grief, three's a bridal, four is death." Such snatches of superstition
are still to be heard amidst the gossip of a north-country smithy.

Each black-fisher brought his own spear and torch, both more or less
home-made. The spears were in many cases "gully-knives," fastened to
staves with twine and resin, called "rozet." The torches were very
rough-and-ready things--rope and tar, or even rotten roots dug from
broken trees--in fact, anything that would flare. The black-fishers
seldom journeyed far from home, confining themselves to the rivers
within a radius of three or four miles. There were many reasons for
this; one of them being that the hands had to be at their work on the
farm by five o'clock in the morning; another, that so they poached and
let poach. Except when in spate, the river I specially refer to
offered no attractions to the black-fishers. Heavy rains, however,
swell it much more quickly than most rivers into a turbulent rush of
water; the part of it affected by the black-fishers being banked in
with rocks that prevent the water's spreading. Above these rocks,
again, are heavy green banks, from which stunted trees grow aslant
across the river. The effect is fearsome at some points where the
trees run into each other, as it were, from opposite banks. However,
the black-fishers thought nothing of these things. They took a turnip
lantern with them--that is, a lantern hollowed out of a turnip, with a
piece of candle inside--but no lights were shown on the road. Every
one knew his way to the river blindfold; so that the darker the night
the better. On reaching the water there was a pause. One or two of
the gang climbed the banks to discover if any bailiffs were on the
watch; while the others sat down, and with the help of the turnip
lantern "busked" their spears; in other words, fastened on the
steel--or, it might be, merely pieces of rusty iron sharpened into a
point at home--to the staves. Some had them busked before they set
out, but that was not considered prudent; for of course there was
always a risk of meeting spoil-sports on the way, to whom the spears
would tell a tale that could not be learned from ordinary staves.
Nevertheless little time was lost. Five or six of the gang waded into
the water, torch in one hand and spear in the other; and the object now
was to catch some salmon with the least possible delay, and hurry away.
Windy nights were good for the sport, and I can still see the