PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 61 



u make things comfortable " when, in my state of 

 mind, the only thing which seemed requisite to the 

 snpremest comfort was the capture of a salmon. 

 With that result achieved, I felt that I could be 

 abundantly comfortable sitting upon a bare rock at 

 high noon munching hard tack and bacon. I must 

 in some way have manifested my restlessness, for 

 the General, trying to hide his kindliness under a 

 very thin veneering of brusqueness, said to me, 

 " D., you are of no earthly use here. I wish you 

 would get out of the way and go a-fishing." As 

 this remark was made several hours before we had 

 mutually agreed to begin work, I felt some little 

 delicacy about taking advantage of the " ticket-of- 

 leave" offered me. But as in the language of 

 modern theology, I had an " inner consciousness J; 

 that I really was of " no use " as a tent-pitcher, and 

 had no tact as " a man of all work " in camp prepara- 

 tions, I soon found myself moving canoe-ward, with 

 my salmon and trout rods strung and my nerves 

 in a tremor in anticipation of " the good time 

 coming " when I would no longer have to say " I 

 never killed a salmon." I honestly meant to show 

 my appreciation of the General's kindness by con- 

 fining myself exclusively to trout waters. And my 

 resolution was adequate to the emergency until I 

 became weary of the slaughter I was making of 



