THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



165 



platform to get some lunch and stretch our legs a 

 little, laying our rods down to fish for themselves, 

 Herbert being told off to keep an eye upon them. 

 Suddenly he rushed forward, exclaiming, ' ' I have a 

 bite ! " and we watched him take up his rod and 

 play a large fish. While he was doing so another 

 float had disappeared without our knDwledge, and 

 a " scurr " of a reel and a splash in the water told 

 us that a rod had disappeared into the pool. It 

 dived clean out of sight, and the first we saw of it 

 again was its top bobbing up full sixty yards out. 

 The reel kept the butt-end under, and the top just 

 emerged now and then as the fish ceased to pull for 

 an instant. It was our rod plague upon the pro- 

 nouns ! not the plural " our," but the singular 

 "our" of the author (if we use "I," we may be 

 accused of egotism) ; so " we," not wishing to lose 

 a valuable rod, rapidly undressed and plunged into 

 the pool. We swam after the rod, and, after fol- 

 lowing it full a hundred and fifty yards, we lost 

 sight of it. Just then the butt- end struck against 

 our legs, and, diving down, we seized it. There 

 tyere quite forty yards of line out, and the fish was 

 still on. Now commenced a most exciting struggle. 

 Holding the rod in the one hand, we swam with the 

 other, and, not without some trouble, we landed 

 ourselves, and eventually the fish, which was three 

 pounds in weight. 



A goodly heap of fish lay side by side upon the 

 grass seventeen in number, and all good-sized 



