8o MEMORIES 



rose, and roofed so close that only by the most 

 curious peering may one see the chequered sun- 

 light playing on the stones. There ! that was a 

 trout. You will not see him again — he has flashed 

 himself into a rat's hole after the manner of his 

 kind. Very different are the ways of these little 

 troutlets from those of the full-fed aristocrats of the 

 larger streams. Both are salmo fario^ but this is 

 one whose tale of doubtful dinners gained on worms 

 and caddises is plainly told by his eel-like body 

 and his head like a miller's-thumb ; and the other 

 is — what this would be, could they change places 

 for a year or so. Many a long day of the summer 

 holidays would we boys spend in the taking of these 

 trout. Sometimes we tickled them ; but when the 

 pool was too deep for this we, with great labour 

 of childish arms, would throw a dam across the 

 pool's head and bale the water out ; and so, catching 

 the fish, transfer them to the big pond above. 

 When, lo, a wonder ! A year or two gone by, and 

 we would retake them with fly or minnow, noble 

 trout of two and three pounds weight. The trout 

 were our noblest quarry, but the brook held, 

 besides these, some store of fry, stone-loach and 

 miller's-thumbs. The kingfishers, too, from their 



