The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-08-28
LOVE AND FISHING.
A Romance of Ouoguewasset.


peaceful village of Quoguewasset, Lon
Island, has been greatlydisturbed. For
6 >nierly the inhabitants of that remot
> hamlet enjoyed feeling of complete Sc
cnrity. There was not a drunkard,
{, eriminal, or disorderly person of an
sort within twenty miles of the village
and not man or woman dreamed o
. Ioeking door or fastening a window a
night. Now, alas a reign of midnigh
terror and MONDAY nervousness has be
gun. QuOguewasset is haunted, not b,
professional or amateur ghost, but bl
az maddenedi assistant teacher of tn,
fotIng Ladies' Seminary, who goes NJ
and down with club, clamoring for tn.
blood Of wicked small boy who, rs ls
asserts, has betrayed him and wrecked
) his earthly happiness. ftF
IN the month of last July, among the
irffreqIient simmer tourists who arrived
at QuoguewaSset there was family from
this city, which included among its mum.
bers very bright and attractive young
lady. A few days later there also ar
rived Mr.. Perkins Smith, the assistant
teacher to whom reference has Just been
made. Mr.Smifh was mild young
70 man whose life had been passed in the
school-room, and who knew rather less
about field sports than a child in arms
who is acquainted only with the mater
nal slipper, and has not yet learned the
use of the rod. Like most mild men,
the assistant teacher was wholly umwill-
ING to confess that he had never shot a
fish, and did not know to which end of
a gun an artificial fly should be attached.
He affected to take an immense interest
in every thing of fishy, snipey, or gen
orally athletic nature, and ladies who
knew him only as he represented him
self to be, regarded him as a skillful,
brave and enthusiastic sportsman.
Such, indeed, was the opinion of the
bright and attractive young lady who
was Temporarily staying at Quogue-
wasset, and whose affections the assist
ant teacher was anxious to gain. When
she informed him, Just before leaving
town, that there was perfectly splendid
fishing ut Quoguewasset, and that he
ought TO run down and try it, he gladly
]eaped at the chance of prosecuting his
coultship in a lonely village where there
would be no Objectionable young men
with horses and other unfair devices to
distract the attention of his beloved OBJ
ject. Accordingly, week later Mr..
Smith arrived at Quoguewasset, osten-
. sibly to fish, and chuckled to himself as
he thought how completely his bundle of
fishing-rods, landing-nets, and fish
baskets would blind the young ladies'
brothers to the real motive of his visit
Mr.. Smith managed TO postpone. for
several day the,necessiyf of pretending
to fish, and devoted his whole time to
the young lady of his heart When her
brothers urged him to come out with
them for days fishing, he declined on
the plea that no man who really loved
the sport ever cared to practice it except
when alone. The day came, however,
when the young lady told him that it
really did not look well for him to come
down to QuOguewaSset TO fish, and then
to spend every consecutive day on her
front piazza. :" People will talk, YOU
know continued the intelligent young
ladS, and, besides, | am so fond of
trout, and want you 10 show the boys
what a. splendid fisherman you are
Mr. Smith, Intoxicated with this sort of
language, assured her that he would 90
fishing the very next morning, and
would bring her the finest trout to be
found on Long Island. VIZ ~ TT ,a
There was a reputed trout stream IN
the neighborhood, and thither the assist
ant teacher wendell his way. His views
of trout-fiShing were vague and at the
same time simple. 4" 1t must be per-
feetly-easy, he saidfo himself, s'all
have to do is TO drop the hook in the
water and pull the fish out when they
bite Excellent as the plan was in
theory, it somehow failed to work. Mr..
Smith attached y beautiful fly to the
end of a large and bright trolling-spOon,
and twined "A collection of earth-worms
artisticaly around the whole, but. he
fsiled, TO fatchahy thing but weeds and
thet braIlc hes of stress. lie could not
understand what was the matter with
the trout. Not only did they refuse to
bite, but when he varied his method of
attack by fishing with scoop-net, they
refusedLto enter it, even when he stirred
up the water with stick and cried
q Shooin at them. Gradually he be-
came convinced that he would be forced
ito go,hone without a trout. As he pic
ltuIfd the Disappointment of the young
lady and the ruin of his reputation as a
fisherman, gloom settled down upon
him, and when at sunset he wended his
way homeward with his broken rod and
empty basket, he was an unspeakably
thed man. r rs
, 10 thedespaiIine Smith then suddenly
appeared a casual small boy bearing
basket full of large and beautiful fish.
Hope sprang up in the assistant teachers
heart as the adversary of mankind
whisperedto him a wicked but tempting
suggestion. He stopped the small boy
and asked hifn-i the fish were trout. !
The boy said unheSitatingly that they
were. Mr.. Smith at once bought six of
the largest fish, and hired the small boy
10 string them. . Then, with proud
step, he sought the houseo of his beloved
one, and, carelessly handing her the fish,
remarked that he was disappointed in
the size of the QuoguewasSet trout, and
had thrown away at least so because 1
thew weighed less than two pounds each. I
The young ladylooked at him rather
curiousk, and her two brothers, who
were present. kept an ominous silence. /
She asked Mr.. Smith if the fish were |
really trout and if he had caught them I
all himself The unhappy man, rush- /,
ing on his fate, not only answered these /
questions in the affirmative, but de
Scribed the tiny little pool in which, as
he alleged, he had caught the fish. .
When he had fully and completely per- I
juped himself, the Young lady coldly
said that their acquaintance had better Z
end then and there, and swept up stairs I
TO their room, while her two brothers. I