, about twenty feet 

 out, — the rest of the pond was full of a wiry weed. 

 My friend's sons, and a young gentleman of my 

 family, though we had two fish ponds in our own 

 grounds, went outside to this pond to fish ; in about 

 an hour they caught a large dish full of fine perch ; 

 but they lost several hooks, which I attributed to 



