CHAPTER XV 



FISHERMAN'S LUCK 



MALL claim have I to call myself a fisher- 

 man, for although in the thraldom of a 

 long and busy life I have had constantly 

 before the eyes of my mind the possible charm of 

 fishing in some picturesque and secluded spot, 

 away, far away, from the hubbub and the noise 

 and the garish turmoil of the city, how rarely have 

 I been able to convert these dreams into pleasant 

 realities ! My too prolonged incarceration reminds 

 me of the familiar lines from Keats' sonnet 



" To one who has been long in city pent, 

 'Tis very sweet to look into the fair 

 And open face of heaven, to breathe a prayer 

 Full in the smile of the blue firmament." 



During the last sixteen years of my life I have 

 written quite a pile of little booklets, all of which 

 record, more or less, my various angling ex- 

 periences, and I think I may safely say they do 

 not badly represent what I may call FISHERMAN'S 

 LUCK. 



