RANDOM MEMORIES 63 



length enough ; stand a little further off, 

 let me entreat you, and do but fish the 

 stream like an artist, and peradventure, a 

 good fish may fall to your share." Isn't 

 he wonderful ? A whole treatise on the 

 art of casting and all perfectly condensed 

 into three lines. 



Who with such a fascinating mentor at 

 his side could venture to discourse on rods 

 and lines and tackles, or attempt the exact 

 precepts of the angler's lore ? No ; our 

 only hope is to be frankly irrelevant, just 

 to talk of the days and the pleasures we 

 have loved, so perchance we may stir 

 kindred memories, and others may be able 

 to slip into a corner of our mood and share 

 with us some of the delight of happy 

 moments. 



Oh, if this were only easy I But the 

 nature of a fisherman's joy is a subtle 

 quality. It cannot be adequately ex- 

 pressed in written characters, nor is it 

 occasioned by the mere catching of fish. 

 Birds come into it, and flowers and the 

 spring sunshine, and there is nature- 

 magic, too, which even winged words 

 would fail to touch. If, therefore, we may 



