A ROADSIDE NATURALIST. 29 



before night, adding, in a kindly and reflective 

 mood, " It's a'most a pity as you chucked all them 

 'ere dead baits away, fur master is gone, an' what 

 his eyes never seed his heart could never grieve arter. 

 I'll cum an' see yer agin afore long." 



I gave the man an inward benediction as he de- 

 parted, such as the gipsies' magpie bestowed on the 

 parish constable ; then from my tackle-case I took 

 out two artificial spinning-baits, made on the most 

 approved principles, put them on, traces and all 

 complete, and set to work. They took to perfec- 

 tion — with the pike and perch. I am not able to 

 say whether it was the pie and the ale that in- 

 clined the mind of the miller's man to contempla- 

 tion — but one thing I know, from one of the upper 

 windows of the mill he calmly watched my fishing 

 luck. It was a short meadow's length from the 

 mill ; but as he saw the flash of scales when the 

 fish were grassed, even his stolid nature was stirred 

 to excitement, and crying that he "must raly go 

 an' see thet good luck," he came down and out to- 

 wards me. Very quickly the traces were slipped off, 

 and worm-tackle was substituted. Fortunately, just 



