XIII 

 IN THE SMOKING ROOM 



WHAT delightful companions has one 

 met at this little out-of-the-way hotel, 

 at that cosy riverside inn, to which 

 one had gone, not knowing a soul. 

 It is rare for an angler at a fishing inn not to 

 make friends with others of the brotherhood who 

 are staying there. The smoking room is a rare 

 cementer of friendships. 



Among many good fellows whom I have met 

 in this way I often think of that excellent angler, 

 the Major, who has figured before in these pages. 

 The Major, by his way of doing things and by 

 his personality, makes friends wherever he goes. 

 It is part of his nature. In two days in a fishing 

 village he gets to know almost every man in the 

 place. In three days his reputation for kindness 

 is established. In four, he is quoted as an 

 authority : " The Major says " this, or " the 

 Major says " that. Not that he says very much ; 

 on the contrary, he is a listener. When any one 

 tells him anything, the speaker is made to feel he 

 is the only man in the world. 



Part of the Major's equipment when trout 



