268 THE TROUT ARE RISING 



man maps out his steps before he begins his 

 journey " were swept overboard, and we resolved 

 that should things go amiss there would be no 

 rebellious spirit. We (my friend is on the Johan- 

 nesburg Stock Exchange) were buoyed up with 

 hopes of what Charles Lamb called the " spritely 

 infusion of chance." 



It is a long journey from the Rand to Ugie, 

 but who ever knew a journey dull to anglers pro- 

 ceeding on a holiday ? If you leave Johannesburg 

 on a Saturday night, you find yourself at Bloem- 

 fontein early on the Sabbath ; you pass through 

 Springfontein later in the day, and before sundown 

 you arrive at Stormberg : thence the line proceeds 

 to Sterkstroom, where, after dinner and a short wait, 

 the journey is resumed the same night on the 

 Indwe-Maclear line. Maclear is the terminus. 

 When, on the Indwe-Maclear line, you look out 

 of the window soon after sunrise, you are greeted 

 with a sight as fair as any in this surprising country. 

 Especially after rain is the scene worth beholding. 

 The eye feasts on kopje after kopje, canons lying 

 between, and a rolling panorama of wide veld 

 downs. At Elliott, a hill-embosomed village, 

 breakfast is announced, the train waiting while 

 three rival 'buses, whose drivers keenly ply for 

 patrons, convey passengers to the hostelry which 

 provides the meal and back. It is all very simple, 

 old-fashioned and enjoyable. Usually, meals are 

 served on the train in South Africa, but on this 

 branch line the catering is or was omitted. Break- 

 fast over, and the journey resumed, more moim- 



