40 WHAT I HAVE SEEN WHILE FISHING 



size of it." Even then I could only think that a 

 bottle of whiskey was just a bottle of whiskey, and 

 so I told him that where I came from we know 

 nothing of different sized bottles of it. 



By this time he had lost all patience, and told 

 me that I should be where I came from and never 

 leave it again on any account. I rejoined that I 

 thought him a red-headed little spitfire. This drew 

 from him a flow of curses that I thought would 

 never cease. Their easy flow and infinite variety 

 were such that I remained to hear and see him 

 work himself to the highest pinnacle of his blue 

 art. The gradation from his mildest shot at me 

 to his stronger and hotter ones, as his passion 

 grew, showed a skilled excellence in shading that 

 fascinated me and took from me all power of speech, 

 and so I listened to the ever-increasing stream as 

 it flowed from his wonderfully stored memory. 

 On my return to the hotel, I did what I then 

 wished I had done before, purchased my whiskey 

 there. 



Just on the point of starting next morning, it 

 occurred to me to buy tobacco, so I hastened into 

 the nearest shop where I saw packets of it in the 

 window, and there, to my astonishment, I came 

 face to face with Mr. Eloquent of the night before. 

 I was about to rush out ; but his smile at my open 

 mouth altered my mind, and I asked him if he 

 kept 4-oz. tins of medium Capstan. He said he did 

 when he could not sell them, and that it would be 



