Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-06-07


three days reaching our destination, the
| village of Hickling, near Hiciling Broad in
! Norfolk; and short tramp from Hichlinc
accompanied by village cart well laden
| with Gypsy belongings, brought us to the
waterside. Here. hard by an Old daub-and-
waffle cottage, whose peasant owner roared
| out an alarming welcome, we found our
punt. This was already in fine order for
! the season. the cottagcr having cared for it
| in winter, and got it in readiness against
the Gipsies' coming: and in an hour more
| the floating summer-home was launched
| the evening meal in preparation, and snug
| quarters for all the motley crew
| ARRANGED 70. THE MIGHT
Consulting the map OF England. it will be
noticed that the shires of Norfolk and Suf-
| folk push out boldly from the nearly North
/ and South English coast line into the Ger
man ocean. The shore is here & mass of
! sand hills and dunes. Nearly the entire
! surface of the two shires behind it is but 4
| few feet above the level of the sea, and in
many respects is similar to Holland, which
| is but 100 miles distant TO the east. The
whole eastern portion OF the shires is dotted
! with extensive r6edy and nlarshy sheets OF
water, OF but from three 10 six feet in
| depth, with IL hard, smooth bottom of mari.
| These lake-like marshes OF lagoonS are feed
| ers to the Bure, Ysre and Waveney rivers,
! all of which from confluence. and flow lazily
| into the sea at the ancient city Of Yarmouth.
! These lagoons are provincially called The
| Broads.'' No one knows how or when the
! term originated. Their borders are chiefly
| fiat and nlarshy. But many are richly
wooded to the waters edge, giving them 4
! peculiarly picturesque beauty. particularly
| in contrast with wide, fat or slightly undu-
lating fens by which they are surrounded.
Altogether thOre are nearly fifty of these
breads, all communicating with each other
by lazy currents called dykes, or with the
rivers, which they fee0; and their total
water surface is about 5000 acres They
TEEN with fish-the roach, Dream, perch and
pike-and are the resort OF countless water
fowls. EeIs and musselS are taken from
them by the ton. In their quiet, their un-
usual diversity. the characterize folk who
live beside them, the almost countless miles
of river and dyke waterway Tor small boat
ing and yachting, the quaint and SUNNI old
inns-of-cau dOtting here and there the silent
shores, and the genuine possibilities for
securing fish and game among them, they
no doubt possess sweeter and subtler
charms than any other known resort in
England
TO THE NATURALIST AND SPORTSMAN.
My tawny friends belonged to neither
class, but our house boat possessed quite as
many provisions for necessary comfort as
many of the hundreds of aristocratic yachts
which haunt the region, and its crew and
passengers were quite as care-frce and
merry. The boat itself was about twenty
four feet in length and perhaps eight in
breadth. Properly speaking there was
neither ''fore'' nor aft but the terms
were interchangeable at will AT one end
was little compartment, having at its own
extreme end a comfortable bed for the
Gypsy and his wife with a capacious door
closed COCKER beneath. In this all the
provisions and valuables were stored. EiX-
tending towards the middle Of the boat
were four hunks. two on either side, with
sliding windows above. In these slept
Fashion, Melinda Bess and coupe of the
lesser progeny. Still in front of this was
the most curious compartment of all. In
its center, on the bottom of the punt where
there had been made a solid bed of baked
clay, shaped like gigantic saucer, was the
Gypsy fire that is never allowed TO go out;
and above it the real Gypsy crooked iron
kettle stick, firmly embedded in the clay.
Here is where our kettle sung, and where
the sweet perch and lucious pike Were
broiled while the smoke escaped sometimes
through a round hole in the roof. but gen
orally and principally where it listed. This
was kitchen and parlor in our boathouse.
Necessary utensils hung against the walls,
but could not quite hide many efforts at
decorative art. from the illustrated papers,
pasted solidly in their places and given an
tique and generous coloring from the smoke
of the burning 'hOverS" OF peat.
AulidshipS was our salon. 1t was not
large but, as ''Gran'pop Wharton" re-
marked, Hit 'ad good prospecs, an airy
ones.' This was covered by an old sail
that had once done duty with the Yarmouth
herring feet. Here our hearty meals were
taken; and this place was also the work
room where the nimble fingers OF the Clip
sizes wrought the pouches and baskets of
flag and osier. Beyond this. and extending
to the end rof the boat opposite that oc-
cupied at night by father, mother ana
daughters, was 4 little shed-like coop,
where the Gypsy grandfather, the huge
lad, myself and d few OF the children had
comfortable hunks for the night; and on
top of this, something after the fashion of
the upper deck of our American willow
ware hawkerS' wagons was z sailcOvered
place where the stores VI baskets and
pouches were kept until sale-the show
room, as it were for
THE FISHERS AND HUNTERS OF THE La
GooNS.
Then came the nights and days of this
strange. quaint life with my Gypsy friends
among the Breads We seldom remained
long at one mooring. There were countless
cottages of farmers, fenmen and marshmen
to be visited. The Gipsies were welcome
everywhere Old anglers and fowlers
paused in their wherries, gave CHEEKY greet |
ings, often made purchases, and never
passed without fiinging white money
into our outlandish punt. Many of the pas
sengers of yachts visited, patronized and
tipped US handsomely for our ever-reddy |
secrets of where the perch and pike were |
hiding. All day long it was greeting and |
parting now a wherry with a single occu- |
pant fierce and restless in quest for game; |
now boat-load of roysterers, careless of |
all but carelessneSS and enjoyment; now a
market-boat being ''polled" or rowed, or |
both, to the market village, with the entire |
perhaps some lone naturalist in hungry |
harmless quest of rare butterflies and bugs |
Then came evenings when the sun went |
down in fores IS of waving reeds flaming |
the matches OF some low-lying cottage OH |
opposite shore, we.rdly lighting the arms |
of the huge wind mills of the region, |
bringing to looming nearness the grim |
Norman towers of some far olden church, |
or gliding the top of some medieval ruin as |
with gold. Then as it sank from sight, the |
waters for moment were purple, the |
reeds puce, and then in another moment |
everything was pitchy black until the
stars, shining in the depths above and from
the waters beneath, seemed to enyelop ALL
Then the songs and chirps of myriad in
sects, the whirr and splash of late homing
water fowl; and the witching whispered
soughing of the breeze in the rushes and the
reeds. And then 'Gran- pop Wharton
hugsing his thin old fiddle to his thin old !
breast, played many Gypsy lullaby tune
that seemed to merrily or plaintively |
answer back the witch-tongues of the |
reeds, until, as the ''peat-hovers'' hickered
fainter and fainter in our cabin, all nature |