VII 

 FISHERMAN BILLY 



" As long as my boat," says Old Billy 

 firmly, looking with pride upon the great 

 pool at our feet. We have been speaking 

 of certain legendary carp that lend romance 

 to the place. Old Billy, it appears, has 

 from time to time seen a colossal tail thresh- 

 ing the surface, and he will not permit him- 

 self to estimate the weight of the body to 

 which it belongs. Old Billy is one of those 

 grandly untruthful persons who will not 

 occupy themselves with the smaller statistics 

 at all. The carp are undoubtedly there ; 

 they are numerous ; and they are as long 

 as Old Billy's boat : that is the thread 

 of his discourse unravelled from the tangle 

 of metaphor and illustration. " Tou can't 

 catch 'em," is his impolite conclusion ; " nor 



can nobody," is his afterthought, dictated 



107 



