_A bit of Munchausen._
In the year 1702, there was a universal complaint among the feeders
of cattle in the fens, that they frequently lost a horse, an ox, or
a cow, and could not discover by what means; when watching more
narrowly, they observed a horse, and presently after a cow, go to the
river to drink, and suddenly disappear. On going to the river-side
they saw an eel, the body of which was as large as an elephant. They
could not doubt but this was the thief who had so often robbed them of
their cattle, and they very reasonably concluded if they could catch
the eel, their cattle would henceforth drink in safety. A council
being called among the farmers, they determined upon the following
expedient:--They sent to London and purchased a cable and anchor, by
way of fishing-line and hook, and roasted a young bullock, with which
they baited the hook, and fastened the end of the cable round a barn,
which stood about a hundred feet from the river, and then waited to
see what the morning would produce. At break of day they repaired to
the riverside, when, to their great astonishment, they found that the
eel had been there and swallowed the bait, but in endeavouring to
disengage himself, had pulled the barn after him into the river, and
having broken the cable, made his escape.
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With the present is published a SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER, containing
the SPIRIT of "the ANNUALS" for 1829--with Critical Notices of their
Engravings and Literary Contents, copious Selections, and Unique
Extracts, and a FINE ENGRAVING from a splendid subject; in one of the
most popular of these elegant works.
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