A BOOK OF FISHING STORIES 



and Armenians have long been established on its shores, work- 

 ing the " talian " and other nets in local use. The water is of 

 great depth out in the middle, and harbours tunny, sword- 

 fish, and other monsters ; but at the edges it is very shallow, 

 and here it is that, on either shore, splendid bass may be taken 

 soon after daybreak with rod and line and a bait consisting of 

 several live prawns on a large hook. This fishing, for my 

 introduction to which I was indebted to the Whittalls, who 

 have for more than one generation resided at Moda, opposite 

 Constantinople, gave me many exciting experiences ; but it 

 was the capture of my second seventeen-pounder that fur- 

 nished an episode unparalleled in my angling memories of 

 five continents. We had slept out in the caique that night, 

 Nikko, my Greek gillie and factotum, and myself, and a little 

 after three, as usual, just as the splendid moon of those Tur- 

 kish summer nights was paling before the Conqueror out of 

 the East, I thrust my foot into Nikko 's stomach and thus awak- 

 ened him to his duties. As we used to sleep out on the placid 

 Gulf in our clothes, with a sail thrown over all to keep off the 

 dew, we were soon at work, Nikko pulling sleepily at the oars, 

 and I paying out line so that the bunch of kicking prawns 

 might come well round in the shallows close to the reeds be- 

 hind which water buffalo were already on the move. Some- 

 where, in a little coppice close by, a nightingale was gurgling 

 joyously, and two sleepy grey herons went flapping through 

 the dim light to their fishing grounds. I was only half awake 

 myself, and lazily marked these sights and sounds, and remember 

 them to this day, for they were the prelude to a swift awaken- 



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