fectly dry. The on dit is, that the prisoners of the dungeon were occasionally hurled headlong to the bottom of this well, and there left to rot in peace; but, said Mr. Craven Berkeley, "it is more probable that it was a secret receptacle for treasure, in times when property was not so secure as it is now-a-days;" and such is the most probable version of, I should think, an idle tale.

A word or two of the wild geese, which, by their colour, I take to be of the Bernicla variety. It is an extraordinary fact, and requiring a better natural historian than myself to account for it, that, although there surely must be one or more males amongst the number, and although they have been all nearly, and some more than, eight years in the keep of the castle, with water at their command, not an egg has been laid by any one of them, neither are they seen to copulate. This looks as if, in this instance, nature-custode potentior omni-will not allow herself to be thwarted, and that the "wild goose" will ever remain wild.

From the number of fine pictures-portraits especially, and by the first masters of all ages-that are in the castle, a picture-gallery is wanting; as from the out-of-the-way spots in which many of them are placed, their value cannot be appreciated. There is one in the middlesized dinner room, which interested me much. It contains the portraits, large as life, of the principal actors in the desperate affray that took place, some years back, between a host of poachers, the greater part sons of respectable farmers in the neighbourhood, and the keepers of Berkeley Castle, which ended in some of the former being hanged. Powell, the head-keeper, and also the park-keeper, both represented by the artist in most perilous situations in the affray, are still in Lord Segrave's service; and if any one doubts the fact of pheasants and foxes being preserved in the same covers, Powell can satisfy him on that point. Perhaps there is no estate in England on which there are so many pheasants and so many foxes as on that of Berkeley Castle. There is a fine picture, also, in the middle-sized dining room, by a celebrated dramatic artist, of Lord Segrave, his brothers Frederick and Augustus, and Mr. Austin, in the characters of an historical piece, his lordship in that of Brutus, with a bloody dagger in his hand, and Cæsar lying dead at his feet. This scene, in its reality, has never, I should imagine, been equalled either in its majesty or its consequences, tarnished only by the association with the assassin's dagger. The circumstance, however, of Brutus holding up the bloody weapon, his calling aloud on Cicero, and the eloquent panegyric, which he (Cicero) spreads round the glorious deed, suggested to Akenside the following among other beautiful images, in his comparison between the grandeur of natural objects, and the far greater sublimity of moral actions :

"Look then abroad through nature, to the range
Of planets, suns, and adamantine spheres,
Wheeling, unshaken, through the void immense;
And speak, O man! Does this capacious scene

With half that kindling majesty dilate

Thy strong conception, as when Brutus rose
Refulgent from the stroke of Caesar's fate,

Amid the crowd of patriots; and his arm,
Aloft extending, like eternal Jove,

When guilt brings down the thunder, called aloud

On TULLY's name, and shook his crimson steel,
And bade the father of his country hail!

For lo the tyrant prostrate in the dust,

And Rome again is free."

Amongst the modern trophies within these ancient walls, I wished to see the splendid gold cup given to Lord Segrave, in 1826, by the members of the Berkeley Hunt, and it was shewn to me with pleasure by Mr. Ellis, the butler, in whose keeping it is. Justly was it described as having been "executed in a style of magnificence and tasteful elegance seldom equalled," as a short description of it will at once shew. In the first place, it is two feet six inches in height, and capable of containing a dozen bottles of wine! It is supported by the four seasons, admirably executed, standing on a richly chased and massive pedestal, divided into eight compartments-those at the corners being decorated with masks of horses' heads from the antique. The first medallion displays the family arms; the second, a cast of favourite foxhounds, from a picture in the castle; the third, a vixen fox and her cubs; and the fourth, a complimentary inscription. This splendid offering of esteem was to have been presented by his Grace the Duke of Beaufort, then Marquis of Worcester; but the task devolved on an influential member of the Hunt-Mr. Browne, of Salperton-who delivered an appropriate address; and although I cannot, at this moment, put my hand on it, I remember one passage in his lordship's reply, impressed on my memory by the signal compliment it pays to fox-hunting. "I will take upon myself," said Lord Segrave, "to pronounce fox-hunting to be an amusement without alloy. It is the bond of union, the source of lasting friendship, and, whilst it enlivens the present day, it brings in its train the most agreeable recollections of days long since gone by." I know not whether I have quoted this passage quite word for word, but I am certain that I have preserved the spirit of it. The expression of "lasting friendship" I can answer for having been used, for it made, what may be called, a two-fold impression on my memory. First, it is strictly corroborative of my own experience of the effects of fox-hunting on the human heart; secondly, it fell gracefully and with truth from the lips of one who is remarkable, which Lord Segrave is, for his steady attachment to old friends. In this there is no dissimulation; as the poet says

"Nec si fortè velis, dissimulare potes."

It has always been my practice to observe closely the conduct and carriage of servants in the different houses I may have visited, and I have taken pleasure in attesting their merits. On the authority of George IV., Mr. Ellis, the butler at Berkeley Castle, is the paragon of his caste; and, from what I have seen of him, I am quite ready to confirm the royal opinion. Although far advanced "into the sere," and with not more than a score hairs on his head, he is as active as he need be for all purposes of his calling, and his attention to his master's guests is something quite extraordinary. He absolutely anticipates their wants. Mrs. Ellis is equally good, I understand, in her situation of housekeeper; and they have both lived in the family for a long series of years.

Independent of the historical recollections associated with Berkeley Castle, there appears to me to be but one thing wanting to complete the

picture of a grand baronial residence; and this is, its not being situated in the noble park attached to it, amongst the thousand-year-old oaks that still overhang its plain; and whence the-here classical-Severn is to be seen, in some of its most beautiful windings, and washing the banks of one of England's richest vales. Much of the picturesque effect is lost by the present situation of the castle, as is the case with all houses that appear to be too large for the premises which surround them, and which caused some writer on such matters to say, taking his metaphor from the orchestra," the house should play the second fiddle. When a huge mansion stands on a small base of cultivated groundabout it, it gives the appearance of a large inn without a sign, and of a rich owner without taste." But allowance here must be made for the times in which Berkeley Castle was built; when the town of Berkeley, which now reaches to its gates, was, no doubt, a very insignificant place, although the parish was so large as to give a name ("the Berkeley Hundred") to a considerable district of the county.

Sunday, 17th.-A party of Lord Segrave's friends were expected to dinner at the Castle, this day, for the purpose of hunting on the morrow, but a fall of snow taking place (Friday's luck again,) prevented them making their appearance. The night also was frosty, which looked like a stop to hunting for a time; but something like a change taking place on the Tuesday, I determined upon going to Tetbury that night, for the chance of a day with the Duke of Beaufort's pack on the Wednesday, his Grace having written to me to say, that a horse should be at cover for me, and that he would convey me to Badmington upon wheels. But here my Friday's luck again shewed itself. On being called in the morning, I was told that the snow was undiminished, and that it had frozen sharply after midnight-all which was true, so I turned myself round and went to sleep. This I had much cause to lament. The place of meeting being in a warmer country, the hounds met, and threw off about noon, and had a capital thing of forty-one minutes, to ground; so fast, indeed, that not more than a dozen out of upwards of two hundred horsemen were at the finish. I lamented my ill-luck the more, because this was a day of more than usual interest, Lydiard Plain being one of Lord Moreton's covers, and the Duke's meet was by sufferance.

But a word or two more on this Lydiard Plain. There is a tract of country on one side of it, called the Breden country, pronounced, by men who have seen the pink and cream of fox-hunting, to be the most favourable for hounds to shew sport in that all England can produce. And its excellence can at once be accounted for. It is all old grass, of a very coarse nature, therefore never closely eaten down; the fields very large, and very strongly fenced; and, above all, the total absence of live stock, which occasion such difficulties to hounds. So completely free is it, in fact, from any such stain, that in a capital run of upwards of ten miles, point blank, which the Duke's hounds had over it last season, a blind grey horse was the only living animal seen by any of the field. Lord Alvanley was out, and so delighted at the finish, that he chucked a sovereign to a yokel who held his horse, or rendered him some very trifling assistance. His lordship went in his usual style, though somewhat short of work at the time, having been leading a London life.

34

THAMES FISHING.

From "HOFLAND'S BRITISH ANGLER'S MANUAL."

In the very brief notice of this admirable book, to which we were unwillingly restricted in our last number, we promised to return to it presently. We hasten to redeem that pledge, for which our readers will hold themselves our debtors. It is difficult to select from materials among which you can detect "nil non laudabile." We have no reason for offering the subjoined extract, save that it appears to have been written by our author con amore. Mr. Hofland has become, as

it were, native to those banks whose vicinity he describes below: it is natural to find him offering incense to old Father Thames even as to a household god.

THAMES FISHING.

The vast metropolis of the British empire contains many thousand brothers of the angle, "who have few opportunities of exercising their gentle craft," at any great distance from home; it is, therefore, a happy circumstance, that they have so noble a river as the Thames, in which to practise their art. The scenery on its banks is of unrivalled beauty, and few streams contain a greater variety of fish, and fishing stations. I have met with anglers who affect to despise Thames fishing; but for myself, after having cast a fly in many of the principal rivers and lakes in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, I can still enjoy a day's barbel, or roach, and dace fishing at Richmond, Teddington, or Hampton. A fine balmy day, the delicious scenery, a cheerful and skilful companion, a pic-nic dinner on board your punt, and ten or fifteen brace of barbel to carry home, are pleasures not to be scorned; and give me leave to tell those gentlemen who despise Thames fishing and cockney anglers, that many of them would cut a poor figure in a punt, or on shore, if they had to contend with the practised neatness, quickness, and dexterity of a London artist.

I shall now enumerate the various kinds of fish found in the Thames, and name the places where they most abound.

The salmon has been driven from the river by the gas-works and steam navigation, not one having been caught, to my knowledge, during the last twelve or fourteen years; although many were taken, formerly, of a peculiarly fine quality, within my recollection, at Mortlake, Isleworth, and other places. The brandling, salmon pink, or skegger, has also disappeared; the last salmon I saw taken in a net, was opposite Twickenham meadows, in the year 1818.

I shall commence my list with the trout, which are few in number, but celebrated for their large size and the excellence of their flavour. They are taken from five to fifteen pounds' weight. The pike and jack are more numerous, and the following fish are abundant, in all parts of the Thames, from Battersea bridge upwards; viz., perch, barbel, chub, eels, lampreys or (seven eyes) flounders, roach, dace, gudgeons, bleak, pope, ruffe, and minnows. In some places, fine carp and tench are taken, and the delicate smelt may also be caught, by angling in the Docks below London bridge.

I shall now describe the different fishing stations, commencing below London bridge, and proceeding upwards, to Streetly, in Berkshire. In the wet Docks below London bridge, perch, roach, bream, and sometimes smelts, may be taken: permission to angle is obtained from the governors or directors of the different companies. The Commercial Docks, near Deptford, abound with perch, and large bream; and tickets for the season may be procured, without expense, by application to a director of the company.

Formerly, Blackfriars' and Westminster bridges were favourite places of resort, but various causes have driven the fish further up the river; and I now find the

first station to be Battersea bridge, where good roach and dace-fishing may be had, during the months of July, August, September, and October, from a boat fastened to the piles of the bridge. The same kind of fishing may also be had at Putney bridge, where boats may be hired at one shilling for the first hour, and sixpence for each succeeding hour. Two hours before, and one after flood, are the best periods for these stations. I may here observe, that angling is not allowed in the Thames during the three fence months of March, April, and May. Angling commences on the first of June, when the gudgeon-fisher will find plenty of this "small fry," from Teddington lock to Windsor, till August, when roach, dace, and barbel-fishing commences, and continues till Christmas. From Putney to Richmond, the Thames affords few places either for punt, or bank-fishing; I have, however, had tolerable sport off the Aits, at Brentford, and there are some good spots for bank-fishing, between Isleworth and Richmond, on the Surrey side of the river.

RICHMOND. This beautiful village has long been a favourite resort, and here the angler will find the first and most extensive deep, or preserve, on the river. This, and the other preserves in the Thames, were granted by the corporation of London, whose jurisdiction extends to Staines, for the benefit of the towns in their neighbourhood, for angling exclusively; as fishermen are not allowed to cast a net of any kind into the river, westward of the bridge, as far as the Duke of Buccleuch's, a distance of seven hundred yards, or into any other preserve hereafter named.

The town, and its beautiful vicinity, are too well known to require description. The inns are of every possible grade, from the splendid to the comfortable; of the latter character, I should name Mrs. Durrant's, near the bridge; and of the former, the Star, the Talbot, and the Castle. Punts may be hired of George Platt, the fisherman; or of Brown, the waterman; at the rate of five shillings per day, attendance included.

The best station for barbel is in the deep, about two hundred yards above the bridge, from the middle of August to the end of October: but, in the early part of the season, I prefer a pitch at the extremity of the preserve, opposite the Duke of Buccleuch's boat-house; where the dace are very numerous, and many barbel are also caught with dace-tackle. In fact, the most general mode of fishing for barbel, at Richmond, is with fine tackle, as the barbel, though plentiful, do not run so large as they do higher up the Thames. The dace are very large in the deep, and if a heavy barbel be hooked, he affords much more sport with dace-tackle, than with the ledger. In the last week of August, 1818, in a pitch in the deep, opposite the summer-house, I caught, with fine dace-tackle, three barbel in succession, after four o'clock, P.M., weighing twenty-one pounds; and although I have fished in the same spot many seasons since then, I have never taken one of more than five pounds' weight. The largest of these three fish weighed eight pounds, and had, hanging to his gills, three No. 10 hooks, with shotted gut; and, from the peculiar manner in which the shot were placed, I knew the fragments must have belonged to the Rev. Mr. Waring, of Isleworth, who, indeed, afterwards owned them. I shall have further occasion to speak of this most worthy brother of the angle, whom I have long considered the king of Thames' fishers.

The pitches I have recommended, are for a clear water; but after a fresh, and when the water is high, and somewhat coloured, the best stations will be found three or four yards from the bank, on the Middlesex side of the river, and between the bridge and the Duke of Buccleuch's. On the 4th October, 1835, when the water was high, and rather discoloured by two or three days' rain, after twelve at noon, I caught twenty dozen fish, principally roach, weighing altogether twenty-five pounds. My station was, three or four yards

Having spoken of coloured water, I must here inform the young angler, that sport cannot be expected when the river is rising rapidly, and is of a white yeasty colour, from the muddy waters of the Mole, and other tributary streams; but when it is clearing, and becomes a greenish grey, he will be well rewarded for his labour.