86 ANGLING 



which was done, but the bream would have none of us they 

 came to the top of the water, winked one eye at Witchdorter 

 and the other at Mr. Hopper, as much as to say, "all right, old 

 gentlemen ! we, know you and your little game you've been 

 here 13 years running and you have taken away a lot of our 

 nearest relatives weighing as much as 4lbs. each and as we are 

 up to your wiles you may sit in your boat and smoke you 

 won't catch us put that in your pipes and smoke it." The 

 bream were right certainly one delicate looking individual was 

 captured but goodness gracious ! he was a bag of bones, and 

 had either been disappointed in love (if fish are so affected) or 

 had been off his grub a very long time. The " Dubbs " did not 

 yield well so it was decided to go back to dinner and drop down 

 for the barbel later on in the afternoon, and therefore the stone 

 was brought up, Mr. Hopper put ashore with the hauling line 

 over his back and he soon (a matter of 60 minutes) trotted 

 Witchdorter back to the Ferry, that gallant old craftsman 

 (except when a bit of rowing had to be done) doing the easy in 

 the stern of the boat, and puffing away at his much-loved pipe. 

 In the afternoon it was decided to have a try at the Bream 

 Swim so the boat was taken up the river, Mr. Hopper as usual 

 doing the hauling from the bank and Witchdorter making 

 believe, as he reclined in the stern of the boat, that he was 

 doing all the work, whereas he was so abominably lazy and 

 inattentive to his duties, that twice he caused the boat to 

 ground and once he nearly turned it over, a due regard how- 

 ever for his own precious skin brought him to a lively sense of 

 his responsibilities and peril, and Mr. Hopper had no further 

 cause to complain before the fishing ground was reached. The 

 temporary absence of Witchdorter's usual skill as a boatman, 

 brought to Mr. Hopper's mind the school-boy's mock latin 

 verse of unknown origin 



Patres Conscript! took a boat and went to Philippi, 

 Stormum surgebat, et bpatum overturnebat, 

 Omnes drownderunt, qui swim-away non potuerunt, 

 Excipe John Periwig, who was tied to the tail of a dead pig. 



Three Nottingham anglers had most assiduously fished the 

 bream swim without result for three days, and it was therefore 



