AN UNFORTUNATE DAY. 51 



send him an invitation." I cast quite near to 

 where he rose, and -he responded immediately : I 

 struck and hooked him, and in a few minutes he 

 was safely netted. The next cast, and two rose, 

 one of which was lost, the other weighed quite two 

 pounds. 



We had not been on the grounds more than ten 

 minutes before the cove all around us was literally 

 alive with trout, and in twenty minutes I had half 

 as many trout, alive, in the well-room of the boat. 



" Well, this keeps us pretty busy : what a pity Mr. 

 B didn't come along ! " 



" That's so, but we haven't got time to go for 

 him : the sun's not more than half an hour high." 

 This slight conversation occurred while I was put- 

 ting on a couple of fresh flies, for by this time the 

 old ones had got to looking a little frayed. Not 

 more than twenty-five feet of line had I got out 

 before a parting of the waters, a rush, and a most 

 noble fish broke the water, taking my tail-fly as he 

 went down. He hooked himself firmly, down 

 went the butt, and down went Sir Trout to the bot- 

 tom, taking but a few yards of line from my reel. 



" What do you think of that? " said I, turning to 

 my guide, who sat complacently smoking his pipe. 



" I think you have got all you want to attend to 

 for the next half- hour : that fish will weigh six 

 pounds if he weighs an ounce." 



