IN THE DAYS OF SAIL 87 



completely ruined him. ' Before it came,' he said, ' I 

 could live without workin'. Now I'm forced to fish/ " 



Connected with the days of sail were many quaint 

 expressions and sayings, some of which are still em- 

 ployed, but with lessening force and meaning. Many 

 are pure localisms and quite incomprehensible to dwellers 

 outside the radius in which they are used. For ex- 

 ample, there is the term " Wrangem," which, although 

 fully understood by the fisherfolk of Scarborough, con- 

 veys no meaning to the stranger. " Wrangem " has 

 been in use for nearly a century, and may have had its 

 rise in the old custom of putting aside fish for drink, 

 unknown to the men's wives who, on that robust coast, 

 were quite as prompt to use their fists as their tongues 

 when need arose. There is another and more romantic 

 version of the origin of the word. In the old days 

 there dwelt in Scarborough a skipper of renown called 

 Wrangem, who was justly famed for the excellence of 

 his liquors. With him the fishermen did serious business 

 when they came in from the sea, and it was their 

 custom to put certain fish aside, and say as they did so, 

 "That'll do for Wrangem." By a simple process of 

 exchange the fish was represented by full-bodied grog 

 or other welcome refreshment. In course of time the 

 word was applied to all offal fish which was claimed, as 

 it used to be claimed, by apprentices, and also for 

 what the men caught by hook while the herring-boats 

 were riding at their nets, this fish being free from 

 auction dues. 



It was a common enough sight, until quite lately, on 

 the north-east coast to see men come ashore from 

 steam and sailing vessels carrying considerable quantities 



