The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-08-22

believed it to be so then, having told it
often enough to give to it the most i'm
pllcit crcdencc by the time he arrived
ut mans estate. In addition, as I be.
fore stated, to this harmonious weak
ness, Dob's distinguishing charactcrism,
his principal vanity was 'fshing,'--
10 HIM all other active amasemcnts
we're as nausht, or ut any rate, subor.
dmatc to this. Bob was a fisherman /!
nc had a genius for the thing, which dc.
Vclopcd itself i'll all his actions in that
regard. lie considered the somewhat
prccarious dominion We exercise over
the monsters of the briny Deep as the
greatest and most important of the gifts
OF the Creator to his creature. lie
loved fishing was ola piscivorous hab.
1t, and loved to eat 'cm when caught:
prctcrrinS fish to either sflesh or
iowl.' lie was prcdcstincd to an cx-
cccdlnS close affinity with the scaly
tribe, being clerk in a fish store was
marked naturally with the figure of a
fish under the left arm-cithcr whale
or mackcrel, Bob didn't know which
had 'iishy' look with him, a white
looking ".yc, a sharply defined, attcnu-
atcd, and exceedingly straight and
pointed nose, closely resembling that of
4 plkc,--in strange contrast with the
usual organs Of the Misses Stimson,
a!l of which we're decidedly and ambi.
tlouslv 'snubbish, "a pouting, oval
shaped mouth, with little or no chin
thcrc"nto attachcd,--in fact, presented
quite shady appearance. From
very broad shoulders hung down two
arms-rcaching but tride lower than
Tie place where the HIS ought to be
which in walking were not swung
to aud fro after the manner of ordinary
mortals, but dashed out latcrally; in a
spasmodlcal sort of fashion, very much
like man swimming. This, in addi-
ton to a slightly wriggling style of
Professionalism, forming 'tout cnscm-
Die decidedly riscatorial. AS before
stated, Bob was Il fisherman. The
twelfth Zodiacal sign was lis natal con
stcllation. lie was born under 'Piscis
MAJOR and had entirely abandoned HIM
self to It's influences. Bob religiouslv
devoted all holidays to his favoritc pur.
suit. lie was deeply learned in the
names, nature, habits and haunts of the
entire finny tribe had al: the marks
and grounds known to old sporsmcn
for thirty miles round, and considered
1t GLORIOUS sport to start at daylight with
two dollars worth of soft crab and
shrimp for bait, row eight or nine
miles against strong tide, sit all day
III the hot sun and row back at night
with bunch Of fish which might justly
be considered dear at quarter of a
dollar! This was what Bob consider.
cd real, substantial enjoyment. none
OF your 'wishy-washy, namby- -pamby-
ISM foc him. lie cschcwcl all dane.
'nG, thcatrlca!s, picl,ics, kissing parties
and the like, as weak, mawkish. and
beneath the dignity Of man! consider.
lng his favoritc pasti'rc the only real
sonrcc Of nnalloycd amusement of an
out door life, with music for domestic
recreation the two combined when
Fosslblc,-thc very acme of human eli.
joymcmt.
Bob had stored his mind with col
lection of legends III relation TO the
gentle art commencing with 'Jonah's
Whale, which he considered as being
dccllcdl.y the most authentic of the mi,
raclcs, though, as he himself remarked.
1t certainly was curious how the whale,
having succeed in getting upon 'dry
lahd 1or the purpose OF vomiting up Jo-
nah, managed to get back to his native
element, being lcglcss and unwicldv;
but Bob's organs Of 'marvcllousncss'
was small, by no means correspondent
with his musical development, not-with-
standing the active exercise of his Idc-
allty, caused him to narratc continual
ly Fish Storics,' which stretched to
ITS utmost tension the largest organ of
Wonder III possession Of his hearers.
One OF Bob S tavoritc stories was in re-
latlon to the taking, in a seine, of a
huge sea bass Of exactly the same
lenSt as himself, to an inch, upon that
portion of the shores Of Staten Island
where now stands the whlom water.
ing Place. New Brighton. In this
adventure his life was pcrilcd repeated
~ beng dragged by the scaly 'lcvia.
than several times beyond his depth,
and though very fond Of going in Il
swimming Bob could not swim.
This affair Bob regarded as the 'chcf
douvrc' of his life; its result, as dcci
dcdIy more important than that of the