THE VEND ACE 115 



sport of fishing, and afterwards feasted on the 

 catch. 



According to Mr. Robert Service, a second club, 

 the St. Magdalene's Vendace Club, was on some- 

 what democratic lines ; occasionally as many as two 

 thousand people assembled at the fishing, and various 

 athletic sports were engaged in after the netting was 

 over for the day. 



Both Vendace clubs became defunct, but about 

 four years ago one was re-established, but so far 

 has not had a very successful career, the annual 

 netting procuring only about half a dozen Vendace 

 on each occasion. When I was at Lochmaben, it 

 was explained to me that this probably did not 

 indicate that the fish were getting scarce, but was 

 due to the fact that the fishermen had not had the 

 good fortune to strike a shoal. 



The Vendace is a great delicacy, resembling the 

 Smelt in flavour, but its reputation as a food-fish 

 is enhanced by its restricted distribution and the 

 difficulty of procuring it. 



The inhabitants of Lochmaben look upon the 

 Vendace as a mysterious fish peculiar to their lakes, 

 a fish in which they take a pride, and one concerning 

 which there are many curious traditions. 



The legend that the Vendace was introduced 

 from the Continent by Mary, Queen of Scots, who 

 visited Lochmaben in 15 65, is still believed in by 

 a number of people. The improbability that in 

 those days so delicate a fish could have been 

 brought so great a distance and successfully estab- 

 lished in strange waters, and the fact that the fish 

 is unknown on the Continent, although a closely 

 related form inhabits Derwentwater, sufficiently dis- 



