AN ANGLER'S RAMBLES.
IF the present publication is scarcely equal in characteristic anec dote to Mr. JESSE'S Gleanings, part of the reason must be sought for in the nature of the subject. Our knowledge of the habits and characters of fish is less than of those of the inhabitants of the earth : from the nature of the element in which they live, they must exhibit less marked variety. Fish are also cold-blooded ani- mals: with them, too, legs have degraded into a tail, and the human hands have become a fin. Hence our sympathies are less excited than in the case of creatures of our own flesh and blood, as it were, who breathe the same element, live on the same kind of food, resemble us more nearly in their internal structure and ex- ternal form, whilst several of them serve for our domestics or com-
panit us, and many of them we know " by sight." Fish, moreover, seem deficient in intelligence : they sell their lives, not for a mess of pottage, but for a pretended one. The cloltest point in which they resemble the more refined part of humanity, is in their sus- ceptibility to the weather. Atmospherical changes act upon the whole race as strongly as upon the human invalids; and, like them, they never go abroad in a north-caster. In such cases sport is out of the question: so that it is a wind fit for neither man, beast, nor fishes.
Mr. JESSE appears to have been aware of this; for his accounts of fish are not numerous, and even his expositions .)1 the " gentle craft " and its pleasures form by no means the bulk of the volume. With piscatorial deeds and instructions he mixes some pleasing pictures of landscape sketches ; sonic aristocratical characters of his younger days—the last remains of a formal state, a cere- monial politeness, and a precise but hearty hospitality, now extinct; lingers over the manners, the sports, and the archi- tecture of the olden time, and describes the more striking incidents and persons he has met with in his angling rambles. In addition to this, Mr. JESSE gives us reminiscences of various clubs; introduces a story or two of rustic romance, which he has picked up in the course of his travels ; and animates some of the information and anecdote about fishing and fish, by throw- ing it into the form of dialogue. In the Country Clergyman, he rises to a more ambitious flight, carrying down to the parsonage of Dr. Hastings, a couple of town men—one a thoughtful. scep- tical lawyer ; the other a " decided Londoner," dividing his time between the Clubs, the Parks, and the Opera. The catastrophe of this irregular pastoral is the restoration of one visiter to a healthy tone of mind, and the conversion of the other to Christia- nity. The agent of good is Dr. Hastings, of course; the means, pure air, beautiful scenery, country excursions, and the conversa- tion of the Doctor, on natural history, rural sports, and so forth. Here are a couple of anecdotical arguments— Dr. Hastings had been mentioning his favourite idea, that upon a careful examination of the works of creation, however minute and insignificant they might appear, and however worthless and even noxious, they would all be found to answer sonic good and useful purpose. They were then walking across a meadow, the grass of which had been closely eaten by some sheep, with the exception of the stalks or bents, which waived as a gentle breeze passed over them, and glittered when the sun emerged from a fleeting cloud. "What is the use of those stalks?" inquired Mr. Hilary •' "for nothing seems .or touch them, and therefore they must be useless." "I am glad that you asked the question," said Dr. Hastings, "because I think that I can give you a satis- factory answer to it. Those bents which you seem to think so useless contain, as I can show you, the seeds of the grass. If cattle eat them, the seeds would be lost ; but by being left, the earth is renovated with grasses, and one of the most useful plants both to man and beast is thus preserved by a constant suc- cession. This I consider a beautiful arrangement of nature, or rather of a beneficent providence; and the more we inquire into and study its ways, the more reason we shall have to wonder at and admire them."
They pursued their walk. Dr. Hastings took the opportunity of further illustrating his remarks, by pointing out the numerous worm-casts which covered the meadow over which the party were walking. "These little deposits of earth," he said, "may appear useless ; and I have observed that you have found them rather unpleasant appendages to your shoes. Their utility, however, cannot be doubted. Each of the little 'deposits you see, is composed of the finest particles of earth ; and they have all passed through the stomach of worms. They are then thrown up to the surface of the ground, and assist in enriching improving mproving the herbage. Nor is this the only utility worms are of: in making their tracts in the earth, passages are left, which form channels or con- ductors for the rain, which gradually finds its way to the roots and fibres of plants, and they are thus nourished and invigorated." " I had no idea," lie continued, "of the immense quantity of worms which are to be found in a small space of ground, until I had sonic salt scattered, lately, over a patch of rank grass, by way of improving the herbage : the rain soon washed the salt into the earth, and thus drove the worms to the surface, where thousands of them were found dead."
The Doctor was not, however, always spokesman. At a cricket club he introduces his visiters to a Mr. Metcalfe ; who gives these curious particulars respecting the game— It is rather singular that so little should be known concerning the history and origin of this fascinating and fashionable game. The name can be traced no higher up in the language than to a ballad of Tom Durfy's, and its ety- mology is entirely unknown. There is no plate or drawing resembling it in Strutt's excellent volumes of Ancient Sports and Pastimes: so we must pre- sume that, skilful and complicated as it is, it must have risen up within the last hundred and fifty years ; and that it is probably formed on a slow and scien- tific improvement of the old play of club and ball. There is one peculiarity attending it, which is, that it is always receiving alterations and improvements ; and an old cricketer of the Hambledon Club, who should rise from his grave and attend one of the Monday matches at Lord's Ground, would scarcely recognize the pastime which had employed and delighted his youthful days on the Hamp- shire Downs. Some few, very few, relics of the old game still exist : one or two bats are preserved by the curious, no more re-alibiing the modern than an old match-lock does a finished Manton ; and the Marylebone Club have in their possession two Pictures of the game as played, pm haps, seventy or eighty years ago, which are not only exceedingly curious as to costume, but serve also to mark the exact progress towards a scientific character which the game had then made.
The following account of the port and pranks of Oxford is from a visit to that renowned city, in which angling occupied a very small share of Mr. JESSE'S time. Should many of these senior Fellows be yet surviving, it were to be wished that Mr. WILLIAM SCOTT could transmit to Alma Mater some of those "excellent divines" who have worked such wonders in Edinburgh society— The next day I dired at the Fellows' table of 11.1— College ; and I shall not soon forget the scene. Most of the Fellows I met were a little advanced in life, and one of them was between eighty and ninety years of age. He had resided at his favourite college upwards of sixty years, and thought there was no place equal to it. If good eating and drinking and a warm, snug Fellows' room, constituted happiness, he certainly had them in perfection. After an excellent dinner, we adjourned to this room. A sort of kidney-shaped table was placed before the fire, round which the party sat ; the two senior Fellows ensconcing themselves in comfortable arm-chairs on each side of the fire-place. A bottle of port wine, such as is seldom met with, and which did great credit to the Bursar, was placed on the table, and protected from the heat of the fire by little triangular mahogany screen. It circulated, however, with considerable rapidity, anti was as rapidly renewed. Indeed the attendant, who appeared to have executed the duties of his office for a great many years, and was a solemn and respectable-looking man, seemed to be perfectly aware when a fresh bottle would be wanted, and he always made his appearance with it to a moment. Its brightness was then duly examined, and it made its rounds like its prede- cessors. It was, however, the old stagers who paid the greatest devotion to their favourite beverage ; and, notwithstanding their frequent librations, it appeared to produce no effect upon them until late in the evening. The first symptom which was evinced of exhilaration, was a proposal from the senior Fellow for a catch, by way of enlivening the company. This was opposed by some of the juniors, who were probably aware of what was coming, and were fearful of some breach of decorum in the presence of a stranger. It was, how- ever, carried against them, with a little assistance I lent to the proposal, as I felt curious to hear what sort of a catch would be sung by the venerable seniors of the college. After a short consultation, the thing was settled, the juniors declining to lend any aid to the performance ; but retaining their seats in dignified silence, looking, however, with sonic degree of contempt on their more aged brethren. The patriarch of the room acted as leader of the band, and made his arrangments accordingly. As I hail expressed my readi- nes to lend any assistance in my power in the proposed catch, he turned to me, and to my infinite surprise and dismay, desired me to sing " Me cur." On requesting to have my part more fully explained to me, that I might do it all due justice, I was informed that when it came to my turn, I was to chant out lustily " I sing cur," and afterwards join the chorus, plena voce. The old Fellow then began his part by shouting out " I sing Cub'—; the next performer followed him by squeaking out " /sing kr ; " a third, with Stentorian lungs, exclaimed " I sing Tin"— ; and then 1 had to add " I sing her." The chorus was then vociferated—the hint having been given by a loud tap on the table, "A Cobler and a Tinker." The catch, however, did not end here, for it went on ad libitum, getting louder and louder eve' y instant, till the venerable old walls echoed with the shouts and laughter of its jolly old Fellows; and they were at last obliged to stop from mere exhaustion. Never shall I forget the scene. Their sides shook, while they wiped their eyes, which twinkled with glee and joviality ; and it was sonic time before they recovered from the effects of the exertions their bodies and lungs had undergone. Some other catches were sung, which I do not now recollect; and, late in the even- ing, broiled hones and other stimulants were introduced, followed by a huge silver tankard of mighty ale—
"With toast embrown'il, and fragrant natmeg fraught."
We must not quit the Angler's Rambles without letting him say something relating to his sport; although it must be more of a popular than a technical kind.
FASCINATION OF GUDGEON-FISHING.
Few fish bite more eagerly than gudgeons: and this, perhaps, is the reason why so many persons may be seen patiently sitting in punts from morning to night on the river Thames employed in catching these freshwater smelts. There appears, indeed, to be a fascination in gudgeon-fishing, which it is not easy to account for ; and the wonder is increased when we see three or four per- sons in a punt lightly jerking a rod every instant, and watching a float as it glides down the stream before them, the sun sometimes scorching them, and at others the rain wetting them through. Notwithstanding this, however, the fascination certainly exists ; and it is mentioned as a fact, that the clergymanof a parish in the neighbourhood of Hampton Court, who was engaged to be married to the daughter of a Bishop, enjoyed his gudgeon-fishing so much, that he arrived too late to be married, and the lady, offended at his neglect, refused to be united to one who appeared to prefer his rod to herself.
ROACH AND DACE FISHING.
Roach and dace fishers form another distinct class of Thames fishermen ; and it is very seldom they try for any thing else, or, indeed, understand any other sort of fishing. So keen, however, are they at this sport, that many pursue:it very late in the year : and a retired surgeon, of the name of Wood, is still talked of at Hampton, as having braved the coldest weather in winter in order to follow his favourite diversion. Ile would get up before it was light, have his break- fast, and fish till it was dark, at a time when the wet was freezing on his line. He had always, however, a hot dinner brought to the boat ; which must have kept him from starving in both senses. The season for roach-fishing in the Thames begins about the middle of Au- gust, and continues throughout the winter ; at which time, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, many persons follow the diversion. Londoners will beat all others in fishing for roach ; and they may be seen pursuing their favourite sport at the arches of the several bridges over the Thames from Bat- tersea upwards.
THE RULING PASSION STRONG IN DEATH.
Two old friends were in the habit of coming to our pretty village of Hamp- ton, not only to fish (they were punters), but also to regale themselves with Thames trout. They were so alive to the merits of these fish, that on leaving Hampton they enjoined the worthy host of the Red Lion, at whose house they had taken up their quarters, to send to them in London the first fine trout he could procure. He was desired not to mind the expense, but to despatch the fish in a post-chaise, so that it might arrive in time fin dinner. The host had soon afterwards an opportunity of procuring a remarkably large and beautiful trout, which was duly sent in a post-chaise to Mr. W—'s house in Spring Gardens. It arrived at five o'clock, and was immediately- taken to his sitting- room. After admiring it for a short time, he sent an invitation to his friend Mr. T— to come and partake of it at six o'clock, and described the appear- ance and beauty of the fish. He received an answer from his friend, acquaint- ing him that he was dying from a sudden attack of gout, but that it would be a great satisfaction to him if he could see time fish, provided it would not be injured by being conveyed to his house for that purpose. The trout was accordingly sent; Mr. T— feasted his eyes upon it, and soon afterwards doted them for ever.
Our opinion has been passed upon the work generally; hut to the angler it will of course be the most valuable of Mr. JESSE'S publications. Independent of much practical information touching baits and flies, the haunts of fish, and the times and various kinds of fishing, with several useful hints about anglers'. inns upon the Thames, he may reap the benefit of some of the author's own in- ventions as to trolling-hooks, reels, and fixing the bait, and be gratified by an exposition of the humanity with which angling may be practised.
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