PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 113 



of " Murray's fools," who for a time swarmed that 

 angler's paradise, with no more appreciation of 

 the art, or of the delectable recreation of angling 

 than a donkey has of the heavenly harmonies. I 

 owe to them, however, the pleasant recollection of 

 many weeks of delightful solitude and repose 

 amid pathless woods and unfrequented lakes and 

 streamlets. So I forgive them glad, neverthe- 

 less, to be able, here, upon the far-off Cascapedia, 

 to fish undisturbed, and to feast upon the magnifi- 

 cent scenery which everywhere meets the eye and 

 gladdens the spirit, without fear of molestation 

 from cockney intruders. This assured isolation 

 during the hours set apart for angling constitutes 

 one of the chief charms of these preserved waters. 

 "Yet" (as that most lovable lover of nature, 

 Thoreau, says ) " I would not insist upon any one's 

 trying it who has not a pretty good supply of in- 

 ternal sunshine ; otherwise he would have, I judge, 

 to spend too much of his time in fighting with his 

 dark humors. To live alone comfortably, we must 

 have that self -comfort which rays out of nature 

 a portion of it at least." 



Forest solitudes, away off upon and beyond the 

 verge of civilization, have an irresistible fascina- 

 tion. To be alone becomes a passion with some 

 men. There are to-day, as there have been in all 

 the past, hundreds of hunters and trappers in the 

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