THE ANGLERS SOUVENIR. 



35 



been against him ; but I have had some fiendishly 

 blank days of late ; and if I struck the average 

 between my expenses and the number of fish I 

 have caught, the average cost of each fish would 

 be something startling. 



When 1877 just poked its nose into this wicked 

 world, I went all the way to Shropshire from 

 Northumberland, for two days' pike-fishing in the 

 meres where formerly I had taken many a good 

 fish. The first day we started for Colemere. It 

 was a fine day, with a good breeze. We had 

 plenty of lively young carp for bait, and we 

 started in good time for a nine -miles drive. The 

 first thing we found out was that our steed much 

 preferred walking to trotting. He walked up the 

 banks, and he walked down them, and he walked 

 a long way along the levels to assure himself that 

 they really were levels before he ventured to trot. 

 Persuasion was of no use, and our whip broke. 

 Then, in a sudden burst of activity, he smashed 

 one of the traces, and we had to mend it with 

 string. Then we lost our way in the endeavour 

 to find the keeper's cottage ; and, finally, it was 

 midday ere we were afloat on the mere. 



The keeper rowed us around, and we found that 

 the pike were on the run. Before we were halfway 

 round we had had five pike on, and lost them all, 

 in exactly the same way too. We struck hard, 

 played each a considerable time, and then when it 



was drawn in sight we saw that its mouth was shut, 



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