44 8 Notes on Sport and Travel vi 



was lower than she had been known to be for years, 

 exposing her pebbles in the most reckless manner, 

 and leaving yards of bare slippery stones between 

 her gracious self and her swardy, heathery, broom- 

 birch-and-gorse-fringed banks, while the rows of pre- 

 Adamite stepping-stones stood out like sets of 



ancient teeth. Nathless, and I determined to 



try her, with a lingering hope that some of her finny 

 children might possibly be kind enough, knowing it 

 to be the last day, to permit themselves to be per- 

 suaded that a small bundle of golden pheasant, pea- 

 fowl, and cock's feathers represented something good 

 to eat, or that ' Hairy Jack ' was a veritable cater- 

 pillar ; not that / believed — not that I did believe, 

 that they would be betrayed into such a weakness, 

 with a bright sun, and a river so low that one had to 

 take care not to lose it between the pools, and fish 

 the turnpike-road instead. I knew that the case was 

 almost hopeless. As Somebody's forester said to 

 Somebody, the other day, who, having missed a stag, 

 and killed a hind who had a young calf with her, 

 applied to him for consolation, ' It could na paw-A^Xy 

 be waur.' 



But I had borrowed a spoon, mysterious Yankee 

 invention, evidently discovered by a 'cute Help, who 

 had vamposed into the swamp with the family plate, 

 and found himself hard up for baits ; and with this I 

 determined to try. I fished two or three pools with 

 it, — moved not a fish, — lost heart, — put on ' Hairy 

 Jack,' — rose a mad grilse, and killed a sea-trout, — 



