Trouting. 57 



man, I was anxious that he should have sport, and I gave him the 

 best advice I could as to the best places to get it ; but I found that 

 he was seised of the notion that I commended to him the worst places 

 under a desire to get the best myself — a practice which no one who 

 knows me would, I tliink, accuse me of. Coming down to this water, 

 I knew that, as there was no fly to speak of up yet, there would be no 

 chance at all on the lower water ; but this makes no such diiierence on 

 the flats, and I advised him as his best chance of getting a brace of fish 

 to fish the flats, and I went on to below the hatches to bide my chance, 

 leaving the flats to him. 



" Now," I said to Penton, " you'll see he knows a deal better than 

 I do. He won't believe that I have given him the best chance, but 

 he'll think I want to fish down here, and he will come down below me 

 to the next meadow ; and if he does, I'll go up on the flats and catch a 

 fish or two." Sure enough, five minutes hadn't passed, when down came 

 my friend hot foot. As he was passing me I looked round. 



" I am going down on to the bottom," he said. 



"All right," quoth I ; " then I'll go up to the flat ; " and up I went 

 and killed three fish and lost one on it. I had just landed the last, 

 having worked the water down, when up came my friend again, with 

 his rod over his shoulder, looking rather sold. 



"Did you do anything ? " I asked. 



" Never got a rise," he replied. 



" Didn't tliink you would," said I ; " I've got a leash and lost 

 one." 



He said nothing, but walked on ; and after a time, when the fly 

 came out, I went down and made out another brace or so. 



An hour passes pleasantly. Crayon fishes the rough pool below the 

 hatches, through which certainly the finest stream on the water runs ; 

 and from that down to the luncheon hut and round the bend he 

 picks up another fish or two, and loses ditto, while I flsh steadily up 

 and get two brace, losing also a quota. Then, having worked up to 

 our Templvm Sandwichii, we take our ease in a lull of the rising, and 

 eat our lunch, and have the fish laid out, &c., &c. Another faint rise 



