139 



as well as in fresh ; and it must be admittedthough 

 the fact militates against our derivation of Anglia 

 from " Angling," that the people of Sussex, about 

 678, were so ignorant of the "gentle art," that the 

 only fish that they knew how to catch were eels, which 

 they probably managed to capture after the primitive 

 fashion of "bobbing" with a pottle of hay. St. Wil- 

 fred, however, taught them the art of fishing with 

 nets, and with hooks and lines ; and thus enabled 

 them, at a period of famine, to procure a supply of 

 food from their own rivers and bays. " This Bishop," 

 says the venerable Bede, who records the event, 

 " gained the affections of the people of Sussex to a 

 wonderful degree by teaching them this useful art; 

 and they listened the more willingly to his preach- 

 ing from whom they had received so great a bene- 

 fit." St. Wilfred probably acquired his knowledge 

 of sea-fishing at Lindisfarn or Holy Island, where he 

 was educated; and, as angling was allowed to eccle- 

 siastics as a recreation, it is not unlikely that the 

 Saint may have fished fly for salmon in the Tyne, 

 when he was bishop of Hexham. 



Sea-fishing, with hook and line, though compre- 

 hended by Professor Rennie under the general term 

 "Angling," does not come within the scope of oar 

 " Souvenir," otherwise, we might here insert certain 

 " Recollections of Cod-fishing," which, perchance, might 

 prove more lengthy than interesting. We will, how- 

 ever, do better; we will embellish this portion of 

 the volume with a few illustrations of coast scenery, 



