EXPERIENCES & REMINISCENCES. 171 



be roach because not only were their numbers too great, 

 but roach did not dash to the surface in the quick manner the 

 members of my family did ; nor were they, he said, dace, as 

 they were too thick-bodied for that species, and also too 

 numerous; nor were they tench, as my youngsters were a 

 rough scale fish, and quite unlike a tench in appearance or 

 habits. Mr. Hopper was quite right when he said they were 

 the decendants of Bessy and her mate he told the people by 

 the lake side that he knew Bessy had married the carp which 

 the wicked lawyer had caught and put in the lake, because a 

 year or so after I had been placed in the lake he had seen me 

 swimming alongside the other big carp, when the water of the 

 lake had been run quite low, and he knew from the fact of our 

 swimming so close together, and in so friendly a manner, that 

 we were of opposite sexes, as neither two big male fish nor two 

 female fish of so large a size and of our species would swim 

 along in close proximity to one another. 



I have also heard people remark that the water in the lake 

 was a bad colour owing to the fish stirring up the mud. How do 

 they know ? Some golden coloured Prussian carp were put in 

 the lake some years ago, as a gift, I understand, by a German 

 lady, but we, from Croxby, don't recognise them as belonging 

 to us at all, and we hold aloof from them, in fact we cut them 

 dead and have never called upon them. They are always 

 showing themselves off at the top of the water, and have no 

 self respect nor any sense of decency. My descendants have 

 been strictly warned against intermarrying with them, and I 

 am confident they will never do so. In conclusion, my husband 

 desires me to say that we both hope and expect to live at 

 least another 150 years, so we shall see many generations of 

 Grimbarians pass away. I must now conclude this long 

 postscript, but I wanted to say what I have, so as to get it 

 into Mr. Hopper's book, and let his readers know that we 

 were properly married, and have had about 600,000 children 

 each year. So good bye, Mr. Hopper, and all dear Grimsby 

 people. 



BESSY. 



