i22 FISHERMAN'S LUCK 



may have taken place of the mild zephyr which 

 the morn betokened ; scorching sunshine or 

 tempestuous downpour may have spoilt his sport ; 

 he complaineth not whilst he hath a " to-morrow " 

 to retrieve the fortunes of to-day. It is only when 

 that to-morrow has to bear him away from his 

 pleasant haunts and hurry him back to the hateful 

 city that his equanimity is somewhat disturbed. 



It is sixteen years and more since, for the first 

 and only time, I explored the beauties of Dove- 

 dale. There it was that I caught my first trout 

 from the placid waters of the enchanted Dove, my 

 first trout for perhaps forty years, for during that 

 rather long period of time, when considered as a 

 slice out of the usual span of human life, I had 

 scarcely ever held a rod. Ah, that was a pleasant 

 time ! We reached, as I well remember, that 

 delightful old hotel, The Izaak Walton, in a 

 tremendous downfall of rain, and we left it in a 

 thunderstorm ; but the three weeks we spent there 

 were glorious, and never to be forgotten by me. 

 The story of it I ventured to tell in my first 

 booklet An Amateur Anglers Days in Dovedale. 



Since that good time I have fished occasionally 

 in many rivers ; although counted in days the 

 sum total for sixteen years would not amount to 

 many. I have had some successes and many 

 failures, but every one of those days have been 

 red-letter days. To have had and delighted in 

 them I will always regard as my FISHERMAN'S 

 LUCK. 



