IN THE BEGINNING 7 



land, and in any event 1 had no landing net with 

 me. But a friend was near. He gave advice, 

 and crowned all by waiting until the fish was 

 exhausted. Then he stooped down, and safely 

 got the mammoth fish out of the water for me 

 with his hands. Overjoyed, I could not wait to 

 extract the hook, which was in fact embedded, 

 but sped home in triumph, with trout still 

 attached to hook, cast, line, and rod. Sweet were 

 the parental and brotherly and sisterly congratula- 

 tions. The weight was duly returned at one 

 pound fifteen ounces. How we remember these 

 pleasing details ! 



Mention of the family brings to mind the only 

 attempt I ever knew of my mother essaying a 

 pun. Somebody had wanted to know if I would 

 officiate at the organ on some modest occasion. 

 " I am sure he will," said mother, " but he is not I 

 in, at the moment ; he's off-fishing, as it is ! " / 



Although I was so keen, yet my methods had 

 been hap-hazard, and it was not until after the 

 turn of events had taken me to a town where no 

 fishing was, and thence to another town right on 

 the banks of the Severn in Shropshire that the 

 novitiate was seriously entered upon. A man so 

 near a fishable river either goes in for fishing, 

 or leaves it alone. In my case this proximity 

 was a perpetual invitation to fish. Even though 

 I could manage but a few minutes at a time, 

 there were six fishing days a week, and on Sunday 

 I had to see what the water was like. I practised 

 fly-casting assiduously, but my clumsy performance 



