said "Hang it all, I will jump overboard; it can't be more than shoulder deep, and I can then play him properly." Herbert sounded with an oar, and found it was more than seven feet deep, so that idea was abandoned. Just then the pike came wallowing to the surface dead beat, with gaping jaws and glaring eyes. Viator steered right up to him, and Herbert caught him by the gills and hauled him on board. It was a well-fed fish of eight pounds in weight, which is a good weight for Ellesmere.

Piscator and Herbert insisted upon getting a small boat, and rowing round the Mere again and again, hoping to catch more pike. Five times the rod bent with the sudden rush of a fish, but three only were boated. The others broke away. Those that were caught were three, four, and five pounds in weight respectively.

Viator preferred sailing about alone, although the boat was rather large for him to manage. He coasted the beds of white and yellow water-lilies, whose large leaves heaved uneasily, as the ripples raised by the breeze caught them at a disadvantage.

Presently the wind dropped, and the pike left off running. Viator was becalmed in the middle of the Mere, as "idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean." The others joined him, and then we all bathed, diving in off the boat's side with great ease, but clambering

back again with infinite difficulty. Then came dinner at the "Red Lion," and as the landlord was accustomed to anglers' appetites, we were not ashamed of ourselves.

After dinner we went to a brewery and bought a bag of grains, and, taking our seats in a punt, we rowed to certain mooring-stakes, which projected out of the water at the mouth of a quiet bay. Emptying our bag of grains into the water to act as groundbait, we baited one line with paste, another with worms, and rigged up a third with a large float and live-bait tackle, upon which the first small roach caught, was impaled. The grains attracted the roach, and the roach attracted the perch and pike. With our rods projecting over the side, and the smoke curling upwards from the pipes of peace, we set ourselves to enjoy the quiet of the evening.

Behind us was the quiet circle of the bay, fringed with reeds and rushes, and decked with the yellow flower of the flag and the white water-crowsfoot. The water-lilies white and yellow, the arrowheads and the pink fleshy spikes of the persicaria filled up the whole of the bay; and in the clear interspaces the water-hens, coots, and dabchicks swam, nodded, and dived, with great disregard of our presence. Before us the lake lay placid and mirrorlike, its surface only disturbed by the water-fowl, or the circles of the rising fish. A little way off a shoal of tench

had come to the surface, and were splashing and sucking with great clumsiness and much noise. The swallows and martins wheeled and darted above us, or descended and dipped in the water with delicate touch; and from the church-tower the swifts darted with great rapidity, swept around us with piercing scream, and were far away. Ever and anon there came from the distance a swell of dance-music, that filled the listening air with sweet snatches of sound. We wondered whence it came, and enjoyed it the more for its mystery.

Herbert was fishing with paste, and his float began to show symptoms of liveliness, dipping with the quick bites of small roach. As the evening advanced, the roach that he caught were bigger, and the perch came on the feed, so that Piscator saw his float sink with their quick vigorous bite more and more often, and wished that the Gipsy were with him to see what fine sport he was enjoying. Viator alone was dissatisfied. The pike-rod had been assigned to him, and as yet he had had no runs. He began to grumble.

"It is all very well for you fellows to give me this wretched rod. You knew that I should not catch anything. It is just an instance of that selfishness, which all you fellows who call yourselves anglers, always show. It's my belief that my float frightens the fish. Where is my float!"

It was about two feet under water, sailing away

G

towards the lilies, and the point of the rod was giving ominous twitches.

"Strike, you duffer!" exclaimed Herbert.

Viator took up the rod and gave such a tremendous strike, that if the line had not been free, and run off the reel, fish and fisher would have parted company. As it was he hooked him safe enough, and after a nice little tussle, during which Viator meekly received much good advice, and some vituperation, from Herbert and Piscator, the pike was safely got on board. It was prime fun to see Viator. The man who professed to look down upon fishing and fishers with supreme contempt, was boyishly pleased with his capture. He turned it over, tried its weight, poked it with his finger, and stroked it again and again with great pride and affection, to the amusement of the other two. After that, too, he paid most assiduous attention to his float, but it did not disappear again in like fashion, and he had to be content with his one fish.

The embracing woods grew dusk about the Mere, the reedwrens sang sweetly in the reeds, and as the sun grew crimson in the west, the full moon rose large and silvery over the eastern woods, and cast a broad stream of light across the water. The gloaming began to gather fast, and we left the Mere to seek the origin of the dancemusic, which still went on. Ascending the hill, on the summit of which is the bowling-green, and paying sixpence each for admission, we found that we had lighted

upon the annual festivity of the Ellesmere Ladies' Club. A very grand affair it was. Vigorous dancing was going on on the green, which was resplendent with ladies. in full dress, with the single addition of hats or bonnets. The general effect was marred by the appearance of the young men, who, as a rule, wore tall black hats, blue or red neckties, and frock-coats, the tails of which flapped ungracefully as the wearers danced.

The three fishermen felt ashamed of their rough-andready costume-straw hats and boating flannels; but conquering their natural modesty, Viator and Herbert secured partners, and Piscator, reflecting that the Gipsy could not see him, secured a pretty girl, and was soon whirling about the smooth lawn as madly as any of them.

VIII.-COEDYRALLT.

WE stood upon the summit of a cliff, and far below us the sacred river Dee flowed, with a current that from this height seemed to be tranquil and smooth, but we knew that the occasional glitter and sparkle told of a rapid, and that the patches of snow-white foam were boiling cascades.