AND OF STILL WATERS. 39 



"I will proceed to give you some observations of the 

 carp," says the Father of the Rod, "how to angle for 

 him, and to dress him, but not till he is caught . . . 

 and my first direction is, that if you will fish for a carp, 

 you must put on a very large measure of patience, . . . 

 and beind possessed with that hope and patience, which 

 I wish to all fishers, especially to the carp-angler, I 

 shall tell you with what bait to fish for him." 



Authorities are not unanimous as to the date 

 of the first introduction of carp into England, 

 but as it is mentioned as a " deyntous fysshe, 

 but scarce," in the Boke of St. Albans, printed 

 by Wynkyn de Worde at Westminster in 1496, 

 it is pretty obvious that Leonard Mascall was 

 wrong when he claimed in 1600 to have been 

 the introducer of this fish into English waters. 

 In the Privy Purse expenses of King Henry the 

 Eighth in 1532, are to be found various items 

 of rewards given to persons who brought " carpes 

 to the king." To those persons who have a 

 fancy for trying out-of-the-way dishes, we would 

 recommend Ben Jonson's tempting recipe, 



"The tongues of carps, dormice, and camels' heels 

 Boiled in the spirit of Sol." 



It is generally believed that these fish were 



