A Stream and a Garden 19 



above. Though a rod was usually to be 

 seen lying about the lawn, or upright against 

 the walls of the old house, the trout were 

 not much assailed, and therefore not hard 

 to hook. An ideal stream it was, no doubt, 

 for dry-fly and gossamer gut ; but then, un- 

 fortunately, the fish, being scarcely half 

 educated, would take it wet and on thick 

 gut. 



The worst of fishing in this charming 

 stream was that the hostess would always 

 send out to ask you to come in and have 

 lunch, or tea, or dinner. At other times, 

 just as one was reckoning for certain on 

 hooking a two-pound trout, the girls of 

 the house would stop on their way to 

 the kitchen-garden after fruit, and then, of 

 course, good-bye to the catching of fish. 

 A wonderful place was this kitchen-garden ; 

 everything in it grew to such an exorbitant 

 size. The scarlet-runners were so tall that 

 you could scarcely touch their straggling 

 tops with your walking-stick, and then there 

 were the mightiest gourds and melons to 



