EXPERIENCES & REMINISCENCES. 49 



of Mr. Esox Lucius. Well, how far had Mr. Hopper got 

 before he wandered away ? Oh, yes, his father had a book a 

 very old edition of "The Complete Angler." This book 

 recorded the capture of a pike of lyolbs. weight in a pool 

 which had been a disused chalk-pit. The parish clerk was 

 trolling, and caught his foot on some encumbrance on the edge 

 of the pool, and, like Mr. Hopper has done on at least two 

 occasions, tumbled off terra firma into the water. The huge 

 monster of the pool made for the unfortunate parish clerk, and 

 the old gentleman only managed to save his bacon by scrambling 

 out at the side just as the voracious fish was going to make, or 

 at any rate endeavour to make, a meal of him. Whether the 

 old angler would have made a palatable morsel is not recorded, 

 but Mr. Hopper does not doubt that, if captured, the clerk 

 would have been carried off to the pike's lurking place and 

 there leisurely swallowed and digested. Having recovered 

 from his fright our trolling friend told of his narrow escape to 

 his fellow villagers, who it is needless to say were somewhat 

 sceptical about the truth of the plain unvarnished tale related to 

 them by their angling neighbour. However, it was decided to test 

 the accuracy of his statement by running off the water from the 

 pool. This was done, and at the bottom lay in a half 

 submerged state the clerk's lyolb. enemy. Cart ropes were 

 obtained and fastened round his ponderous frame, and he was 

 dragged from his haunt, knocked on the head, and found to pull 

 down the scale at the aforesaid enormous weight. Of course 

 Mr. Hopper cannot vouch for the accuracy of the narrative, but 

 would good old Izaak have introduced it into the pages of his 

 famous book unless there was foundation for what he recorded ? 

 Every angler knows that the excessive voracity of the pike is 

 proverbial. It will readily attack a fish of its own size, and in 

 addition to fish will prey upon frogs, water rats, and even 

 ducklings. 



There is a picture in an issue of The Fishing Gazette of a 

 female pike, weighing 29lbs., which was found some little time 

 back in the lake at Ewhurst Park, Basingstoke, the seat of Lord 

 Alexander Russell. It had apparently met its death in the vain 



