What I would have done had I been Houghton Grannom I may not
venture to divulge. For this narrative, then, as for another, "Let every
man read it as he will, and every woman as the gods have given her wit."
{4}
A TWEEDSIDE SKETCH
The story of the following adventure--this deplorable confession, one may
say--will not have been written in vain if it impresses on young minds
the supreme necessity of carefulness about details. Let the "casual" and
regardless who read it--the gatless, as they say in Suffolk--ponder the
lesson which it teaches: a lesson which no amount of bitter experience
has ever impressed on the unprincipled narrator. Never do anything
carelessly whether in fishing or in golf, and carry this important maxim
even into the most serious affairs of life. Many a battle has been lost,
no doubt, by lack of ammunition, or by plenty of ammunition which did not
happen to suit the guns; and many a salmon has been lost, ay, and many a
trout, for want of carefulness, and through a culpable inattention to the
soundness of your gut, and tackle generally. What fiend is it that
prompts a man just to try a hopeless cast, in a low water, without
testing his tackle? As sure as you do that, up comes the fish, and with
his first dash breaks your casting line, and leaves you lamenting.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101