A TRIP TO THE ISLE OF MAN

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2522, 8 September 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

A TRIP TO THE ISLE OF MAN

CHAPTER ll.—'Continued. We had not long to wait for breakfast, for our landlady entered immediately after, bearing a tray with fried liam, boiled eggs, fresli rolls, and butter, and a sweet cake. She asked us if we preferred tea or colfee ? We both decided for coffee, and in a few minutes, this also appeared. In spite of Walker's prediction about his appetite, he attacked the ham and eggs with apparent relish, and declared the rolls and hulfer to be first rate. After a few mout.hfuls, however, he looked across the table to me and said. "I say Charlie, are thero mch animals as seapigs '• Well! no, I don't know that I ever heard of sea pigs, though I have of sea-lions," I replied. " I don't care.." he said, "there must be sea-pigs too, and this ham has been cut off one of them. Don't you notice the fishy taste ?" " I noticed it yesterday," he said; "but •we hud then been eating fish, and that, I thought might have occasioned tho taste in what we partook of afterwards ; but today, we have not done so. Now, I'll tell you how it is :—About one half the people of Douglas are fishermen, (not of course, iuoluding visitors), and in the herring season, there must be an awful lot of waste and offal: now I expect these people fed their pigs upon it, instead of giving them wholesome meal, and the consequence is that (judging from the taste alonp) I am in doubt whether what I have here on my plate, is a piece of bam or a rasher of cod-fish." I thought his surmise was very likely correct, and said so. "Now we must put a stop to this," he continued.

" I don't wish to find fault, as, perhaps, they may consider the mingled flavours au agreeable one. I like fish, and I like ham, but not a combination of the two tastes, as in the mondescript stuff oil my plate. Why, a strict Roman Catholic might eat this in Lent with a perfectly easy conscience. lam going, however, to give a landlady a gentle hint that her bacon is uot to my taste by leaving mine, and confining my attention to the rolls, butter and eggs which are really delicious."

As I did not approve of the flavour any more than himself, I followed his example, saying as I did so that "no doubt we could have fish as oftec as wo wished; and that that diet, wo might venture to vary with the flesh of either oxen or sheep, as those animals are not carnivorous, and could not therefore be fed on fish."

"Eight you are," said Walter. "By Jove! these rolls seem to give one an appetite instead of taking it away." We contrived to make a very good breakfast without the ham, and on Mrs S coming' up to slear away, I told her that ham was what we usually had for breakfast at home, and that we should prefer fish, or occasionally a chop or steak.

She expressed no surprise, but said, " Yea, certainly ! anything that we fancied she would endeavour to get." We thanked her, and that was the last meal when the flesh of the sea-pig (as Walter called it) was served up for us.

When breakfast was over we held a short consultation as to what we should do, and where wc should go. At last Walter said—"That he had noticed several boats out fishing as we steamed into the harbour the day before ; and proposed that we should hire a boat, and try if we could not catch some mackerel. I agreed, and after making some slight change in our apparel, we started on our first fishing excursion. As we passed through the shop I told Bella what we proposed doing, and said weshould be back for dinner about 3 o'clock, if that would be convenient. She said, "yes, certainly, she would tell her Mamma." She also informed us that we should find plenty of boats and boatmen, only too glad to take us anywhere we might wish to go. She then turned to Walter and asked him if he

had quite recovered from the chill, which, she imagined, he had got from bathing.

: "Oh yes, there was not much the matter," he said " the fact is, I was not huttoned up because I was cold, but because I had got no shirt on." She looked somewhat astonished, and then he added, "1,11 tell you all about it when we get back." "Yes, do," she said, "lam curious to know what happeded to you this morning, for I saw that you looked rather illtempered when you came back from your bath ; and I suppose the loss of the shirt had something to do with it." •'Oh! I aid not lose it," ho replied, I had it in my hand, only you did not notice it. Yes, no doubt, there is a legend attached to that shirt, and when we get back from fishing, I'll let you into tho secret of my ill-tempered look, and shirtless condition."

"Well, she said, I hope you will meet with no more mishaps, but will come home looking more pleasant than you did this morning. We then said good-morning, aad went out. As we walked down to the Pier, I remarked to Walter, that he had been very careful to exact a promise to say nothing of what had occurred, and now, I said, you seem quite anxious to tell the girls all about it. " Why you see, Charley, you are not a good hand at telling a yarn, and might have let out that it was stupidity on my part, in not holding on when the cussed thing began to move ; whereas, I shall show clearly that it was pure devilment on the part of that imp on the horse's back, that produced the catastrophe : and so it was too, he whipped up the beast of a horse without giving me proper warning: I was, just about diving into the water when he in mockery, shouted "all right," "I'll make it all right with him, if I can catch him away from the crowd."

By this time we had got near to where the boats were lying, and were immediately saluted with cries of " Boat, Sir ? Boat, your honour?" from at least a dozen fellows.

" Miue's the boat the gentlemen want," said one, pushing before his mates. " That's her, Sir, ' Tho Pretty Jane' ; sails like a duck. There's not a boat in Douglas can beat her."

" Why, the gentlemen would never think of trusting themselves in that coffin," said another; "take mine, Sir, ' The Mermaid.' You might go to Liverpool in her, iu a gale of wind, and not ship as much water as I takes in my grog, and that's none at all."

"There's the boat for you, Sir, 'The Saucy Sally,'" said a third, touching Walter on the arm, and pointing to a boat with the mast already stepped ; " there's not a safer boat in the harbour, and I've plenty of bait and fish lines." As we liked the appearance of this last one best, and also liked the looks of the young fisherman who owned her, we agreed to take her."

Having made known our decision, tlie importunities of the others ceased, and we were soon se.ited in the "Saucy Sally."

The man (whose boat we had engaged) pushed off,- and was about to take bath oars, when Walter insisted upon doing his share of the pulling.

Wo had both been accustomed to rowing, but hitherto, only in fresh, and smooth water; so as there was scarcely a ripple at starting, Walter acquitted himself very w»ll. When we had got, however, a few hundred yards from shore, the waves began to increase in fiize, aad made it awkward for fresh water sailors, and Walter, after catching a crab more than once, was at last knocked backward off his seat into the bottom of the boat.

".Well, I'm darned," he said, " this is different pulling to Witton Pool, Charley ; you come and try your hand." But Happy (that was the namo of tho man, whose boat we had hired, went by) told us that wo could now hoist the sail, and get the fish lines out, as we had got far enough to weather the headland. He accordingly loosed out the main sail, and, having set it and the jib, got out the lines and bait from a locker at tlio stern of the boat, and having given me tho tiller, with instructions to keep her as she was going, proceeded to put baits on the hooks, which consisted of small pieces of bright skin of the herring. When all was ready, he handed a line to each of us, and resumed the steering himself.

After the sails were set, tha boat went faster and easier through the water, as there was a nice little breeze blowing.

We threw out our lines, letting them tow some fifteen yards from the stem of the boat, and presently I felt a tug at mine.

" I've got a bite," I said, and began to haul in, when suddenly the pull ceased, as the fish swam towards the boat, and at a faster rate than we were moving. I continued to haul in, however, and soon felt the weight again, and had the satisfaction of jerking my first mackerel into the boat.

Happy now handed me the helm again, whilst he unhooked the fish.

Mackerel are prettily marked fish when dead, but during the few moments they live after being taken from the water they are exceedingly beautiful.

The colour, which has a metallic lustre, constantly changing from a greenish tint to orange, purple and blue ; in fact, all the colours of the rainbow are seen blending, sometimes one predominating and sometimes another.

Happy said it was a good day for fishing, and so it proved, for in less than an hour we had caught a dozen fish.

Waltor got very excited every time he had a bite, and kept up a running fire of remarks all tho while he was hauling ; such as—" By Jove ! this is a sneezer ; don't he pull; he has found out now that, " all is not gold that glitters" ; he followed a shining mark, and see what it is bringing him to; he'll have a new sensation by and by; Oh ; here he is, and I'll bet that he feels," jerking him into the boat; " just like a fish out of water," We tacked several times ; going about three miles from shore, and then returning to within a mile ; and at the end of a couple of hours had caught twenty fish. I now proposed that we should return, and after a little demur, Walter cousented. "By Jove!" ho said, I had no idea that mackerel fishing was such good sport; it's far better fun. than riding about in one of those rickoty-looking jaunting cars. I expect the towns are pretty much alike here, and that Douglas is the best of them. I vote for fishing every fine day, what say you, Charley P" I said "I thought we ought to see something of the country, and not pass every day upon the water." "As if there was not country enough to be seen in England," he said : "now you cau't go mackerel fishing there, and what wo came out for was a change, and plenty of sea air; so, I say—stick to Douglas and mackerel." We were not long running in, having had the wind on our side all the time; so we did not take down the sail till we were within a couple of hundred yards of the landing place, and in smooth water. When we got ashore, we took three of the mackerel each, and gave the rest to the boatman, paying him at the same time 2s an hour for the use of the boat, and as he had proved a pleasant fellow, we took him to one of the hotels on the quay, and having ascertained that his particular weakness was rum, he was supplied with somewhere about half a tumbler full of that beverage, which he swallowed without water, and without a wiofe.

Walter and I (having each consnmed a small bottle of pale ale, and told Happy that we should in future look out for him when, wo wanted to go out fishing), marched briskly home.

(To be continued),