On the Banks of the Avon 61 



PRAYING FOR RAIN 



Of course, when it rained, no farmer would ex- 

 pect Ms young son to cut thistles with his trousers 

 dripping wet and those were mostly the occasions 

 when I fished. And how I used to pray for rain 

 and whether the wind was in the right direction 

 or not. 



Perhaps you remember those beautiful lines of 

 Wordsworth's, beginning: 



"My heart leaps up when I behold 

 A rainbow in the sky." 



Mine used to leap up skyhigh when I beheld a 

 rain-cloud come swooping up from the west or 

 any other point of the compass. It meant fishing. 

 Can't explain just what there is about fishing that 

 so affects the heart of a boy, but as I've already 

 stated, to me it was the king of all juvenile sport. 

 They say that mankind are all born gamblers and 

 fishing may be classed as a gamble. With high 

 hope you bait your hook and drop it into the 

 likeliest place — you may or may not hook a fish 

 but the sensations engendered are delicious. 



* **A schoolboy by the Avon sits, 



Old Sol's big face is warmly beaming, 

 The boy he doesn't notice this — 

 But how his eye with hope is gleaming ! 

 He feels a tug upon his line 

 And notes the tiny rippling billows, 



