88 



MAY FLY OX DARENTH. 



The May-fly season upon the Darenth is supposed to begin 

 on the Saturday" before Whit-Monday, but the rise of fly 

 has, up to the time of writing this note, been very small, 

 and the trout have taken it badh'. I am located in our 

 angling hut, on the banks of the Darenth, and I have there- 

 fore been able to keep my eye on the river through all the 

 hours of daylight. As a matter of fact I am completing 

 mj' book, "Angling Holidays," amidst these congenial 

 surroundings, and I am sandwiching in some May-fly fish- 

 ing between the spells of grinding out " copy." What 

 are the exact proportions of fishing and work, it is not 

 necessary to sj)ecif j\ The other evening, I was full of good 

 resolutions ; came in at sunset, hung up the rod, brewed 

 myself a jorum of tea, and ate a Robinson Crusoe meal. 

 My companion for the day went away to towTi, taking the 

 day's catch with him. Yes, I really would put in a square 

 six hours' work. And at it I went with a dogged deter- 

 mination — for fully ten minutes I Then I remembered 

 there was nothing but a very stale lump of bread and 

 some butter for breakfast ! Moreover, the evening was 

 deliciously calm and warm, and there was not a breath of 

 wind stirring. The air was laden with the perfume of 

 hawthorn, the river looked very inviting, and there was 

 a rascally old trout of my acquaintance, down at the first 

 bend of the stream, not a hundred yards away ! It really 

 was a shame to shut oneself up in the hut on such an even- 

 ing, and— well I yielded to temptation ! But that trout 

 at the corner was sucking in black gnats, and paid not 

 the slightest attention to my May-fly when placed a few 

 inches in front of his nose. He evidently knew the pattern. 

 Xor would he respond to any of the lines of invitation 

 which I sent him, including an exact imitation of the wee 



