ie;; MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



stood fishermen. He lived in a beautiful old 

 place in the Test Valley, and was one of the 

 most hospitable men I have ever met. Those 

 of his friends with so little soul as to be happy 

 indoors on a June evening could fare sump- 

 tuously in the great dining-hall, in fine apparel, 

 upon all the luxuries which wealth could pro- 

 vide ; for the fishermen of the party the butler 

 spread a light repast outside the front door, 

 on the door-mat. 



" I'm sure I should never care for fishing ; 

 I haven't got the patience." How many times 

 in his life has every fisherman heard those 

 words from a friend ? You cannot explain 

 things to such folk. Sir Edward Grey (as he 

 was when he wrote his book on fly-fishing) 

 gave an answer to that question : " People 

 talk sometimes as if a sort of still, slow patience 

 were the great quality experienced by angling. 

 It ought much more properly to be called self- 

 control, and if another quality essential to 

 success be added, let it be endurance." Those 

 are the qualities of fishermen and of philosophers, 

 who look into the depths of affairs and are 

 not misled by the bubblings and boilings on 

 the surface. Fishermen, like philosophers, are 

 rich in contentment. They wear comfortable 

 old clothes and the best boots. They love 



