170 ANGLING 



ordinary letter is finished. She desires to explain that owing 

 to some unaccountable reason the above letter, although written 

 just upon ten years ago, never reached the hands of Mr. 

 Hopper until the year of grace 1901. However, that circum- 

 stance did not prevent her nuptials with her old lover taking 

 place in the early spring of the year 1892. Mr. Hopper was 

 to have " given her away," but not having received the foregoing 

 communication of her intended husband he was not present, 

 and none of her relations being in the lake, the ceremony was 

 a quite private one and being " of age " Bessy " gave herself 

 away," and she has never since regretted the choice she made, 

 for Cyprinus Carpio has proved a model and most excellent 

 husband. 



In May of 1892 I (Bessy) started with what may seem a 

 rather large family. There were 600,000 of them and I felt 

 weak and out of sorts and out of condition until the following 

 July, when I began to recuperate and was able to exercise a 

 certain amount of control and restraint over the members of my 

 large family it was a case of the survival of the fittest, and 

 several hundred thousand of my progeny died as is usually the 

 case, but still many tens of thousands survived the crucial 

 period of their infancy and some of my first year's family are 

 now getting nicely on and are strong and vigorous. I have had 

 a large family each year since, but my pride is naturally 

 centred in my first " brood " of youngsters. About five years 

 after their birth the strongest and most robust of my children 

 began to be more self reliant, and although shy and wary as 

 becomes the carp species they would when bread was thrown 

 into the lake make a dash to the surface of the water to secure 

 the edible morsels and many were the conversations which I 

 (Bessy) heard from the frequenters of the Park who were not 

 learned in piscatorial matters. 



It was a matter of general wonderment and speculation what 

 species of fish my family were some thought they were roach, 

 some suggested they were dace, and others that they were 

 tench Mr. Hopper was frequently there when these conversa- 

 tions were taking place, and he explained that they could not 



