333 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



as a background, and a lawn as smooth and green as the finest 

 Paris velvet, sloping down from the drawing-room steps to the 

 boathouse. The moment breakfast's over, "Now then come 

 along girls ! " someone shouts and out you go through the window 

 or over the balcony a scamper to the boathouse, a vigorous 

 shove or two with the punt pole, and in five minutes the ripecks 

 are fast, and everything ready in the very perfection of a " pitch " 

 not that one out there over the shallows, for the sun will soon 

 have done washing his face, and in an hour will blaze up dazzling 

 enough for Phaeton himself but the other, under the island 

 yonder, and just within the dip of the chestnuts, where you can 

 see the ''golden gravel," as Tennyson calls it, as bright as a 

 new guinea. 



Splash ! in goes the rake, leaded at the end like a constable's 

 staff that it may sink well out, over the swim three minutes' 

 vigorous raking another for comfortably shaking down into 

 places, and you are about to set to work with a will, when you 

 probably discover that Blanche has broken her float, or that 

 Julia's hook is off (it was yesterday !) . . . But floats are not 

 difficult to mend, and there are more hooks than one in the 

 world, so everything is soon en regie, and at it you go. 



Ha ! a bite the moment the float touches the water, bob 

 souse ! you have him so has Julia (Blanche and Charley 

 aren't baited yet) two fish in two swims that looks well ; for 

 if gudgeon don't come on to bite at first, they often don't do it 

 at all. 



" A pair of gloves that I catch the first dozen ? " " Done," 

 and done you are, for Julia nobbles twelve unsuspecting 

 ^obioncs in as many swims, before you have bagged your fifth, 

 and triumphantly informs you that her si/,e is "sixes, sir." 



"Once more! come, double or quits ?" .... 



If you are lucky you possibly win ; but if you are not only 

 not lucky, but in love, you lose to a dead certainty. Something 

 must be wrong ; you examine your little red worm with an 

 unloving and critical eye, and you find that your No. 9 Kendal 

 is minus its barb! Well ! that's soon remedied: "Come, 



