1841-42 BATTUE OF CARP AND EELS , 195 



hundreds of bream, roach, and inferior fry, we 

 adjourned to a neighbouring mill to distribute to 

 the assembled villagers the commoner part of the 

 sport. The old people were first served with the 

 largest dace, &c, then those that had helped to 

 excavate and let off the water, and finally the 

 younger folks, lads and lasses, scrambled for the 

 rest. You may imagine Lord E. without coat or 

 waistcoat — shirt-sleeves rolled up, mud to the hips, 

 pitching the fish into the thickest of the active smug- 

 glers. I think everybody went off with pockets and 

 hats full. This ended, we proceeded to fish the 

 small river that had received the waters of the 

 pond or lake. Hundreds of eels had gone down 

 into it. It is overgrown with trees and brambles, 

 gurgling down a winding valley with corn and hay 

 fields rising on each side. Under the bosky arch 

 and into the stream waded my lord, with one or two 

 fisher boys with poles. They poked out the eels 

 from their hiding-places in the roots of the trees, 

 while Sir P. and I waded for them in the shallower 

 parts of the stream. Presently we saw the green 

 andyellowmonsterscoming, glidingstealthily down : 

 then our work was to entrap them in hand nets, 

 before they turned back again ; the attempt often 

 ended in a regular chase, the eel slipping through 

 our fingers half a dozen times. Then the roars of 

 laughter, with the Earl's hearty chuckle above all : 

 "Well done, eel!" "There's one gone up;" "Keep 

 the pole out of the way. There's another" — all 



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