ROUND THE ISLE OF WIGHT 47 



while, those other adventurers had been tossing 

 on the bosom of the restless ocean. By the 

 time they were off the Needles nine-tenths of 

 the whole company were hors de combat; there 

 was full occupation for steward and stewardess. 

 Never, never again will any of the female por- 

 tion of our explorers attempt to circumnavigate 

 the Isle of Wight; they had quite enough of it 

 yesterday. 



Thus have I accounted for three bright days 

 out of the ten I have been here; the others 

 were deplorable. Now, as I am writing, on the 

 eleventh day, a bitter wind is howling round 

 the house, driving a storm of rain against the 

 window. To-morrow we have, by the special 

 invitation of a friend of the Major, another 

 trout fishing expedition on hand in the North 

 River. May the weather be more propitious ! 



ON THE NORTH RIVER. 



Fine days are too precious to be wasted; they 

 come only now and then, and when they do 

 come they should be looked upon as "a boon 

 and a blessing." If Thursday (August 2oth) was 

 a bad day, Friday was a good one, and we made 

 the most of it. We availed ourselves of the in- 

 vitation of the friend mentioned above to fish 

 a lovely bit of the river Frome, or, rather, the 

 North River. I must not name the spot; it 



