132 We Go A-Fishing 



his neighbors in the finesses of trade. If, be- 

 cause of the vicious warp inherited from ances- 

 tors who deified work for its own sake, we feel 

 uncomfortable at the idea that we are sailing 

 the Great South Bay from morning till night 

 with no dollars in view, we may perhaps quiet 

 our utilitarian instincts by this pretext of fish- 

 ing. We are trying to obtain food for the 

 family; we may not have hoed any corn or 

 dug any potatoes, or written any articles which 

 editors may be willing to pay for, but we have 

 tried to provide food for the household, and 

 our conscience is clear. It may be said that 

 this is but a subterfuge, for if I had stayed at 

 my desk cudgelling my brains for ideas of 

 merchantable value, I should have earned 

 enough money to buy bluefish for the whole 

 summer. This may be true, and yet I do not 

 admit the force of any such reasoning. The 

 mere ability to earn enough money to keep 

 one's family decently sheltered, fed, and 

 clothed is the most ordinary ability in the 

 world ; the man who fails to do it is either ex- 

 tremely unfortunate or uncommonly incom- 

 petent. He is the exception. We should aim 



