Page:Once a Week Volume 8.djvu/224

216 of blessing. Some thanked him; some bade him keep up his heart; some begged to be summoned whenever he thought they could support him; or, as some said, rescue him. To these last Richard replied, that Mr. Hampden was standing up for law and order, and that he desired to be rescued by law only from a peril into which he entered with deliberate intent. Being asked for his opinion, Richard gave it,—that Mr. Hampden would consider those his best friends who best stood up for the law in those evil days. Let every man satisfy himself that this new way of taxing was illegal, and then oppose it. If every citizen refused to pay ship-money, it could not be levied.

“Then there would be something else instead,” the people said.

“Probably, and it would be dealt with in like manner,” Richard supposed.

It was a dreary prospect; but that day there was the best news that had been heard in Cornwall for many a year. The mothers at Port Eliot shut themselves up to bemoan their loss: the gentry and yeomen hastened to mount, and spurred homewards, only stopping at every hamlet to spread the news that Mr. Hampden was going to turn the ship-money into ships which would chase the Dutch and Spaniards and French, and the Barbary pirates from the English shores.

a previous paper I have spoken of the extreme voracity of all fish, and of some fresh-water species in particular, and indeed the magnitude of the subject, “fish,” requires little apology for its re-introduction. I have mentioned in the paper to which I above allude that the voracity of the fish known as the pike, or jack, is something almost astounding, and as it is now the season for taking this river tyrant, it is also the fittest time for inquiring into its natural history.

The jack, pike, or luce, as it is sometimes termed, is common to all European and American waters (whether rivers, lakes, ponds, or other bodies of water, provided only such be fresh); but the largest fish of the kind ever taken are those of the American rivers and lakes. The Danube is also famous for its fine jack, as are some of our own Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes, and the Thames itself abounds in these fish, but they do not run to the size at which they are found in the lakes and rivers referred to above. Jack—for I will so term them—may be, and are, caught throughout the year, excepting in the “fence” or spawning months; but their proper season is from September until the end of February, when they separate into pairs for the purpose of reproducing their species. In the autumn they afford fine sport to the angler, as they will take almost any bait greedily throughout the day, whereas in the warm, sultry months they are lazy and disinclined to feed, excepting only very early and late. From September until March the angler may take his four to six brace in good waters without much difficulty; but be it understood October is the month of all others best suited to the sport; indeed it is the best month throughout the year for fishing of all sorts, both in salt and fresh water, except for trout, salmon, or mackerel, although the last-mentioned (which, by-the-way, are now called “Michaelmas mackerel”) are taken in considerable quantities with the herrings. October is the harvest-month for both sea and river fishermen, and in fresh water especially, now that the weeds are decaying and being carried away, there is (with the exception only of trout and salmon) no fish that is not in first-rate condition and season for sport.

The jack is taken in various ways with hook and net (the latter being unworthy of all true sportsmen, and only excusable when practised by those whose livelihood depends on the quantity of fish they take), but the methods most in use with anglers are “trolling,” “spinning,” “live-bait fishing,” and “snap fishing.” The first and second are those generally preferred, but the “live-bait” fishing is, in my opinion, the most exciting, and is consequently the one I myself practise. There is but little real sport in either “trolling” or “spinning,” for in the former the poor jack so gorges the bait that escape is next to impossible, and in the latter so many hooks are used that it is a hundred to one no fish once hooked gets away. I prefer myself—and so I am sure do all true sportsmen—to give the animal or fish I endeavour to capture a fair chance of escape, or, in other words, fair play, which is the true principle of all sport. In live-bait fishing for jack the same means are used as for perch, only that your cork float must be larger, as must the hook, and this latter must be gimp-fastened, as the jack would make short work of gut. Of course a larger bait is used for jack than for perch, and, indeed, at this period of the year, a large bait is rather “killing” than otherwise. I have taken jack with a roach of almost half-a-pound weight, still I do not recommend so large a bait as a rule. A very fine gudgeon or a small dace is the best bait of all—the latter especially attractive. I have taken jack at the foot of Walton Bridge almost at pleasure with this bait at this time of the year. Some people have been so cruel as to use a small perch for a bait, after cutting off its back fin, the formidable spikes of which deter a jack from seizing it. This is a piece of unnecessary barbarity, for the dace, gudgeon, and roach are all more attractive baits to the jack than the perch is. I may here remark that a live-bait can be put on the hook through the upper lip or back fin without causing the little creature any more pain than we ourselves suffer from cutting our nails. The only cruelty to the bait is in the moment of suspense and terror it endures when the jack flies open-mouthed towards it, and it finds itself unable to escape. As, however, the jack takes its prey by the head in most cases, death immediately ensues, and the little fish’s sufferings are soon ended. I remember one instance (mentioned in the number of this periodical before referred to) where a jack seized a large chub by the head without injuring the latter. That, however, was altogether a most singular and exceptional case. To describe in these pages the methods of taking the jack to which I have alluded, would be little better than to