WAYS OF FRESH-WATER FISHES. 167 



for nearly the whole of a day he threshed that water 

 hard enough to frighten all the trout that ever swam 

 in it. But not even a fish the size of a sprat did he 

 capture. At the inn, before his train started, as he 

 rested for an hour, his guide of the morning appeared 

 and asked him what sport he had had. " Not a 

 single fish," replied he ; adding, " I would spend 

 half-a-sov. in drinks if that trout lay in my basket, 

 or give the same sum to any one who would put me 

 up to getting it there." Five minutes later the native 

 whispered to him, " Did ye mean what ye said ? " 

 The angler pulled out half-a-sovereign and showed 

 it to him. "Bide here a bit," said the man; "your 

 train don't start yet." In less than half an hour the 

 stranger was beckoned out of the bar to see the big 

 trout, still alive and kicking vigorously, on some flags 

 in a basket. He had a hook attached to a piece of 

 broken gut in his upper lip ; not a bruise or a mark 

 was on him. 



" Take him, basket an' all, fur what ye said," quoth 

 the native ; "he's a precious sight too big to go into 

 that consarn o' yourn. And I be werry much ob- 

 leedged to you for this 'ere half-sov'rin, and no 

 mistake." 



