158 MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH. 



Warner's Hall, on Randolph street, where he now sings 

 with 'Northrup's Metropolitan Minstrels/ " 



During this tale the fish had taken my bait unnoticed, 

 although Pete had attended to business and taken several 

 fish. The story as told by the old man had made me 

 wish he would stop, for there was no fun in the way he 

 told it, and it had started a leak in my eyes. But down the 

 breakwater an old one, not in existence now came the 

 sprightly young tenor, who put his arms around the old 

 man's neck and kissed him, saying: "Well, father, what 

 luck to-day?" 



"Billy," said the old man, "I fear I have not fish 

 enough for breakfast; I have been telling your friend the 

 family history because he seemed to take an interest in it, 

 and I forgot to put my line out. Here is the hook and 

 the bait by my side now. My old eyes do not see well 

 enough to tell if a hook is baited or not, and certainly 

 cannot see if the line is in the water or is coiled up at my 

 feet. Now, Fred, don't you honestly think that an old 

 man who has lived his life and can't see " 



"Here, father, stop that. You must meet the in- 

 firmities of age and accident in a philosophical manner. 

 I can and will care for you while I have life and strength, 

 and I don't want to hear any more of that talk." 



The young man baited his father's line and we fished 

 on. This eel-pout, as he called it, was a new fish to me 

 then, and its long, flattened head and eel-like fins made 

 it an object to be remembered. This specimen was 

 twenty inches long. Pete said: "Py chimminy! he's cot 

 a whisker on his chin, so like a pullhead, on'y de pullhead 

 he cot fife oder six." And this was a wonder to us, for 

 there were no fish with barbels where we had fished ex- 

 cept the bullhead or catfish. We found the fish quite 

 common in the lake. In other parts it is called "lawyer," 



