DAYS IN DOVE DALE 59 



as well have waded as not, considering the 

 many duckings I got off sliding stones and 

 slippery banks, and all I can say as regards 

 my trout is that I held on to him as long as 

 I could under the difficult circumstances, but 

 at last he broke away from me, and I fished 

 no more. 



The major meanwhile waded up the stream, 

 and was rewarded with two brace of nice 

 trout as the result of a good deal of hard work ; 

 for if the sides of the river are rough, the shallow 

 bed is abominable. 



Even yet, with all my misfortunes and 

 mishaps, I am unwilling to believe that I am 

 not just as ardent a disciple as I was when I 

 entered on this new career a fortnight ago ; 

 if one can catch no fish, there is genuine 

 pleasure to be got in walking by the side of a 

 lovely stream ; and it is specially charming 

 when the full moon is shining on the water, 

 and in a spot where the pine woods crown 

 the heights, and the beech, the elm, and the 

 oak combine their undulating and many- 

 tinted foliage on the hill sides and cast their 

 shadows on the moonlit river, as it runs deep 

 and slow in a semi-circular sweep beneath and 



