488 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



now a few faint surges which bent the rod slightly. There ! 

 the flash of his gleaming side darts up the blue wave ! now 

 he has waked up ! Tug ! splash ! whiz — there he goes bound- 

 ing clear out of water on the taut line ! Steady ! steady ! 

 George is ready with the gaff. Now he rises again — there, 

 he has it ! Floundering over our feet lays a beautiful two- 

 pound laker ! 



" No great shakes after all, Master George — but ah ! what 



a lovely creature it is. Here, let me look at him well before 

 his glorious colors fade. See his long gracefully tapering 

 body; see the dark greenish purple of his richly marbled 

 back, how it lightens quickly down his side, like silver 

 burnished bronze ; and then those rows of spots so regularly 

 placed along it — the two outside of yellow, like gold drops, 

 that down the middle of small carbuncles ! There ! there ! 

 the splendors are fading already !" 



Beautiful dweller of the dark blue waters, farewell until 

 we meet, again at the dinner table ! Ah, Piscator ! Piscator ! 

 my hapless friend ! you perceive the jealous Deities of the 

 lake have visited an austere judgment upon you in permitting 

 to me alone the '■^ spoila ojpima" of the excursion, can you 

 not perceive the reason ? 



Piscator — " To rebuke your want of faith and wishes on 

 their behalf this day, I suppose !" 



Ego — " Infatuated ! can you not feel that it has been to 

 punish your presumption in wishing you had flies — when 

 George, our oracle and their High Priest, had already 

 revealed to you that they would only take living shiners, 

 and were not to be fooled by mimic monsters of wool and 

 feathers ! you shamefully discredited their sagacity thereby!" 



Piscator — with suspended nostrils and lightning in his eye 

 — " Pshaw, nonsense ! I shall take a trout greater than five 

 of thine before we reach yonder shore !" 



Ego — compassionately — " Vain man !" 



Again we glided off, across and about, around and around 



