GUDGEON AND BLEAK, 333 



another pair?" but Julia declines with thanks the proffered 

 "glove," and suggests that when she accepted it before "your 

 hand wasn't in." The little sharper ! Well, so she is sharper 

 than you at all events ; and she might have accepted your 

 challenge, sir, with the utmost safety if she had chosen to 

 bleed you ; for she is one of the best gudgeon-fishers on the 

 Thames, and when ladies do take in earnest to catching gudgeon, 

 let me tell you they beat the lords of creation into fits. " Bless 

 you ! " as a Smithfield butcher once observed to me d fropos 

 of sticking pigs, " it comes nat'ral to 'em." 



But how's this? The gudgeon have all at once left off 

 biting. Half-a-dozen swims without a nibble "give them 

 another rake." You do, till your arms ache. But you might 

 just as well give them another spade for any effect it produces. 

 Stay I see ! My friend, Mr. Perca ftuviatilis, is below, and the 

 process of biting, so far as the gudgeon are concerned, is taking 

 a passive instead of an active form. Try him with a pater- 

 noster ; whilst he stops there nothing will bite, depend upon it, 

 you might as well try and tempt a snake-fascinated parroquette 

 with a caterpillar ! Ha ! I have him . . . a John, by all the 

 powers ! a big, bullying pike, come here to make a breakfast. 

 Julia, the landing net quick don't wait till he's done up, but 

 pop it under him the moment you get a chance, for whilst he 

 can show fight he keeps his tail towards you and his head down, 

 with the gut in the corner of his great mouth where he's got no 

 teeth ; but as soon as he's beaten, his mouth slews round, and 

 the line will be in the breakers in a moment. So bravely 

 done ! a six-pounder at the least and in capital condition. 



But what on earth can Charley and Blanche be about all 

 this time ? They actually haven't begun yet ! Well, the fact 

 is that Blanche and Charley have contrived to get their two 

 lines into a most vigorous tangle, and somehow the juxta- 

 position of so many pair of taper fingers doesn't seem to have 

 much expedited matters. 



But there ! What's the good of talking and making myself 



