146 ANGLING 



Gladstone bag for she always unpacks for me (I know I'm a 

 lazy beast in that direction) and she'd find it. No, I must 

 smuggle it home at the bottom of my bass amongst my fishing 

 paraphernalia, those she never touches you may be sure, and 

 then I'll pop it away unknown to her in some place where she 

 won't come across it just at present in the spare bed-room 

 between the palliasse and the bed, and she'll turn it up some 

 day and say, " Why George, here's your Cardigan jacket 

 turned up, I haven't the slightest recollection of having put it 

 there, but I suppose I must have done, anyhow, George dear, 

 I'm awfully sorry I ever suggested you left it behind in the 

 summer, but at the time I felt quite confident you had. How- 

 ever it's strange it should be so mildewed round the neck 

 because our room is not a bit damp." And then Mr. Hopper, 

 I shall have the laugh on my side against the missus unless 

 you split on me, and fishing pals never do that ; and for 

 heaven's sake Mr. Hopper don't put it in your fishing notes 

 and send them to the missus to read, it would make things ten 

 times worse." Of course Mr. Hopper wasn't going to split 

 upon his angling mate so he made up his mind at the time 

 but resolutions are treacherous things, and Mr. Hopper lay 

 awake one night and thought he could serve up the Cardigan 

 jacket as a nice little tit-bit in his notes, and so he presents it 

 to his angling readers, of course the general public don't know 

 who " George McNab " is, so it don't matter, but Mrs. 

 McNab knows, and Mr. Hopper surmises that when the notes 

 come to Mrs. McNab's hands, and she puts on her best 

 spectacles, it won't be the last that McNab will hear of his 

 Cardigan jacket. 



It will be seen from the foregoing notes that McNab and 

 Mr. Hopper have been venturing upon a few days' winter fish- 

 ing on the Trent. It was an experiment made more for the 

 purpose of comparison with the summer fishing of the river 

 than anything, and although a few fair roach were creeled the 

 visit was a disappointing one from an angling point of view. 

 The river was clear and low, a few inches only above summer 

 level, and it was difficult to get the fish in any number out of 



