22 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



shoals of small lampreys, which could be scooped up in basins 

 or old saucepans, and were then fried for our dinner or supper, 

 to our great enjoyment. I think what we caught must have 

 been the young fish, as my recollection of them is that they 

 were like little 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 

 wriggling, 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 child- 

 hood 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 recollec- 

 tions 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 



