JUNE 153 



to be about half -a- pound ; not a few 

 were twice as large. Surely it was 

 something uncanny I had chanced upon ? 

 Though abounding in trout, the stream 

 had the repute of being "difficult." 

 Any angler resident in the neighbour- 

 hood thought himself skilful if a day's 

 effort yielded him a dozen fish ; yet here 

 was a person taking splendid trout at the 

 rate of one a minute ! Awestruck, I 

 questioned whether, as was made out in 

 Mr. Readers inspiring novel, through 

 which I had been making my delighted 

 way, the Devil were really dead. The 

 extraordinary spectacle was a good many 

 years ago, in school days, when theology 

 is less impelling than curiosity ; and 

 when at length the stranger was just 

 opposite across the stream I made a 

 polite request to be informed as to what 

 he was fishing with. 



" The Mayfly ! " said he, so openly 

 exultant in a human manner that faith in 

 Mr. Reade was there and then restored. 

 He invited me to go over the bridge and 



