96 EXPERIENCES OF SPOR7. 



11 1 say, Jack/"' said my friend, " she looks 

 rather small, does she not ?" 



" Small or big/' I replied, " you have brought 

 me seven or eight miles up the river to go 

 fishing in a clothes-basket ; so that is your affair. 

 Here we are, and fishing we must go, so come 

 along." 



As there was no help for it, my friend got in, 

 but he was no sooner in than the frail bark 

 began turning round and round, and one sweep 

 of his paddle set it spinning about like a top. 



" I say, Jack," he began to bawl out, "the 

 cursed thing has got the delirium tremens, the 



St. Vitus's ' when suddenly over he went, 



the coracle floating and spinning quietly down 

 the river. 



" It is so infernally crank," he cried, standing 

 up to his waist in water, and looking most dole- 

 fully ; "it was over like a shot." 



" Of course it was, with such a muff as you 

 in it. Never mind; have another squeeze at 

 the lemon. There she is on shore." 



This next time he performed a little better, 

 and I was ass enough to trust myself with him. 

 We got on capitally for a time, he doing the 



