The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-04 00:00:00

A STRANGE EEL.

- - -
REMARKABLE DISCOVERY at HE LENS BURG 11.
As a party of gentlemen from Glasgow were out fish.
ing for eels on Saturday, opposite Helensburgh, one of
them hooked a fish of unusual magnitude, which gave
him a good deal of trouble to bring to the surface of the
water. This being at length achieved, he was startled
by observing an unusual appearance about the heal
of the fish —a fine large eel, at least seven f-et in
length, and of proportionate thickness, and called out to
his companions to come to his assistance. By their joint
exertions, it was hauled alongside of the boat, in a state
of great exhaustion ; and it was discovered, strange as
it may appear, that it actually had a white hat on !
Its head had gone by some means or other clear through
the crown of the hat, which had stuck firmly upon its
dorsal fin. Much wonder and amusement was• of course
excited by the circumstance, and the hat upon being
examined was found marked with the initials O.K.
of Glasgow. Inside of it were found several small
crabs, which had taken advantage of the shelter it
afforded to fasten themselves upon the neck of the
eel, and had doubtless been the principal cause of
the exhaustion of the animal. The hat was carefully
taken off, and the eel, as if relieved from a great in-
cumbrance, appeared to have suddenly revived, and in
sinuated its body through the sleeve of a shcoting coat
which one of the party bad left carelessly hanging
over the gunwhale of the boat. In another instant,
and before an effort could be made to arrest its pro-
gress, it darted overboard, coat and all, to the no small
amazement of most of the party, and to the con-
sternation of the luckless wight, who was so uncere-
moniously deprived of his garment, In the pocket
of the coat was a small whisky flask, a yellow
silk handl;fychief, some railway scrip, and a, promissory
note, due on iticnday (this day), besides several letters,
f a tender nature. The
iome of which were o
gegegman, whose name, for ovions reasons, we sup-
nress, lit first inclined to jump into the water after
this `xtr rttir"iri
depredator, but was withheld by his
,tO
companions, who forthwith rowed ashore. A reward was
immediately offer'M for the apprehension of the eel with
the coat on, and we Ciderstand that the boatmen of
Helensburgh made several unsuccessful attempts'during
the day to fall in with it, and that they will recom-
mence operations at an early hour this morning. In
the meantime, the hat of C. K. remains in proper cus-
tody—little the worse for its immersion ; ang We have
no doubt it will be delivered over to him upon P4tisfap7
tory explanation of his proprietorship.—Glasgow Argun.

FowE'r.—The pilchard fishery here is looking
gloomy, the teens at present having taken nothing—the
weather is now unfavourable.—Plymouth Journal,
DISPUXED TITLE TO A LEGACY.—A sharp-looking
young lad, apparently not more than twelve years old, was
placed at the bar of the Borough Manchester Court, on
Thursday, on suspicion of having stolen a pocket handker-
chief from Mrs. Taylor, Great Ancoats-street. The charge
having been stated, the boy, appearing to be deeply affected,
said—Sir, it is my father's viper ; he died a short time ago,
and that was all he left me as a legacy. Mr. Maude--Is
there any mark by which you know 10 Boy—Oh, surely,
Sir ; there's a little bit off the right-hand corner, and a
small hole in the middle that a fly might creep through.—
(Laughter.) Mr. Maude—Why, contrasting the colour of the
handkerchief with that of your face, hands, and clothes, one
would say, 11 priori, that it did not belong to you; if it did, we
should not find it in such a state. Boy—Ob, Sir, I never uses
that, Sir; I know better. I always keeps it lapped pp, near,
clean, and sacred, because of my father, Sir. Mr. Mande-,4107
often have you been here ? Boy (meditating)—Why, I can
recollect four times. Mr. Maude—You are a sharp boy, and
it is a pity you cannot conduct yourself properly. It appears
you cannot behave yourself out of a prison. so you must go back
for three rnonths.—Manchester Guardian.
METROPOLITAN IMPROVEMENTS —The new line of
road from the London Docks to Spitalfields Church is now
nearly compleed. The kerbs are laid down along its whole
length, and carriage and foot traffic are carried on nearly the
whole of it. The road, it is intended, shall be continued
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Countiesee
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Railway, but no preparations an g
tion of this part of it. The estirna ed cost of the construction
of the portion reaching from Spitalfields Church to Ektresl.tch
is 40,209/. It is projected that the line shall be further lex
r
tended from the railway station, across Holywell-lane, Curtain:
road, Paul-st.-eet, and Tabernacle-walk, into the City-road, at
the point where it is intersected by Old-street. This plan,
which would give a direct communication between the eastern
and western parts of the metropolis, would also serve as a junc-
tion to the two railways running to either side of the City,
and it is expected would ease that part of the burden of a great
deal of traffic towards the waterside. The amount required for
the completion of the project is :112,000/. The plan of im-
provements in this quarter also includes a street from the Com-
' mercial-road to the end of Red Lion-street, in Whitechapel.