108 FISH CULTUEE. 



the guard's van. Alas ! the troubles of the little 

 fellows were not yet over. When the train drew up 

 at Vauxhall, the guard rushed to our carriage with 

 consternation upon his face. ' Oh, pray, gentlemen, 

 come to the van ! I hadn't turned my h&ck half a 

 miiiute before a [blank] fool of a porter shoved in a 

 package, and turned over your barrel of fish, and 

 nearly all the water has run out.' This was sad news 

 ^to weather this long journey of nearly 2,000 miles 

 successfully, and then to be shipwrecked between 

 Waterloo-bridge and Twickenham ! Out we rushed, 

 and into the van. The guard's report was too true ; 

 but I at once ascertained that some water was left in 

 the barrel. ' Water ! water ; ' I shouted, louder than 

 Coleridge's Ancient Mariner probably did, and for- 

 tunately a porter had time to fetch just one bucket 

 from the pump, which we managed to get into the 

 barrel. The rest of the journey Sir S. Lakeman and 

 I performed in the van, determined to leave our 

 precious charge no more to the care of either guards 

 or porters. I must do this particular guard, however, 

 the credit to say that the accident was no fault of 

 his ; that he did all that lay in his power to remedy 

 it as soon as he discovered it, and that he manifested 

 very great concern at the occurrence and interest in 

 the welfare of our charges. 



