V 



SPECKLED TEOUT 



r I iHE legend of the wary trout, hinted at in the 

 -^ last sketch, is to be further illustrated in this 

 and some following chapters. We shall get at more 

 of the meaning of those dark water-lines, and I 

 hope, also, not entirely miss the significance of the 

 gold and silver spots and the glancing iridescent 

 hues. The trout is dark and obscure above, but 

 behind this foil there are wondrous tints that reward 

 the believing eye. Those who seek him in his wild 

 remote haunts are quite sure to get the full force of 

 the sombre and uninviting aspects, — the wet, the 

 cold, the toil, the broken rest, and the huge, savage, 

 uncompromising nature, etc. , — but the true angler 

 sees farther than these, and is never thwarted of his 

 legitimate reward by them. 



I have been a seeker of trout from my boyhood, 

 and on all the expeditions in which this fish has 

 been the ostensible purpose I have brought home 

 more game than my creel showed. In fact, in my 

 mature years I find I got more of nature into me, 

 more of the woods, the wild, nearer to bird and 

 beast, while threading my native streams for trout, 



