LINE-FISHING. 25 



several carp, tencb, and an eel. The rest of us 

 now made haste to join in the sport, and at last I 

 threw my bait into the water, arranged, as I 

 thought, with admirable art. At first, fortune 

 smiled upon my efforts, and I soon added to the 

 basket three perch and a small pike, and then — luck 

 turned against rae. 



I must confess, to my shame, that I am somewhat 

 of a poacher, and fond as I am of net-fishing, line- 

 fishing has but few attractions for me, principally 

 because it is so often without result. Moreover I had 

 not then sufficient adroitness to manage the tackle. 

 Often I hung up my hook in the endeavour to re- 

 cover it for the purpose of changing the bait. Then 

 my line got entangled in the branches of a tree ; 

 finally, I broke the top of my rod, and grew out of 

 patience. Disgusted Avitli my own want of skill, I 

 gave it up in despair, and, throwing myself on the 

 mossy bank at the foot of the oaks, contented my- 

 self with watching my three friends. 



We breakfasted at mid-day, and after a short 

 rest the fishing re-commenced, and when evening 

 had come the basket was so heavy, that we had to 

 obtain the assistance of a countryman to carry it 

 home for us. 



Next morning, we returned to the spot ; but this 

 time I renounced the rod and line, and had pro- 

 vided myself with a spear, which, thanks to the les- 

 sons which I had received from a well-known 



