We watched for them attempting the other passage; many escaped
us, but we captured sufficient for our dinner. We threw them out upon
the grass, at a distance from the stream, so that they could not leap
back. My daughters had taken more than I; but the sensible Sophia threw
back those we did not require, to give them pleasure, she said, and
Matilda did the same, to see them leap. We then removed our hurdles,
dressed ourselves, and I began to consider how I should cook my fish;
for I had no fire, and had never kindled one myself. However, I had
often seen Mr. Hirtel, who was a smoker, light his pipe by means of the
flint and steel; they were in the precious morocco case, together with
tinder and matches. I tried to strike a light, and after some
difficulty succeeded. I collected the fragments of the branches used for
the hurdles, the children gathered some dry leaves, and I had soon a
bright, lively fire, which I was delighted to see, notwithstanding the
heat of the climate. I scraped the scales from the fish with my knife,
washed them in the rivulet, and then placed them on the fire to broil;
this was my apprenticeship in the art of cookery. I thought how useful
it would be to give young ladies some knowledge of the useful arts; for
who can foresee what they may need? Our European dinner delighted us as
much as the bath and the fishing which had preceded it.
Pages:
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441