LOUGH DERG. 227 



" So they do on some of the lakes in the 

 south of Ireland (Inchiquin for one), and I 

 wonder they do not on all," said the Captain. 

 " But this is a matter in which the legislature 

 ought to interfere. They manage these 

 things better abroad. When I was in Swit- 

 zerland, in the year 1846, a rascally English- 

 man launched his otter on the lake of Thun. 

 For a week or so the people all turned out to 

 see the sight ; but they soon had the sense to 

 discover, that if the fish were so caught and 

 so shied, they would immediately lose one 

 very profitable class of English travellers, the 

 fishermen. So they sent round the bellman, 

 or whatever other means they take for sum- 

 moning together their trumpery parliament, 

 made the affair a cabinet question, passed 

 the bill with a speed that would shame our 

 people at Westminster ; and the next morn- 

 ing our ingenious Englishman was civilly 

 informed, that another day of this particular 

 kind of fishing would provide him with 

 board and lodging for a month in the town 

 gaol, at the expense of the state of Berne." 



" Well, I really wish our own legislature 

 would condescend to follow this august 

 example," said the Parson. 



