IN ARCADIA. 15 



cheery, and continually encouraged me with the remark : " We 

 shall surely have a fish soon, sir, shan't we ? " Whatever the 

 weather, he was eager to accompany me. Six hours' exposure to 

 the drenching rain damped not his enthusiasm. When I met with 

 success he was jubilant, and crept with great glee to each likely- 

 looking spot, repeating on each occasion : " We shall surely have 

 another fish here, sir, shan't we ? " 



The trout averaged between eight and nine ounces, and it was 

 very seldom that any were caught under that weight. 1 had several 

 of a pound and thereabouts, and one of a pound and a quarter. The 

 latter made a brave fight, employing all the tricks and feints it was 

 possible for the piscine brain to fashion, in its attempts to regain 

 its freedom. Twice during the struggle the fish leapt into the air, 

 finally jumping amongst the branches of a bush. But I was able 

 to place the net beneath the twigs, and into it fell my fish, the line, 

 fortunately, escaping being " hung up." 



Each evening, when the light began to fail, I repaired to the 

 picturesque mill-pond, since to have fished the overgrown parts of 

 the stream would have been disastrous both to my peace of mind 

 and to my tackle. When the shades of departing day gathered and 

 threw into a deep gloominess every nook and corner of the brook 

 that sang its joy-song to the over-arching trees, the all-important 

 judgment of distance became deficient. Any angler who has fished 

 such a water in the twilight is acquainted with the manner in which 

 the falling shadows deceive the eye. The space between himself 

 and certain objects becomes indefinable. He essays a cast, only to 

 be dismayed by the discovery that a branch is nearer to him than 

 he believed. 



Angling of a most fascinating yet irritating kind was invariably 

 provided in the mill-dam, wherein dwelt trout of many types the 

 inveterate "rover," the perspicacious " banker," and various others 

 whose sole aim in life was to tantalise and annoy. 



However, one golden afternoon, when for a few moments the 

 sun was obscured and the water was moved by a favourable breeze, 

 the leviathan of trout, who lurked in shallowish water in the shadow 



