332 PIKE. AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



as a .background, and a lawn as smooth and green as the finest 

 Paris velvet, sloping down from the drawing-room steps to the 

 boathouse. The moment breakfast's over, "Now then come 

 along girls ! " someone shouts — and outyou go through the window 

 or over the balcony — a scamper to the boathouse, a vigorous 

 shove or two with the punt pole, and in five minutes the ripecks 

 are fast, and everything ready in the very perfection of a " pitch " 

 — not that one out there over the shallows, for the sun will soon 

 have done washing his face, and in an hour will blaze up dazzhng 

 enough for Phaeton himself^but the other, under the island 

 yonder, and just within the dip' of the chestnuts, where you can 

 see the "golden gravel," as Tennyson calls it, as bright as a 

 new guinea. 



Splash ! in goes the rake, leaded at the end like a constable's 

 staff that it may sink well out, over the swim — three minutes' 

 vigorous raking — another for comfortably shaking down into 

 places, and you are about to set to work with a wiU, when you 

 probably discover that Blanche has broken her float, or that 

 Julia's hook is off (it was yesterday !) . , . But floats are not 

 difficult to mend,. and there are more hooks than one in the 

 world, so everything is soon en rlgle, and at it you go. 



Ha ! a bite the moment the float touches the water, bob — ■ 

 souse ! — ^you have him — so has Julia (Blanche and Charley 

 aren't baited yet) — two fish in two swims — that looks well ; for 

 if gudgeon don't come on to bite at first, they often don't do it 

 at all. 



" A pair of gloves that I catch the first dozen ? " " Done,". 

 — and done you are, for Julia nobbles twelve unsuspecting 

 gobiones in as many swims, before you have bagged your fifth, 

 and triumphantly informs you that her size is " sixes, sir." 



" Once more ! come, double or quits ?".... 



If you are lucky you possibly win ; but if you are not only 

 not lucky, but in love, you lose to a dead certainty. Something 

 must be wrong ; you examine your little red worm with an 

 unloving and critical eye, and you find that your No. 9 Kendal 

 is minus its barb ! Well ! that's soon remedied : — " Come, 



