PHCEBE ELLIOT. 381 



that of Robinson Crusoe by accidental circum- 

 stances, but I was alone from choice. " It may 

 all be very well for the sake of variety," I said to 

 myself, " or in fine weather, and with the power 

 of joining my friends when the sense of loneliness 



becomes oppressive, but such a day as this " 



and I gave a long, wearied yawn, which put an 

 end to my soliloquy. In short, I was on the point 

 of having a bad attack of blue devils, when sud- 

 denly I perceived a break in the clouds, and a 

 speck of blue sky to windward. It was small in- 

 deed ; but as a drowning man catches at a straw, 

 so did I in this " even down pour," on such a 

 slender promise of a brighter evening. The event 

 justified my anticipations. In half an hour the 

 rain had ceased, and I rang the bell for thick shoes 

 and a great coat. Thus armed, I sallied forth to 

 refresh my mind by a change of objects, and my 

 body with a little fresh air by the river side. Fish- 

 ing was out of the question. The grass was much 

 too wet for any, but the most determined disciples 

 of Isaac Walton ; and as I do not profess to be one 

 of these, I was content to follow the beaten path, 

 which ran parallel with the river, and only a few 

 feet from it. 



Dr. Johnson, and many other sedate and learned 

 men, have expressed a great contempt for the 

 sport of fishing. In spite of this, I must confess 

 myself to be an angler, not so much for the pleasure 



