the strength of the line lost for want of first
watering it and then re-twisting it ; and this
is most visible in a seven-hair line, one of
those which hath always^ a black hair in the
middle.
" And for dyeing of your hairs, do it thus :
Take a pint of strong ate, half a pound of
soot, and a little quantity of the juice of wal-
nut-tree leaves, and an equal quantity of
alum ; put these together into a pot, pan, or
pipkin, and boil them half an hour ; and
having so done, let it cool ; and being cold,
put your hair into it, and there let it lie; it
will turn your hair to be a kind of water or
glass-colour, or greenish, and the longer you
let it lie, the deeper coloured it will be ; you
might be taught to make many other colours,
but it is to little purpose ; for doubtless the
water-colour, or glass-coloured hair, is the
most choice and most useful for an Angler ;
but let it not be too green.
" But if you desire to colour hair greener,
then do it thus : take a quart of small ale,
half a pound of alum ; then put these into a
pan or pipkin, and your hair into it with them ;
then put it upon a fire, and let it boil softly for
half an hour ; and then take out your hair,
and let it dry ; and having so done, then take
a pottle of water, and put into it two handfuls
of marygolds, and cover it with a tile, or
what you think fit, and set it again on the fire,
where it is to boil again softly for half an hour,
about which time the scum will turn yellow ;
then put into it half a pound of copperas,
beaten small, and with it the hair that you
intend to colour ; then let the hair be boiled
softly till half the liquor be wasted ; and then
let it cool three or four hours, with your hair
in it ; and you are to observe that the more
copperas you put into it the greener it will
be ; but doubtless the pale green is best ; but
if you desire yellow hair, which is only good
when the weeds rot, then put in the more
marygolds, and abate most of the copperas, or
leave it quite out, and take a little verdigrise
instead of it,
"This for colouring your hair. And as for
painting your rod, which must be in oil, you.
must first make a size with glue and water
boiled together until the glue be dissolved,
and the size of a lye colour ; then strike your
size upon the wood with a bristle, or a brush,
or pencil, whilst it is hot; that being quite
dry, take white-lead, and a little red-lead,
and a little coal-black, so much as all together
will make an ash colour ; grind these all to-
gether with linseed oil ; let it be thick, and
lay it thin upon the wood with a brush or
pencil ; this do for the ground of any colour
to lie upon wood,
" For a green. Take pink and verdigrise,
and grind them together in linseed oil, as thin
as you can well grind it ; then lay it smoothly
on with your brush, and drive it thin ; once
doing, for the most part, will serve, if you lay
it well ; and if twice, be sure your first
colour be thoroughly dry before you lay on a
second.''
LUDICROUS ANGLING ANECDOTES. Sir John
Hawkins, in his notes on the " Complete
Angler," relates the following story : " A
lover of angling told me he was fishing in the
river Lea, at the ferry called Jeremy's, and
284
PIERCE EGAN'S BOOK OF SPORTS.
had hooked a large fish at the time when
some Londoners, with their horses, were
passing : they congratulated him on his suc-
cess, and got out of the ferry-boat ; but, find-
ing the fish not likely to yield, mounted their
horses, and rode off. The fact was, that,
angling for small fish, his bait had been taken
by a barbel, too large for the fisher to manage.
Not caring to risk his tackle by attempting
to raise him, he hoped to tire him ; and, for
that purpose, suffered himself to be led (to
use his own expression), as a blind man is by
a dog, several yards up, and as many down
the bank of the river ; in short, for so many
hours, that the horsemen above-mentioned,
who had been to Walthamstow and dined,
were returned, who, seeing him thus occu-
pied, cried out * What, master, another large
fish' * No (says the Piscator), the very same.'
: Nay (says one of them), that can never be :
for it is Jive hours since we crossed the river !'
and, not believing him, they rode on their
way. At length our angler determined to do
that which a less patient one would have done
long before ; he made one vigorous effort to
land the fish, broke his tackle, and lost him."
The same intelligent knight furnishes us
with another anecdote relating to this sullen
fish : " Living some years ago (says he) in
a village on the banks of the Thames, I was
used, in the summer months, to be much in a
boat on the river ; it happened that at Shep-
perton, where I had been for a few days, I
frequently passed an elderly gentleman in his
boat, who appeared to be fishing at different
stations for barbel. After a few salutations
had passed between us, and we were become
a little acquainted, I took occasion to enquire
of him what diversion he had met with. * Sir,
(says he) I have but had bad luck to-day ; for
I fish for barbel, and you know they are not to
be caught like gudgeons.' ' Very true (an-
swered I), but what you want in tale, I sup-
pose you make up in weight.' ' Why, Sir
(replied he), that is just as it happens ; I like
the sport, and I love to catch fish ; but my
great delight is in going after them. I'll tell
you what, Sir (continued he), I am a man in
years, and have been used to the sea all my
life (he had been an India captain) ; but I
mean to go no more, and have bought that
little house which you see there (pointing to
it) for the sake of fishing : I get into this boat
(which he was then mopping) on a Monday
morning, and fish on, till Saturday night, for
barbel, as I told you ; for that is my delight ;
and this I have sometimes done for a month
together, and in all that while have not had
one bite !"
Plutarch, speaking of angling, informs us
that Marc Antony and Cleopatra, in the midst
of their unparallelled splendor, passed many
of their hours in that tranquil amusement.
He also mentions a deception reciprocally
played off by those two royal personages upon
each other. The whole business of angling
may, indeed, be said to be deceptive, and
therefore tricks in that art should be excused.
" Antony (says Plutarch) went one day to
angle with Cleopatra, and being so unfortu-
nate as to catch nothing in the presence of his
mistress, he was much dissatisfied, and gave
secret orders to the fishermen to dive under
water, and put fishes which had been fresh
taken upon his hook. After he had drawn
up two or three, Cleopatra perceived the
trick ; she pretended, however, to be sur-
prised at his good fortune and dexterity, and
mentioned the circumstance to her friends, at
the same time inviting them to come and see
him angle. Accordingly a very large com-
pany went out in the fishing vessels, and as
soon as Antony had let down his line, she
commanded one of her servants to be before-
hand with Antony, and diving into the water,
to fix upon his hook a salted fish, one of those
which were brought from the Euxine Sea/'
It does not appear how Antony relished this
imposition from his fair associate.
NEW MODE OF FISHING. A remarkably
fine Newfoundland dog (named Carron), be-
longing to Mr. Henry Bell, of the Baths,
Helensburgh, in the month of August last,
was seen watching like a cat on the banks of
the Clyde, behind the baths. A person ob-
served at the same time a cod fish about
eighteen inches long, in sportive mood, jump-
ing repeafedly out of the water. The saga-
cious dog had noticed the unwary fish, and at
a favorable moment plunged into the Clyde,
and disappeared for a short time. He then
made his appearance with the fish in his
mouth, and delivered it to one of Mr. Bell's
servants, with very few marks of violence
upon it.
THE PATIENT ANGLER. A gentleman who
was allowed to be one of the greatest and
most philosophical Anglers of the age, passing
from Islington to town, as was his daily cus-
tom, frequently saw another sportsman planted
on a particular spot of the New River. Being-
jealous to think he should have all the sport
to himself, he resolved to rise early some
morning, and take his post before the other
arrived : having taken his rod and line, and
the rest of the Angling apparatus, he repaired
to the spot, and remained uninterrupted for a
considerable time, but without success. At
length the original occupier of this envied
spot appeared, when the gentleman could not
help exclaiming, " Egad, Sir, I do not know
how you manage it, but I have been Angling
these three hours and have caught nothing at
all." "Oh, Lord, Sir/' replied the other,
" what's that, compared to me ? Why I have
been Angling here these THREE YEARS, and
never caught a fish !" The former, with a
smile, answered, " then, Sir, you ought to
have a. patent for PATIENCE !"
THE FISHER'S GARLAND ; OR TYNE SIDE.
TONE" Canny Newcassel."
Now night has resign'd the soft mantle of sleep
And the stars are away slowly creeping ;
The young day has broken behind the far sleep,
And the lark on her free \vii_g is sweeping.
PIERCE EGAN'S BOOK OF SPORTS.
285
The wild rose is sweet in the green scented lane,
With the woodbine so gaily entwining,
The daisies are bright on the dew-spangled plain,
In the face of the firmament shining.
CHORUS.
Then hey for the fisher, the creel, and the gad,
And hey for the scenes of his pleasure ;
On Tyne's smiling sides, with a heart light and glad,
How he waves up the glittering treasure !
Let high-flier fishermen sing of their streams,
Away on the Tweed or the Coquet ;
ive me the sweet wave where the black di'mond
beams,
Like the glance from the sky-seeking rocket ;
Far dearer to me is the slime-covered strand,
Where old Tyne in his majesty wanders
Than all the gay prospects romantic and grand,
Of the Tweed in its sweetest meanders.
Then hey, Arc.
The shores of the Coquet, the banks of the Tweed,
May boast of a richer profusion
Of all that is sweetest in flower or in weed,
To deck the dim haunts of seclusion ;
But oh ! in their sunny time, never will they
In the zenith of all their gay shining,
So dear be to me as the rude banks of clay
O'er the Tyne's rapid progress reclining.
Then hey, &c.
For there, in the spring-time of youth and its joy
When the bright eye is beaming with gladness,
When hope, love, and pleasure, each moment employ
And time is unrobed of its sadness,
How sweetly the fleet-winged moments have fled,
While each innocent pastime pursuing ;
When no pang felt the heart, and no pain knew the
head.
And our pleasures were ever renewing.
Then hey, Sec.
The fisher may smile by his far-away stream,
As he marks his faint victims last quiver :
He may smile in contempt at the bard and his theme,
But still thou art dear ' shining river ;'
And gay are the tenants that people thy flood,
And elate are the bosoms that catch them,
Oh .' the hearts ! and the scenes where those light
hearts have stood !
Ye may walk the wide world ere ye match them.
Then hey,&c.
But, away ! see ! the sun stands aloft in the sky,
And the trouts from the cool stream are leaping,
With the lithe taper rod, and the well-sorted fly,
(While dull moralizers are sleeping,)
We'll brush the bright dew from the soft- wavering
blade,
Till we reach some sweet spot on thy border,
Romantic and rude, as by nature's hand made,
Where we'll put our trim tackle in order.
Then hey, &c.
At the Team or the Hazzacks, wherever we meet,
Nor in deeps nor in shallows we'll spare them,
In the dark woody Derwenfs secluded retreat,
With the fly or the worm will we snare them !
And further up yet, where the scenes of old days
Can fill a brief page with their story,
We'll conquer again be as proud of our bays,
As the heroes who've left us their glory.
Then hey, &c.
And when, by the skill of our long-practis'd art,
We have fill'd up each creel to its cover,
When slowly, with many a glance back, we depart,
And the zest of our pastime is over ;
When the deep glow of sun-set is red on the sea,
When the songsters all homeward are hieing,
When the curtain of night is spread dark o'er the lea,
Still to Tyne will our fancier be flying !
Then hey, &c.
Still to Tyne and its scenes, in the gay circle warm,
When the glass round the table is wheeling,
We'll fondly revert, and recount every charm,
While our chorus resounds to the ceiling ;
And again, o'er the bowl ! while unmark'd the hours
fly-
in fancy, we'll hook the bright treasure,
And bumpers, the deepest that sorrow defy,
Well drain to our innocent pleasure.
CHORD!.
Then hey for the fisher, the creel, and the gad,
And hey for the scenes of his pleasure ;
On Tyne's smiling sides, with a heart light and glad,
How he waves up the glittering treasure !
"W. G. T.
Newcastle.
ATTACHMENT OF SPIDERS TO THEIR YOCNG.
Those agreeable naturalists, Messrs. Kirby
and Spence, are of opinion that insects are
capable of feeling quite as much attachment
to their offspring as the largest quadrupeds.
They assert that they undergo as severe pri-
vations in nourishing them, expose themselves
to as great risk in defending them, and in the
very approach of death exhibit as much
anxiety for their preservation. I had an
instance of this the other day in the case of a
spider, and I watched its whole proceedings
with infinite gratification. I found a spider's
nest in the under part of the broad leaf of the
striped garden grass. It was covered with a
thick sort of silky web or cocoon, with an
opening to enable the spider to go in and out.
On taking off the covering, which consisted
of two different layers, 1 found a deposit of
eggs closely packed together, and the whole
collection was about the size of a large pea.
Having completely exposed the eggs, I put
the spider and a part of the leaf, to which the
eggs were attached, under a glass. In turn-
ing down the glass the spider was at the upper
part of il, but she no sooner perceived her
eggs than she ran to them with the greatest
eagerness, covered them as much as she was
able with her body, sensible, no doubt, how
necessary warmth was for them, and soon be-
gan to spin another silky web over them. No-
thing seemed capable of disturbing her during
this process, and there was no mistaking her
affection for, and attention to her eggs. This
she showed in another remarkable way. I
had placed the portion of striped grass, which
was nearly two inches in length, and about
three quarters of an inch in breadth (being
that part to which the eggs were attached),
under a glass upon a marble mantle-piece in
my sitting-room. One of the first operations of
my poor spider, as I said before, was to cover
her eggs with a web. She then proceeded to
fix one of her threads to the upper part of the
glass which confined her, and carried it to the
further end of th piece of grass, and in a
short time had succeeded in raising it up and
fixing it perpendicularly, working her threads
from the sides of the glass to the top and sides
of the piece of grass. There was no mistak-
ing her motives in doing this. She not onlv
286
PIERCE EGAN'S BOOK OF SPORTS.
rendered her precious charge more secure than
it would have been had it remained flat onthe
marble, but she was probably aware that the
cold from the marble would chill her eggs,
and prevent their arriving at maturity ; she
therefore raised them from it in the manner I
have described. On the evening of the fourth
day after I had confined the spider, two of her
eggs were hatched. On coming into my room
the next morning, neither eggs nor young
spiders were to be seen. I was satisfied that
they could not have made their escape, as the
edges of the glass rested on the marble so
closely that the point of a needle could not be
introduced under them. After minutely ex-
amining the spider I was perfectly sure that
not one of her young had attached itself to
any part of her body, in the manner described
by Mr. Kirby. The abdomen of the spider
was however three times the size it had been
the day previous, being very much distended,
and shining as the abdomen of a bee does
when it returns to the hive loaded with honey.
Those who witnessed the altered appearance
of the spider were, like myself, convinced
that the young had been introduced into the
abdomen ; and of this circumstance there
could be no doubt. The death of the spider
soon afterwards prevented further observa-
tions.
THE CARDINAL : There is a large breed of
spiders which are found very generally in the
palace at Hampton Court. They are called
theie cardinals, having I suppose been first
seen in Cardinal Wolsey's hall. They are' a
full inch in length, and many of them of the
thickness of a finger. Their legs are about
two inches long, and their body covered with
a thick hair. They feed chiefly on moths, as
appears from the wings of that insect being
found in great abundance under and amongst
their webs. In running across the carpet in
an evening, with the shade cast from their large
bodies by the light of the lamp or candle, they
have been mistaken for mice, and have occa-
sioned no little alarm to some of the more
nervous inhabitants of the palace. A doubt
has even been raised whether the name of
cardinal has not been given to this creature
from an ancient supposition that the ghost of
\Volsey haunts the place of his former glory
under this shape. Be this as it may, the
spider is considered as a curiosity, and
Hampton Court is the only place in which I
have met with it.
THE VIRGINIAN HORNED OWL.
This species of Owl, according to Mac-
gregor's account of America, is found in
almost every quarter of the United States,
and occurs in all parts of the fur-countries
where the timber is of a large size. Its loud
and full nocturnal cry, issuing from the gloomy
recesses of the forest, bears some resemblance
to the human voice, uttered in a hollow,
sepulchral tone, and has been frequently pro>-
ductive of alarm to the traveller, of which
an instance occurred within my own know-
ledge. A party of Scottish Highlanders, in
the service of the Hudson's Bay Company,
happened, in a winter journey, to encamp
after nightfall in a dense clump of trees,
whose dark tops and lofty stems, the growth
of centuries, gave a solemnity to the scene
that strongly tended to excite the superstitious
feelings of the Highlanders. The effect was
heightened by the discovery of a tomb, which,
with a natural taste often exhibited by the
Indians, had been placed in this secluded
spot. Our travellers, having finished their
supper, were trimming their fire preparatory
to retiring to rest, when the slow and dismal
notes of the horned owl fell on the ear with
a startling nearness. None of them being
acquainted with the sound, they at once con-
cluded that so unearthly a voice must be the
moaning of the spirit of the departed, whose
repose they supposed they had disturbed by
inadvertently making a fire of some of the
wood of which his tomb had been constructed.
They passed a tedious night of fear, and with
the first dawn of day hastily quitted the ill-
omened spot."
SHOOTING WILD DEER.
A number of deer having descended from
the higher grounds in the island of Mull, and
taken shelter in the woods of Drimfin, the
property of Hugh Maclean, Esq., of Coll, in
the vicinity of Tobermory, Argyleshire, a
large party of gentlemen went out some time
since, and, after scouring the woods for a short
time, Wemyss Orrick, Esq. succeeded in
shooting one of these noble animals, at the
distance of about ninety yards. Although
the deer was at full speed when shot at, both
bullets from the double-barrelled gun entered
his body, within two inches of each other.
The deer required the assistance of six men
to remove it to to the road, whence it was
conveyed to the Castle. The sport of the
day was concluded by a numerous parly of
ladies and gentlemen sitting down to a sump,
tuous dinner.
THE MANNER OF HUNTING ELEPHANTS INTO A
KEDDAH IN INDIA.
This grand species of amusement in India
might almost be called a matter of business ;
for it must be undertaken on a very large
scale, at great expense, and it is obviously
intended to serve the purposes of trade and
profit. Elephants are of so much importance
for the various labours of peace, and in the
operations of war, that to provide them now
for our immense possessions in Hindoostan
is a matter of extensive speculation. When
elephant hunting is to be undertaken on this
comprehensive plan, a circuit of country fie-
PIERCE EGAN'S BOOK OF SPORTS.
287
quented by these animals is selected, extend-
ing sometimes to fifty miles ; the whole popu-
lation of the district is raised, and paid for
assisting ; so that on some of these occasions,
more than three thousand persons have been
engaged. A convenient plain is chosen for
the Keddah; and a deep and wide ditch
being formed, in almost a circle, a high strong
fence of bamboos is erected on the outside of
it. From the points of the enclosure which
leave the circle imperfect, two quarter circles,
of the same kind of fence, extend, like arms,
or a funnel, to receive the approaching ani-
mals. In the Keddahs, and on the advanced
ground near it, quantities of the elephant's
favorite food are scattered ; and within the
area are stationed some female decoy ele-
phants, well trained to act their part in the
scheme. As soon as the business commences,
the different parties appointed on the confines
of the district begin by beating the trees and
bushes, by making various noises, and some-
times by making tires. From these the ele-
phants retire ; and being pressed by similar
excitements, always directed towards the
Keddah, they may in three or four days be
brought to its aperture. Here they begin to
devour the food that has been spread for
them ; and are gradually led into the enclo-
sure by the increased supply of nutriment,
aided by the incitements of the females ; after
which a strong barrier is thrown across the
part of the circle left open before, so that the
whole number is secured. Some of the larger
animals will occasionally prove refractory ;
but they are soon intimidated by a squib
thrown amongst them, and often the female
decoy elephants can reduce them to obedience
by beating them with their trunks.
The value of a capture of this kind may be
conjectured, when it is* known that more than
a hundred elephants are frequently taken on
such occasions, and that a fine elephant is
worth nearly a hundred pounds.
A MURDERER SINGLED OUT BY A Doc.
There is at Nemours, in France, a castle of
very ancient structure : it was built by Charles
the Fifth. On one of the chimneys in this
building there is a remarkable piece of sculp-
ture. It represents a battle between an un-
armed man and a mastiff, before a multitude
of spectators. The story is preserved on
record, and is as old as the time of Charles
the Fifth. It is as follows : A person of
some distinction was found early in the morn-
ing, by some peasants, dead, in the midst of an
unfrequented wood, and with marks of vio-
lence on him ; by his side stood a mastiff dog,
that used to attend him in his walks. The
monarch was on the spot when the accident
happened ; he inquired with the utmost rigour
after all that could be supposed guilty. An
ancient animosity between the deceased and
a man of fortune in the neighbourhood had
rendered him suspected. His servants had
sworn to his being in bed early ; himself gave
asseverations of having made up the dispute ;
but the King suspected. Charles the Fifth
was a man of discernment ; he thought guilt
was in his face, in spite of all his assertions
of innocence. He ordered the suspected per-
son, and twenty others, to be set before him
the next day. He produced the faithful dog
that had been found near his master's body ;
the creature singled out the murderer, who
was the very person suspected, and would
have torn him to pieces on the spot, if he had
not confessed the fact, and changed the pun-
ishment."
SMOLENSKO ; OR, A SECOND ECLIPSE.
Smolensko, the property of Sir Charles
Bunbury, which, during his racing career,
excited a greater share of the public curiosity
than any of his most famous predecessors, in
1813 won the two great stakes in the New-
market Spring Meetings ; immediately after-
wards, the Derby Stakes at Epsom ; and the
Magna Charta Stakes at Egham in the fol-
lowing August. It was even betting for the