PROVING THE RULE 



afternoon above what had hitherto borne 

 firm repute as dry land, far beyond the riv- 

 er's usual bounds. The task of saving this 

 lively fellow, in a cover of marsh grass 

 dwarf birch and blueberry bushes, was no 

 trifling one; but more admirable than his 

 skill were the faith and pertinacity that 

 sustained the fisherman in so unpromising 

 a chase. 



Not until nine o'clock on the morning of 

 the third day did the water cease rising. 

 It was then above the usual marks of 

 spring flood, when the ice breaks up and 

 the deep winter snows are hurried away. 

 That the height of the rise might be fixed 

 as nearly as possible, we set off to find 

 our Nilometer — la grosse roche. A word 

 as to this boulder upon which the acci- 

 dent of position has bestowed an impor- 

 tance out of all proportion to its size. At 

 the distance of a cast from it is a well 

 known haunt of the great trout. The 

 stone marks an auspicious spot where the 

 eddy meets the current and a cold stream 

 flows in; where depth, bottom and feeding 

 are precisely what these exacting inhabit- 

 ants of the river demand. From the days 

 of earliest tradition — Indian, French, 

 English — and throughout historic times, 

 119 



