A DAY WITH THE OUSE PIKE 87 



returning three smaller ones ; these fish were taken on my 

 old and favourite spoon. On the right-hand bank the 

 fishing then belonged to Mr. Cardell, of Great Paxton, who 

 fitted up a couple of cottages that stand on a hill overlook- 

 ing the river, for the convenience of visitors. On the left- 

 hand side the water belonged to Squire Thornhill, of 

 Diddington, and Mr. Priestley, of Offord Mill. The latter 

 gentleman issues tickets at a small cost to strangers and 

 visitors. 



Once when I was fishing the swim opposite those old 

 cottages just named, I found a reed- warbler's nest, built 

 cunningly to the stems of three tall reeds ; in the nest a 

 young cuckoo gaped and grew amazingly ; he sprawled 

 over the top of the nest, completely hiding it from view. 

 That wide-open yellow mouth took more filling than the 

 two tiny foster-parents could cram into it. I never saw 

 birds work so hard as did those reed- warblers ; nearly 

 every minute one or the other was bringing something ; 

 hour after hour this continued, and still that wide-open 

 yellow mouth, like Oliver Twist, " asked for more." But 

 it met with speedy destruction ; a boy with a catapult 

 strolled down, spotted that nest, and before I could stop 

 him killed the inmate. The village schoolmaster hap- 

 pened to be there for a walk, so he cut out the nest, reeds 

 and all, took it home and preserved it, using it as an object- 

 lesson for his scholars. 



The water below Offord Mill, and stretching to the 

 Poplars, the railway bridge, and Brampton Mill, belongs 

 to the Earl of Sandwich ; but it is rented by the Hunting- 

 don Angling Association, who grant tickets at a small cost. 

 This is capital spinning water ; every inch of it can be 

 tried, some of the water is very deep, and holds pike of a 

 large size. The water all down from our starting-point 

 to, say, miles lower, past Huntingdon, Hartford, Houghton, 

 and the Hemingfords, will give plenty of work for three 

 days' spinning. If our angler starts from Godmanchester 

 Bridge, he will find a boat more than useful ; in fact, there 



