THE FASCINATION OF IT 17 



he used on holidays to walk eight miles to the 

 Derwent (with some long stiff hills on the way), 

 fish several miles of the little river, catch a few 

 trout and grayling, and walk back in the gloaming. 

 In the middle of this January (1920) he writes to 

 me from Scarborough that so long as he has health 

 and strength, "and can fish in all weathers," he 

 can hold out until spring, when no doubt he will 

 be off for early spring salmon, and a little later 

 for the brown trout. A testimonial to fishing this, 

 for Sir Charles Payton is in his seventy- seventh 

 year. There are, by the way, probably few 

 amateurs who have so thorough and complete a 

 diary of fishing doings as he. This diary he has 

 kept regularly for about half a century, probably 

 longer. If you have fished with him, as I have 

 had the privilege of doing, you will remember 

 that at the end of the day two duties are never 

 neglected by him, viz., drying the line, and writing 

 up the diary. 



Scots, men and boys, will walk miles to fish, 

 being perhaps less pampered by circumstances 

 than Southrons, who have better communications. 

 In South Africa, too, lads think little of ten or 

 even twenty miles on horseback with trout as their 

 objective, and they persevere by the riverside 

 until night's curtain is about to fall. After sun- 

 down there is no long twilight to favour the 

 angler as in Great Britain. Anglers cheerfully 

 make the arduous ascent of Table Mountain in 

 order to fly-fish the reservoirs there ; and if no 

 trout reward them there are plenty in the 



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