AND HOW I HAVE CAUGHT MY FISH 119 



in the fairies' castle, where he had been quite 

 happy. While there he saw and talked with other 

 men who were supposed to have been drowned, 

 but that none of those to whom he spoke expressed 

 any desire to leave the fairies, and that he was 

 sorry he had done so." O'Donnell added, " I 

 don't know what to think. The ould man himself 

 believes he is telling the truth, and many others 

 quite believe him ; but there are gossoons who are 

 ever asking him why he was kicked out of the 

 fairies' castle ? " 



Across the glass-like surface of the sea, made 

 glorious by the setting sun, there came a breeze 

 that made little wavelets in response to which the 

 fish began their evening meal, and we were too 

 busy for further tales that day. 



It was the usual custom at the hotel to give, 

 after the serious courses of the dinner, an account 

 of the day's doings. When my turn came, on this 

 particular day, I had to tell them of the wonderful 

 time spent in the wonderful boat, of the men who 

 rowed her, and of Carlin the Captain. 



After that the conversation was about gillies ; 

 how far necessary and the expense of them. Among 

 the pleasant company was a sporting doctor ; his 

 son, a nice fellow ; two still nicer daughters, and 

 Mrs. Doctor. The doctor preached gillies indis- 

 pensable, while his wife held that they were, after 

 all, quite unnecessary, rather misleading in fact, 

 and certainly over-expensive. I had the misfortune 



