126 FISHING IN THE 



brace, beyond which it is competent, of course, 

 to go on fishing ; but there is no fun for either 

 fisherman or fish to catch and be caught only 

 to throw or be thrown back ; it is tantalizing to 

 the fisherman, and unnecessary torture to the 

 fish. I hooked several, but unfortunately failed 

 to land one in this pond ; that was rather my 

 misfortune than my fault. 



The second pond adjoins a renowned old 

 inn, "The Eight Bells," a famous resort for the 

 island excursionists in four-horse coaches. It 

 is really a charming old place ; at the back is a 

 large bowling-green, which abuts on the lake, 

 and al fresco luncheons are served under the 

 trees for the excursionists. There is also an 

 adjoining handsome dining-room, mainly re- 

 served, as I was told, for anglers, and there we 

 lunched. The weather was hot and sultry, so I 

 lingered under the trees whilst the Major in a 

 punt searched the lake from bottom to top 

 without, as far as I could see, getting a single 

 rise. One might have supposed that, like the 

 usual crowd of visitors to the hotel, the fish had 

 all gone off to the Review at Spithead. On such 

 a day, but for the Review, I was told there 

 would be eight or ten coach-loads of hungry 



