PIKE AND OTHER FISHING 



whole party were now in high blood, and the delightful Ville 

 de Paris ^ quite manageable ; frequently he flew out of the 

 water to such a height, that though I knew the uncommon 

 strength of my tackle, I dreaded losing such an extraordinary 

 fish, and the anxiety of our little crew was equal to mine. 

 After about an hour and a quarter's play, however, we thought 

 we might safely attempt to land him, which was done in the 

 following manner : Newmarket, a lad so called from the place 

 of his nativity, Avho had now come to assist, I ordered, with 

 another servant, to strip and wade in as far as possible, which 

 they readily did. In the meantime I took the landing-net, 

 while Captain Waller, judiciously ascending the hill above, 

 drew him gently towards us. He approached the shore very 

 quietly, and we thought him quite safe, when, seeing himself 

 surrounded by his enemies, he in an instant made a last 

 desperate effort, shot into the deep again, and, in the exertion, 

 threw one of the men on his back. His immense size was now 

 very apparent ; we proceeded with all due caution, and, being 

 once more drawn towards land, I tried to get his head into the 

 net, upon effecting which, the servants were ordered to seize 

 his tail, and slide him on shore : I took all imaginable pains 

 to accomplish this, but in vain, and began to think myself 

 strangely awkAvard, when, at length, having got his snout in, 

 I discovered that the hoop of the net, though adapted to very 

 large pike, would admit no more than that part. He was, 

 however, completely spent, and in a few moments we landed 

 him, a perfect monster ! He was stabbed by my directions 

 in the spinal marrow, with a large knife, which appeared to 

 be the most humane manner of kilHng him, and I then ordered 

 all the signals with the sky-scrapers to be hoisted ; and the 

 whoop re-echoed through the whole range of the Grampians. 

 On opening his jaws to endeavour to take the hooks from him, 

 which were both fast in his gorge, so dreadful a forest of teeth, 

 or tusks, I think I never beheld ; if I had not had a double 

 link of gimp, with two swivels, the depth between his stomach 



' The name of the boat. 

 205 



