by John Dennys (or "I. D."), a writer of the seventeenth century, who, in my opinion, yet stands amongst the highest of angler-poets. He writes:

Loe, in little boat whene one doth stand,
That to a willow bough the while is tied,
And with a pole doth stir and raise the sand,
Whereat the gentle streame doth softly glide;
And then with slender line and rod in hand,
The eager bite not long he doth abide.
Well loaded is his line, his hooke but small,
A good big cork to bear the stream with all.
His bait the least red worm that may be found,
And at the bottome it doth always lie;

Whereat the greedy gudgeon bites so sound,
That hooke and all he swalloweth by and by.

See how he strikes, and pulls them up as round,
As if new store the place did still supply;

And when the bit doth die or bad doth prove,
Then to another place he doth remove.

The appurtenances of the punt for gudgeon fishing, besides the rods and necessary creature comforts, includes an indispensable requisite, namely the gudgeon rake. This is an ordinary heavy ash or spruce pole, to which is affixed a heavy rake. After fixing the punt crosswise securely, the fisherman proceeds to rake.

Considerable dexterity is necessary, and the disturbance of the ground should be from the angler. This should not be resorted to too frequently, or it defeats its own end by exhausting its attractiveness.

The operation of raking the ground is obviously to disturb the tiny worms and other food on which the little gobio feeds. The fact sufficiently declares the character of the tackle to be employed-viz., of the lightest. For my own part, I prefer hair for the "link," and a No. 10 hook. The worm should be threaded, not looped on, the hook, and the float of some size to carry a considerable quantity of shot, that the bait might the more readily sink at the commencement of the swim. The gudgeon being a bold biter when "on," the fisher may strike at once, and one need not be ashamed to acknowledge the sport the pigmy fish gives, for, size for size, there is no stronger fish that swims.

When gudgeon fishing on the Thames it is as well to have a perchjack paternoster on board. By this I mean a paternoster fitted up as described for perch, except that one hook of the two should be whipped on stout gimp, and be itself large. On the appearance of a slackening of sport, or possibly a sudden cessation, a small gudgeon may be impaled on the perch hook, and a large gudgeon or dace on the jack hook, for the cause is infallibly a perch or jack, attracted by the shoal of moving and excited gudgeon into active curiosity and desire. Having so done, fish all round in your gudgeon swim and on each side of the boat, and continue to do so for some time, for you may be certain that a marauding visitor is present. Many a good perch is also got whilst gudgeon fishing.

I recollect once trying for a perch who had disturbed our gudgeon swim, and whom I afterwards captured (1lb. weight), when I suddenly found a slight tug, and on lifting up the bait discovered another gudgeon of somewhat large size caught by the lip by the hook on which my small bait was impaled. Mr. Pennell mentions a similar instance, which reminded me of the one I am relating. He fails, however, to account for such an occurrence, but I think I can help him. I have observed all fish, flesh, and fowl (except the human animal) to be cruel and bloodthirsty towards its puny or suffering young or fellows. There are hundreds of instances of this, and it is therefore sufficient to mention one. A turkey, if ailing and left with the rest of the flock, is soon worried to death. So in a curious degree is this the case with fish. Trout will worry a feeble member of their community till death mercifully relieves it from further persecution, and gudgeon will do the same. The explanation is therefore as follows: One of the swarm observing the enforced captivity of the bait and its evident suffering, attempted to attack it, and so got hooked. The same thing has occurred to me with roach, and I doubt not the same morbid feeling actuates the barbel when it takes the spinning bait.

CHAPTER XII.

THE BREAM.

THERE are three species of breams known in European waters, and these have been scientifically named respectively, Abramis brama (the carp-bream), Abramis blicca (the white bream), and Abramis Buggenhagii (or Pomeranian bream).

The first of these is the most common in English waters, and, as its name would convey, it possesses certain characteristics of the carp, which characteristics, be it said, vary according to the depth and colour of the water from which the fish is taken. I know, for example, specimens of the carp-bream to come up in autumn flood time in colour far from resembling their antetype, rather, indeed, of a slaty grey hue than like the carp, "with scales bedropped with gold," and, on the other hand, I have taken them from the Thames of an almost bronze appearance. The same variation, however, appears in connection with all fishes, and is as unaccountable as it is curious. The white bream is a fish of silvery whiteness, and rarely exceeds a pound in weight. It is found in Dagenham Lake, and in some other waters in Cambridgeshire. I have taken one from the Thames, but believe that such a capture is exceedingly rare. The Pomeranian bream is a still rarer fish, and is chiefly found, as its name indicates, in Pomerania. It is said to have been taken from near Wolverhampton, and also from Dagenham Reach. It is much thicker in body, and the number of its throat teeth is different from that of the other species. A comparison of all these fish readily teaches the angler the difference between them.

As the average fisherman is very likely to meet with the two firstnamed occasionally from the same water, and as these two fish are much more alike when small than the Pomeranian is to either, I will, before going from the subject, give one or two simple hints by which the tyro can distinguish the fish. First, the colour is quite different, the