48 Sporting Sketches in Pen and Pencil. 



pound trout has his hiding and his feeding place, past many a pretty 

 peaceful church, too, deep-bosomed in sheltering trees, with the neat 

 parsonage and its trim grounds adjacent. Past many a fretting hatch and 

 weir, and many a picturesque old mill with flashing wheel and hurrying mill 

 stream. Wend you with me, fair sir, and I warrant me that you shall see one 

 of the sweetest trout streams in merry England, and with the pleasantest 

 variety of water too, with here a fine deep mill head that gives rare fishing 

 when a strong sou' -wester blows, and there a rattling, rushing, brattling 

 stream, rippling over its troubled bed like any Highland burnie; and 

 here again a wide, quiet, shallow, weedy now, and now scowery, and 

 then a strong, full-flowing stream, with curls and dimples over all its 

 face, and all well stocked and thoroughly with famous well-fed trout 

 and gamesome." 



And worthy Master Crayon, like a blushing bride, breathed forth the 

 tender sympathetic words, " I will," and "wended." 



The South-Western Railway, being one of the stupidest lines in England, 

 promotes travelling on its rails by making it as inconvenient, interrupted, 

 and dif&cult as possible. Its junctions appear to be injunctions to 

 restrain people from using them. Its branches, which should be the 

 feeders of the main line, feed nothing - not even themselves ; and its 

 times and trains are calculated apparently upon a system of dislocation, 

 so that no one shall be able to catch anything anywhere. Accordingly 

 we have to take a fly from Twickenham to Surbiton, and to pay five 

 shillings for it, as the best way of getting on the main line. However, 

 we are landed at the Surbiton shed, dignified with the name of "station," 

 at last ; and, having taken our tickets at the dog kennel called a " ticket 

 office," we seek the other side, and seat ourselves on the inhospitable knife- 

 board; and, in the fulness of time, we leave all this discomfort behind, and 

 are off. My spirits always rise, even under such depressing circumstances 

 as these, when I am starting on a fishing or shooting trip; so do 

 Crayon's. We have the can-iage to ourselves, and are exceeding cheerful. 

 Crayon waxes mirthful ; and I improvise in a brilliant manner somewhat 



thusly : 



I'm afloat, I'm afloat, on the fierce rolling train, 

 I fear not tte weather, I heed not the rain ; 



