10 INTRODUCTORY. 



ging brethren. Of his own spoiled sport that day 

 he remarked that he had only caught four trouts, 

 but that they weighed half-a-pound each. The 

 statement naturally excited surprise and suspicion. 

 Such an "average" in that particular stream was 

 unusual on any day ; and on this occasion, as no 

 trout of that size had come our way, or that of the 

 friends who were with us, we had arrived at the 

 conclusion that the "good ones" were sulking, as 

 they will sometimes do. In the railway carriage 

 the man of half-pounders stuck to his statement, but 

 refused to lead evidence by showing his fish. Aided 

 by our friends, however, we succeeded in temporarily 

 poinding his pannier, and dived into its depths. 

 There, amidst boots, stockings, empty flasks, and 

 sandwich papers, we discovered the concealed trouts. 

 Troutkins, rather not trouts ! Half-pounders ! 

 the whole four together would scarcely have weighed 

 half-a-pound. Whether it was a too lively imagi- 

 nation that had caused the discrepancy between the 

 ideal trouts of the platform and the real trouts of 

 the basket, we care not to inquire ; but we wonder 

 if the same angler will ever again multiply the weight 

 of his take by four, or by any other figure, or whether, 

 made wise by experience, and by this crushing ex- 

 posure, he will carefully take note of the size of his 

 fish before consigning them to his basket, and not 

 trust to a hasty glance to impress a memory which, 

 let us charitably suppose, may be defective. At all 



