AND HOW I HAVE CAUGHT MY FISH 291 



Burgh's, Godfrey's, Iver, Uxbridge, Rickmans- 

 worth, or never-to-be-forgotten Mercer's Mill, at 

 West Drayton, where, as a lad, my uncle, a clever 

 angler, gave my cousin and me a lesson in angling. 



At that time I was not so unmindful of hunger, 

 while the fish bit, as now, and about twelve I per- 

 suaded my relatives that it was time to lunch. 

 A veal and ham pie was produced and placed 

 upon the low wall overlooking the mill tail ; just 

 then our tutor hooked a large chub, and, as I 

 rushed to pick up the landing net, I quite forgot 

 my hunger and the means of satisfying it ; un- 

 fortunately, I touched that veal and ham pie with 

 my elbow, and it toppled over into ten feet of 

 water. I can see the swinging motions of that 

 slowly sinking pie quite plainly yet. 



Many years since the two miles of the river 

 Colne immediately adjacent to Wraysbury station 

 was the property of Mr. Laddell. He was as 

 generous a man as any angler could wish to 

 approach and I fear that I and four others must 

 plead guilty to having trespassed far too freely on 

 his kindness, which proved to be as unlimited as 

 the sport in his river. We used to walk from the 

 station to his house and ask for Mr. Laddell, and 

 in a twinkling he was with us, bearing a smile, the 

 owner of which could never say " nay," and his 

 " yes " was invariably accompanied with a sort of 

 half-wicked shake of the head which said, "You 

 are a nice five, I can see." 



u 2 



