22 MY LIFE 



great enjoyment. I think what we caught must have been the 

 young fish, as my recollection of them is that they were like lit- 

 tle eels, and not more than six or eight inches long, whereas 

 the full-grown lampreys are from a foot and a half to nearly 

 three feet long. 



The lamprey was a favourite dish with our ancestors, and is 

 still considered a luxury in some districts, while in others it is 

 rejected as disagreeable, and the living fish is thought to be 

 even poisonous. This is, no doubt, partly owing to its wrig- 

 gling, snake-like motions, and its curious sucking mouth, by 

 which it sticks on the hand and frightens people so much that 

 they throw it away instantly. But the Rev. J. G. Wood, in his 

 very interesting " Natural History," tells us that he has caught 

 thousands of them with his bare hands, and has often had six 

 or seven at once sticking to his hand without causing the 

 slightest pain or leaving the least mark. The quantity of these 

 fish is so great in some rivers that they would supply a large 

 amount of wholesome food were there not such a prejudice 

 against them. Since this period of my early childhood I do 

 not think I have ever eaten or even seen a lamprey. 



At this time I must have been about four years old, as we 

 left Usk when I was about five, or less. My brother John was 

 four and a half years older, and I expect was the leader in 

 most of our games and explorations. My two sisters were 

 five and seven years older than John, so that they would have 

 been about thirteen and fifteen, which would appear to me 

 quite grown up ; and this makes me think that my recollections 

 must go back to the time when I was just over three, as I quite 

 distinctly remember two, if not three, besides myself, standing 

 on the flat stones and catching lampreys. 



There is also another incident in which I remember that my 

 brother and at least one, if not two, of my sisters took part. 

 Among the books read to us was " Sandford and Merton," the 

 only part of which that I distinctly remember is when the two 

 boys got lost in a wood after dark, and while Merton could do 

 nothing but cry at the idea of having to pass the night without 

 supper or bed, the resourceful Sandford comforted him by 

 promising that he should have both, and set him to gather 



