120 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



say. Some of the trout were of the five- 

 to-a-pound class ; but the average weight 

 was slightly under three ounces, and in 

 relation to the little fish my venerable 

 friend's gear seemed grotesquely out of 

 proportion. 



Is it wrong to take such fish ? If you 

 are used to more considerable trout you 

 may be disposed towards a vicarious 

 feeling of shame ; yet there seems some- 

 thing to be said for the Provost and 

 myself. A sardine is much smaller than 

 the smallest trout we carried down the 

 mountain, and we never yet heard of 

 any one who lamented the capture of a 

 sardine. Lest it be urged that the sardine 

 is nourishing food, I mention that so are 

 our small trout. For some reason known 

 only in the kitchen, there is never much 

 " on them " when they appear at break- 

 fast ; but, like the mountain sheep of 

 the old adage, they are of an especial 

 sweetness. 



It must not be supposed that the hill- 

 tream trout are so easy to catch that 



