206 NOTES ON FISH AND PISHING. 



been captured, a 61b. fish takes his last bait, and later on 

 a 10-pounder "bit gimp," and exchanged his watery 

 home for the flooring of the boat. lit jam vesper, &c, and 

 the winter's day was drawing to a close. The shore is 

 reached, and the spoil is counted, which showed twenty- 

 nine fish, all told, and a 2J lbs. perch. The twenty-nine 

 fish weighed exactly lcwt., with fib. over. All under 

 3 lbs. were returned to the water, to grow and " fight again 

 another day ." My brother angler, who, perchance, will see 



this brief record of our day at , will not be hurt at 



my saying that the four biggest fish fell to my rod ; and as 

 he has the 15-pounder in a case at his home now, he 

 should be satisfied at the ultimate result. Strung on a 

 pole, with a piece of cord through their gills, the reserved 

 fish were carried by the keeper and a rustic of the district 

 through the neighbouring town in a kind of triumphal pro- 

 cession, and to our hostelry, where a grand tureen of soup, 

 comprising every known vegetable, apparently every kind 

 of meat in junks, and crusts of bread and toast — meat, 

 drink, and clothing combined— recuperated the anglers 

 and the man of the steelyards and weight record. I 

 should like to immortalize the name of the inn and its 

 landlord for this excellent soup, but in doing so I might 

 be giving to the curious a clue to the name of the water 

 where we had our day's fishing. An offering was de- 

 spatched to the squire, another to the steward, another to 

 the village parson, the squire's brother, another to the 

 village doctor; and the landlord of the inn was not 

 forgotten. The balance arrived safely with the anglers 

 in London, who, though ardent fishermen, were too wise 

 gastronomically to eat of the produco of their rods. They 

 were contented with the sport. 



