STILL FISHLNG. 187 



the voice of the stream whispering in his ears its moist 

 breath stealing through his grizzled locks and its rippling 

 smile flashing on his tired eyes ! 



A RETKOSPECTION. 



An old negro house-servant a^id a bright-eyed, flaxen- 

 haired boy of eight summers sat side by side under a mill- 

 dam, fishing. The old man was engaged in earnest conver- 

 sation, to which the lad was an eager listener, save when 

 interrupted by the pulling out of a fish or the re-baiting of 

 a hook : 



" Yas, Percy Lee, it's jist wasteful 'stravagance fer yo' 

 papa to buy sich lavish, shiny fish-poles an' silver reel con- 

 trapshuns dat run riot wid his money. All de fish in de 

 Elkhorn wouldn't 'gin to pay intrust on 'em. He's de beat- 

 enes' man for 'stravagance I eber see. 



" De bestes' fish-pole is de strettes' an' slimmes' ellum 

 saplin' you kin fine ; cut in de fall in de lite ob de 

 moon, an' peeled in de shade, an' put up in de lof ' nex' to 

 de cabin chimbly all wintah. Ah' de Bass an' chan'1-cat 

 won't know wedder it cos' two cents or de price ob a year- 

 lin' mule, case you yank 'em out so quick dey ain't got 

 time to tink 'bout it." 



" Yes, but Uncle Enoch, papa don't like to yank 'em out 

 so quickly." 



"No, honey, an' dats' wat beats me. He jis' goes a- 

 wadin' in de water an' he'll done cotch his deff o' rheuma- 

 tiz one ob dese days a-whippin' his little shiny switch, an' 

 a-flippin' his fiddle-string line wid little teenty fedder-flies, 

 an' de Bass cotch holt, an' ben' an' twis' de little pole, an' 

 run off wid de line an' Mars' Dick wind 'em up agin, an' 

 de Bass pull out de line agin, an' jump out to see wat 



