March 11, 1893] 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
167 
had lately rented some private waters where the 
members could enjoy both fly and coarse fishing, 
and they also had other waters under their con¬ 
sideration. In that club they ranked some 
champion anglers, and they were in a very flourish¬ 
ing condition, and as proof of that he asked 
them to look at that gathering, when, he 
ventured to say that, in spite of the influenza, 
which had prevented many from being present, 
they would agree that the club was in a 
prosperous and healthy condition, was a pleasure 
to its members, and was a benefit to their 
fellow man. (Cheers.) There were, doubtless, 
many friends amongst them that evening, 
who, although not anglers, would join their 
ranks, and thus they would be able to assist the 
Piscatorials in furthering their work in promoting 
the interests of anglers, and furthering the 
piscatorial cause. In conclusion, he asked them 
to drink to the success of the Piscatorial Society 
he trusted it might long continue to do the 
good work it had now before it—and he had much 
pleasure in associating with that toast the name 
of Mr. Sachs, the President of the society. 
(Cheers.) 
Mr. T. R. Sachs, who was enthusiastically 
received, three cheers being given for the veteran 
angler, said he responded to the toast with a 
great deal of pleasure. When he first joined the 
society it was in a very small way, although, 
with the assistance of his friends, they got on 
better after a time, but the smokey room they 
met in made him very ill, and he was compelled 
to retire, when the members made him a present 
of a silver cup valued at £'20. After a time he 
rejoined the society, and upon retiring in favour 
of another gentleman he was made recipient of 
100 guineas’ worth of plate. (Cheers.) That, he 
thought, showed what a good sort of fellows 
the members of the Piscatorial Society were. 
(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Sachs) was pleased to see 
so many nice ladies present. He was a ladies’ 
man, and always had been. (Laughter.) He would 
give them an instance of it. (More laughter.) 
“ There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” 
That was his case, and he would explain it very 
briefly. One day he was travelling up the Rhine, 
and saw a very charming lady, a beautiful fair 
creature, so very nice (laughter), by the river 
side. Suddenly the wind blew her parasol inside 
out, and he (Mr. Sachs) resorted to his fishing 
basket and soon repaired it. The lady was 
deeply grateful to him, and General B-, her 
gua.rdian—she was a lady of title—afterwards 
invited him to cigars and wine at Coblentz. Mr. 
Sachs, who was on his way to Leipsic to buy 
precious stones as a diamond jeweller, tendered 
him his card, and begged them to call upon him 
when they came to London. They did so, and it 
resulted in him being introduced to many of the 
aristocracy, and eventually to the Queen. He 
thanked them for the way they had received 
his name, and wished the society continued 
prosperity. (Cheers.) 
Mr. R. S. Fennings next proposed “The Press,” 
and said the Piscatorial Society was very much 
indebted to the angling journals for reporting 
their proceedings. 
Mr. Thomas Ckhmplen (“ Old Izaak ”) acknow¬ 
ledged the toast, and said that the Press was 
sectional, but the People embraced everyone 
(Laughter.) Whether, however, it was the 
angling papers, or the other sections of the 
Press, he felt sure they were honestly repre¬ 
sented, and that the great object in view was to 
further the interests of anglers. (Cheers.) On 
behalf of himself and the other representatives 
of the Press present he would say— 
To true piscatora, one and all, we wish 
Good health to angle and good store of fish; 
May no east wind their chance of sport e’er spoil. 
Bat heavy baskets long reward their toil! 
(Cheers.) 
Mr. E. Foeehan next gave the healths of “ The 
Ladies and Visitors,” and said he felt honoured 
in having such a toast committed to his charge. 
The toast of the ladies came to him with a very 
great amount of pleasure, because he thought 
that if he was not the first he was amongst the 
first of the members in proposing that the ladies 
should take a little pleasure with them once 
during the year. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) On 
behalf of the club he warmly welcomed the ladies, 
and could not tell them how pleased they were to 
see them there. He had often heard ladies 
describe anglers as “ selfish men,” but the Pisca¬ 
torials were never more happy than when they 
were in the company of the ladies. They had 
heard from their chairman that evening that one 
of their old members had at last made up his 
mind to enter into the happy state, and he be¬ 
lieved there were other members thinking 
seriously of doing the same. (Laughter.) He 
was quite sure they had hearts large enough, and 
it was for the ladies to look round and see if 
there were any of them worthy of their con¬ 
fidence. (“ Oh ! ” and laughter.) With regard to 
the visitors, their evening’s amusement was 
always enhanced when gentlemen friends of theirs 
kindly gave them support on such occasions as 
the present. (Hear, hear.) He trusted some of 
them would join the Piscatorials, as they had 
room for two or three other members, and the 
society was a very comfortable one. (Cheers.) 
They met at the Holborn Restaiirant every Wed¬ 
nesday night, and they always endeavoured to 
make those who came amongst them as com¬ 
fortable as they could. He heartily welcomed 
them there that evening. (Cheers.) 
Mr. J. Banks Pittman replied, and said he 
trusted this would not be the last time they 
would be invited by the Piscatorials, because they 
had all enjoyed themselves very much that 
evening. Upon reflection he found that the 
ladies were somewhat closely allied to the society, 
for if their history could be gone into many a 
love-making had taken place by the rippling 
brook, and many an old story told which would 
be told again. (Laughter.) He saw many young 
ladies there that evening, and probably they 
would follow in the train of their predecessors. 
He hoped they would, and that they would come 
to the next Piscatorial dinner with happy 
husbands, and so forth. (Loud laughter.) 
Speaking for all the visitors, he thanked them 
warmly for the kind reception they had given 
them and the enjoyable evening they had spent. 
Ma,jor J. Clifford Peobyn, L.C.C., also acknow¬ 
ledged the toast, and said he was surprised that 
he was not a Piscator himself, as it had not been 
quite out of his line to do a little fishing. That 
fishing had been deep sea-fishing. (Hear, hear.) 
And when he participated in it it afforded him a 
great deal of pleasure and gratification. When¬ 
ever it was his privilege to get away for a holiday 
he indulged in sea-fishing, and he felt that to a 
busy man the occupation of angling commended 
itself very much indeed. As for the County 
Council, he could assure them that they had the 
interests of anglers at heart. Perhaps it would be 
pleasant news for the chairman and the members 
of the society to know a little about the vexed 
question of main drainage. (Laughter.) Hitherto 
the main drainage had been such a serious source 
of pollution to the Thames, but probably some of 
those present would derive some little amount of 
satisfaction when he told them that the chief- 
engineer of the County Council had reported that 
for many months past they had been taking fish 
nearer London Bridge than they had for many 
years; and, moreover, that the sewage of London, 
when deposited on certain banks ten or fifteen 
miles out, had conduced—he thought it would have 
had a contrary effect—to a largely increased body 
of fish in that particular district. (Laughter.) 
He thought that was a very important item for 
their society to know, and especially that section 
of it which took a particular delight in deep sea¬ 
fishing. (Laughter.) 
Dr. Staetin, in eulogistic terms, next proposed 
the health of Mr. N. F. Harrisson, the chairman, 
who was received with musical honours. 
The Chaieman, in reply, traced his connection 
with the Piscatorial Society, and referred to his 
early association with the Thames, where he had 
done much of his courting. (Laughter.) He 
had always been received by the members of 
the Piscatorial Society in the most fraternal 
and kindly way, and he heartily thanked them. 
(Cheers.) 
The health of Dr. Startin was also drunk with 
enthusiasm. 
In the course of the evening an excellent pro¬ 
gramme of music was carried out by Miss E. 
Carlton, Miss E. Hurst, Mr. Herbert Emlyn, 
Mr. J. Bartlett, and others, the efforts of the 
artistes being frequently applauded. Altogether 
the dinner was of a most successful character, 
and Mr. W. T. Galloway, hon. sec. of the club, is 
to be congratulated on the excellency of the 
arrangements in connection with the same. 
The toastmaster was Mr. G. Smith. 
The annual report of the Piscatorial Society, 
which has just been issued, states that the 
society was founded in 1836, and congratulates 
the members upon the growing prosperity of the 
society, both as regards its numerical strength 
and the advancement in the weight of specimen 
fish, also upon its social and financial position. 
The committee regret to have to record with the 
deepest sorrow the death of the following mem¬ 
bers : Messrs. J. Johnson, W. M. Jesse, F. Lecluse, 
W. H. Clegg, and G. E. Gilbey. The committee 
have again to congratulate Mr. R. S. Fennings 
on the way in which he manages the society’s 
funds, thereby increasing the reserve fund to the 
substantial sum of £204 9s. 3d. The total in¬ 
come of the society during the year 1892 was 
£183 6s. 9d., and the expenditure £180 Os. lid., 
leaving a small balance of £3 5s. lOd.; this 
sum would have been £33 5s. lOd. had it not 
been for the expenses of removal from the 
Mona Hotel, and the new furniture which the 
committee thought was absolutely necessary. 
Amongst the specimen fish secured during the 
season the committee call attention to the 421b. 
salmon caught by Mr. W. Thomas on the Tay, 
and the 321b. pike taken on Loch Conn by Mr. 
W. H. Taylor, also the 81b. carp caught by Dr. 
Head at Penn Ponds, Richmond. The committee 
draw special attention to the two specimen fish 
taken from the society’s water at Bricketwood, a 
trout weighing 21b. 9|oz., caught by Mr. H. 
Harden, and a dace weighing lloz. by Mr. 
Adams. Special mention is also made in the 
report of Mr. Hare Winton’s take of salmon in 
April last on the Avon at Christchurch. Mr. 
Minton caught six salmon weighing 1421b. in 
one day. He hooked and landed four fish weigh¬ 
ing 1011b. during the first hour ; this is the best 
day’s fishing that has ever been recorded in 
Hampshire, and the committee congratulate Mr. 
Winton on his day’s sport. There have been 
several other good fish captured during the past 
season, including a salmon taken by Mr. Harden 
on the free water of the Tay at Perth, weighing 
271b., and the committee tender their best thanks 
to those gentlemen who have taken so much 
trouble in sending their captures from all 
parts. Thanks are also given to the following 
gentlemen for their various presents to the 
museum and library: Messrs. R. C. Blundell 
and Foreman, a handsome piece of furniture, 
forming a cupboard for the weights and 
scales and fish trays; Mr. L. H. Lefevre, two 
beautiful etchings entitled “Steady, Johnie, 
Steady.” by Nichol, and “He’s a Jolly Good 
Fellow,” by Dendy Sadler; Mr. Brougham, three 
volumes entitled “ The Official Guide to the Great 
Eastern Railway,” “The Athlete’s Directory,” 
and “ Sun Pictures on the Horfolk Broads ” ; Mr. 
Harden, a specimen graining; and Mr. Downian, 
a volume on fishing. The report, in conclusion, 
expresses the officers’ and committee’s thanks to 
the members for their cordial support during the 
oast year, to Mr. Walker, for allowing the mem- 
oers to fish his water on the Colne, and to the 
editors of the Field, the Fishing Gazette, Land 
and Water, and other sporting papers, for insert¬ 
ing matters relative to the society. Included in 
the report is also a list of the heaviest fish caught 
by the members during the past year, and the 
names of the prize-winners as follows ; Dr. P. D. 
Head, Mr. H. Harden, Mr. H. W. Taylor, Mr. E. 
J. Walker, Mr. M. G. De Courcy, Mr. R. Wright, 
Mr. E. Foreman, Mr. W. T. Galloway, and Mr. 
T. H. Adams. 
The heaviest snowfall of this winter lay on the 
ground in Scotland last week. All over, except 
in a few districts, it was over a foot deep, in¬ 
dependent of what was drifted. Now, however, 
it has gone, scarcely a speck remaining. The 
weather for the whole week from Saturday last 
has been delightfully fine with strong fresh 
westerly breezes at intervals, which have made 
the snaw skedaddle right smartly. Most rivers 
in consequence have been in very heavy flood, 
but have now nearly all got into fine trim. 
Angling also is improving, and entirely fresh- 
run fish in the middle and lower spring angling 
waters of most rivers are being got. 
