INTRODUCTORY 23 



I did not exercise man's prerogative of looking before 

 and after. 



There was much delicate pleasure in whipping out 

 the dainty little trout, a pleasure simpler than that 

 involved in the capture of larger fish, since it was 

 unmixed with fear of their escape. What matter if 

 they did occasionally shake themselves free of the 

 hook and live to afford sport on other days to other 

 anglers. I was seeking to break no records, to beat 

 no competitors ; my pleasure was in the occupation, 

 not in its results, and a fish more or less in the basket 

 was neither here nor there. It was a day of unalloyed 

 if subdued happiness, and it left no unpleasant memories 

 behind it ; no disquieting regrets for opportunities 

 neglected, no unavailing reflections over what might 

 have been. 



The charm of angling, its uncertainty, finds expres- 

 sion in the universal greeting of the fisherman, " What 

 luck ? " The breezy salutation is generally acknow- 

 ledged with cheerfulness, and answered more or less 

 veraciously, but there are those to whom it proves an 

 insurmountable offence. It wounds their self-love. 

 They resent the imputation on their skill. Their 

 success is ascribed to the favour of the gods ; they 

 prefer to believe it the reward of merit. Luck may be 



