2 ANGLIXG SKETCHES 



pains. Others, again, among whom I i\ ould rank 

 mj-self, combine both these elements of incom- 

 petence. Nature, that made me enthusiastically 

 fond of fishing, gave me thumbs for fingers, short- 

 sighted e\-es, indolence, carelessness, and a temper 

 which (usually sweet and angelic) is goaded to 

 madness b\- the la^\-s of matter and of gravitation, 

 For example : when another man is caught up in 

 a branch he disengages his fl}- ; I jerk at it till 

 something breaks. As for carelessness, in boy- 

 hood I fished, b_\- preference, with doubtful gut and 

 knots ill-tied ; it made the risk greater, and 

 increased the excitement if one did ho'^k a trout. 

 I can't keep a fl)--book. I stuft' the flies into my 

 pockets at random, or stick them into the leaves 

 of a novel, or bestow them in the lining of m\- 

 hat or the case of my rods. Ne\-er, till 1890, in 

 all m\' days did I possess a landing-net. If I can 

 drag a fish up a bank, or over the gravel, weW ; if 

 not, he goes on his way rejoicing. On the Test I 

 thought it seemh- to carry a landing-net. It had 

 a hinge, and doubled up. I put the handle 

 through a buttonhole of m}- coat : I saw a big 



