EXPERIENCES & REMINISCENCES. 103 



so satisfied Twynkles that he had hold of something a bit more 

 lively than a sunken barge. After a lot of boring down, how- 

 ever, he had to come to the surface, and in another five minutes 

 Mr. Hopper had him in the capacious net, and Twynkles' 

 first barbel just pulled down the scale at 4ilbs. a very 

 thick, short, well-conditioned fish. 



Barbel almost invariably, on being struck, bolt away a good 

 distance, but this fish, for some reason known only to himself, 

 (Mr. Hopper believes it was a gentleman fish,) reversed his usual 

 tactics and remained quite stationary at first. Probably he 

 thought to himself, " I'll lay low at first ; it's only Twynkles ; and 

 then I'll make a sudden bolt and break him." If so he miscalcu- 

 lated upon the forces opposed to him and there certainly was a 

 certain amount of brute force and his bleached bones are now 

 on the dung-heap in Charlie Cobb's back yard, that burly 

 labourer having feasted off him to his heart's and stomach's 

 content next day. It is always necessary to keep a tight line on 

 a barbel, and when he is exhausted put the landing net in the 

 water as carefully as possible. Never dash the net in the 

 water right in front of his nose, or, as an old angler once said, 

 " Perhaps the sudden fright may make him give an unexpected 

 bolt when you are not prepared for it." Doing this may lose 

 both fish and tackle, and the angler with poetic imagination 

 will perhaps think of the quotation 



The waters wild closed o'er the child, 

 And I am left lamenting. 



Mr. Hopper has devoted a good deal of space to Twynkles' 

 first barbel, but then it was his first, and that means a great 

 deal in an angler's career. It is an "event," and when.it takes 

 place the day is a red-letter one and ever to be remembered. 

 The moral to be deduced from Twynkles' first barbel is 

 always be provided with a leather socket in which to put the 

 butt of your rod, as it will enable you to " hold on " properly. 

 For reasons peculiar to himself Mr. Hopper does not so pro- 

 vide himself ; but then he hasn't a " corporation " like 

 Xwynkles, who, needless to relate, was in the seventh heaven 

 of delight at his prowess, and having put ashore and appro- 



