PATRIA—FISHING AND SHOOTING.

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stivaloni. Standing, fishing at my “ post” in the month ofMay, with the water up to my ancles, I have seen theleeches attracted by their acute sense of smelling, comeswimming towards me from all directions, then settle on myboots. Waiting till my hoots were covered, I have some-times had a dry path near, that was covered with sandheated by the sun; gently lifting up my feet I have gotinto the sand, and shaking and scraping off the leeches, havefound the aggregate to weigh two pounds. Not alwaysknowing what to do with our tench, we at first attemptedto keep them shut up in large hampers let down into thewater; hut we soon found that so confined, the leecheswere too many for the tench and even eels; for, afterkeeping them thus pent up for a couple of days, they wereevery one killed by the loss of all their blood, and a dozengreat leeches were found sticking round their gills.

Being now on the subject of Patria, although it will besomewhat in arrear of the period to which I am going toallude, I will retrieve the opportunity of giving to myreaders an account of a very curious person with whom Ibecame acquainted at Patria in 1805.

The intricacies of the locality—the facility of subsistence— the means of communication both by sea and land, renderthis portion of the Maremme as well as the Pontine aconstant retreat for many men who “are in trouble” and“ wanted ” by the police. Some had fled thither to avoid theconscription, others had been guilty of some chance-medley homicide, through too much familiarity with theuse of a gun. Others had fled from the payment of taxes—but none of them that ever I knew were men of badcharacter; on the contrary, they were industrious, temperateand trustworthy. The Bishop of Aversa held some manorialrights over the marshes of Patria, and all the gunners andfishers who had their huts upon them paid a small sumvon. i. 2 b