16 ANGLING REMINISCENCES. 



whole delight it was to destroy the unanimity of the 

 club, by preventing with his vote, on every occa- 

 sion, the execution of its wishes. 1 In vain were 

 appeals made to him by the various members; he in- 

 sisted upon his privilege of marring their intentions 

 when he thought proper ; and being threatened with 

 expulsion, made use of certain gestures, which gave 

 the club to understand that his enmity was by 

 no means to be disregarded. Therefore it was 

 that the peace-loving and irresolute fraternity at 

 C h made up their minds to endure what with- 

 out peril they could not prevent therefore it was 

 that their numbers gradually dwindled away, it 

 being the pleasure of Mr Cockle-pate to oppose 

 every attempt to replenish them. 



At length, however, after a protracted dictator- 

 ship, this foe to good fellowship walked off the stage 

 of life, and it was thought necessary, on the part of 

 the club, to take immediate measures for effecting 

 its own revival. To introduce, however, a bevy of 

 middle-aged anglers, even were they able to accom- 

 plish such an object, would be at once to relinquish 

 their own ground, and change the whole nature of 

 the establishment. Ancients like themselves they 

 never dreamt of; they designed to give perpetuity 

 to their club ; and as a first step towards the mea- 

 sure, we were hauled in, then Jack Leister and 

 Tom Otter, all of us mere infants, just breeched. 

 The lovings of a senile heart, it may be remarked, 

 are ever with the young. Old men lose regard for 



