EXPERIENCES & REMINISCENCES. 167 



wondered what brought him so frequently to the lake side, little 

 dreaming- he had any designs against myself or any of my 

 species. I have since heard it was a wicked lawyer who lured 

 me with that piece of paste. 



" Well ! he took me away from all my relatives and friends, 

 and worst of all from Bessy. He stowed me away in some 

 wet grass, and put me in a large basket on his back, and then 

 jolted me all the way to Grimsby, until my whole body, 

 including my dorsal fin, hurt most dreadfully. To cut short 

 this part of my sad experience, the aforesaid wicked and cruel 

 lawyer after keeping me in his bath for a day or two, carried 

 me to the Park and put me in the lake, where I found lots of 

 vulgar fish with no aristocratic connections or antecedents at 

 all. Certainly, there were some trout, which are all very well 

 in their way, but they only live 12 or 14 years, whereas my 

 species live for more than 200 years. It was useless forming 

 a friendship with a fish of such fleeting existence as that. My 

 weight was then nearly I3lbs. I roamed about the Park lake, 

 and soon found I was the only carp there. What a cruel fate 

 was mine ! Quite a young bachelor, and no means of com- 

 municating with my Croxby friends. It appears that some 

 one wrote to the Grimsby papers and stated that a fine carp 

 had been placed in the Park lake, and lots of people came to 

 look for me ; and because I was too timid to show myself to 

 them their first time of coming they seldom, if ever, came 

 again. Now, I know, Mr. Hopper, that you were the kind 

 gentleman who wrote to the papers and sent a list of the food 

 I was partial to, but some people brought new potatoes and 

 peas, without peeling the former or part boiling them or the 

 peas. They never washed the lettuces they threw in, and 

 seemed to think that as I was only a carp I was not particular 

 about the food I took or its cleanliness. You, Mr. Hopper, 

 however, came lots of times during the cherry season, and 

 threw in lots of that delicious fruit, which I enjoyed very 

 much. In return for your kindness and consideration, and to 

 show I was not ungrateful, I let you see me several times. 



