152 TROUT FISHING 



which is a serious business : they should 

 not be regarded as an end in them- 

 selves : they are but eddies in the main 

 stream, upon the tendencies of which the 

 philosophers ponder gravely, awestruck. 

 Neither of the philosophers, as a rule, has 

 the artistic temperament, to which all the 

 world is interesting and good simply 

 because There it is, and wonderful ! In 

 both of them the sheer joy of living is 

 curbed and subdued by thought. In their 

 very effort after precision of detail and a 

 synthesis, they lose sight of the subject 

 they set out to study. Particulars, many 

 of them most suggestive, are lost in 

 generalisation. 



Let us reflect on some of these uncon- 

 sidered trifles. 



It is a sunny afternoon, and it would 

 be pleasant to be outside ; but I hear that 

 Tim the terrier is about. If I went to a 

 seat in the open air, I should have no 

 peace in which to ruminate and write. 

 Tim would come with his ball, a lawn- 

 tennis one, and lay it at my feet, inviting 



