LOS 
elated over the success following his 
precepts and swaggered so much that I 
casually remarked that a grasshopper 
or two carefully presented might have 
done the trick in a much shorter time! 
And what a lecture the old fellow gave 
about unfair means used for game fish 
on preserved waters! 
I cut a sufficient quantity of coarse 
erass, measure and pack the fish, but 
of late years I have preferred a large 
(20 tb) basket, so as to keep them in the 
best possible condition by placing grass 
below, between and above the layers. 
The catch was something above the 
average. There were a few of 11 and 
11%, a few of 8 and 8%, the remainder 
We 
went back into the shade, but a few 
from 9 to 10% inches in length. 
yards from the stream where there is a 
noisy rapid above, a clear cold spring 
creek opposite, and as the boy fished 
out two quart bottles of ale for Hugh, 
a quart bottle of ginger ale for himself 
and a bottle of tea for me, with the 
luncheon spread upon the carriage rug, 
Old Hugh declared that the fishing as 
well as the luncheon excelled that of 
thirty years ago. After a time I di- 
rected the boy to carry the remaining 
bottle of ale to the carriage for Mr. 
Rose, later on, but the old man declared 
that Mr. Rose would then and there 
carry it himself; so the cork was pulled, 
he drank, listened to our conversation, 
nodding to this or that, and kept on 
until the bottle became dry, then he be- 
came garrulous. I light a cigar, turn 
over, looking up stream and take in the 
water as it comes tumbling down the 
rapids, the bell-like tinkle of the brook 
opposite, long coarse green sedge grass 
on each side, small pines and tamaracks 
shutting out the view a hundred yards 
beyond, the chattering of a king fisher 
now and then on his way up or down 
The American Angler 
stream, and the flap of a lusty trout as 
he jumps for a fly, or maybe for the 
fun of it, in a pool within twenty feet 
of where we lie, all of which goes to 
make a scene that is well worth a jour- 
ney of thirteen miles, independent of 
the sport connected with it. In the 
meantime Hugh lets himself out to the 
boy. He goes back to Scotland, away 
back in the thirties; told how it came 
about that he settled four miles from 
the village, nowa city; how the wolves, 
bears, deer and turkeys frequented his 
bush farm; how the winter of 1843 
killed off the game and fish, and how 
he liked to have a day on the old stream 
on a Friday on the 7th day of June. 
It was this way he went on to say 
that more than thirty years ago the 
spring was very carly and dry; the 
stream very low and overly fished, so 
that we had great difficulty in taking a 
decent dish, but in time heavy rains 
came on and flooded the country, and 
he approached me for the purpose of 
another day on the stream, and after 
much coaxing I consented, and in three 
hours we took 20 tbs with soldier palm- 
ers, and that was on a Friday, the 7th 
day of June; that we took baskets and 
baskets with red palmers, brown palm- 
mers, Wyckhams and red spinners on 
Fridays, the 7th day of June; that he 
was not well and lay off here in the 
shade whilst I went below and took 
out of the riffles thirty-four— 
‘‘I say, Doctor, what was the fly?” 
‘‘For goodness sake! Hugh, you'll 
drive Fred wild with your yarns, and I 
think you believe all you say about our 
old fishing trips.” 
‘‘Believe, believe,’ repeated the old 
man. ‘‘Hoot, mon! Look at your take 
to-day? Twenty-five troots and twice 
as many thrown back; dizens and diz- 
ens of them more than seven inches in 
