276 THE SALT OF MY LIFE 



pursuits as proper rather to the period of extreme 

 youth, when the broader purposes of life have not 

 been seriously engaged in. This is a fallacy, for 

 one of its strongest claims on the devotee is its 

 potence as an elixir of youth. The keen angler 

 is always young, and even when rheumatism and 

 other legacies of the years that lie behind debar 

 him from kneeling in wet grass to stalk his trout, 

 or from staying on the water . on any but the 

 warmest days, the memories of more robust sport 

 bring with them a measure of consolation. 



The angler has indeed an advantage over the 

 devotees of most other sports and. games. The 

 shooting man is compelled by the march of years 

 to confine himself to the grouse butts or coverts, 

 for the exercise of rough shooting and walking 

 generally is too much for all but the hardiest 

 when life is over the brink of the hill. The cricketer 

 the footballer, the polo player are, in the process 

 of years, reduced to the position of lookers on. 

 Golf, it is true, affords gentle exercise for even an 

 octogenarian ; and the man who can take croquet 

 seriously in his youth could probably do as much 

 on his hundredth birthday. 



It is borne home to some of us, who, from force 

 of circumstances or by inclination, work hard in 

 other directions, that the old interest in our fish- 

 ing sometimes palls ; and we realise with regret 

 that our loyalty, which no failure would have 



