The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-03-06

these young men entered my room and in
vited me to join them in a days fishing.
Previous to this my fishing experience had
been limited to that of catching minnOws
with dip net; and as l had not found the
sport very exciting. politely declined their
invitation and eXhOrted them to fOregO their
amusement until a more suitable occasion
and not desecrate the Lords day in such
unholy pursuits. My exhortatiOn had not
the desired effect. for they made an eloquent
plea in defense of fishing, and when they
concluded l was convinced that fishing was
not only highly moral pastime, but was
also peculiarly appropriate to the Sabbath,
so L consented to accompany them and we
Immediately set out and in due time arrived
at the place previously agreed upon for our
days recreation.
The fish seemed plentiful and my com
paniOns soon had several landed. thought
them villainOuS looking fish, and SO eX-
pressed myself. but my young friends
laughed at what they called my ignorance
of such matters. and impaired the nfOrma
tion that the fish in question were brook
trout and were highly esteemed as a table
delicacy. AS we were fishing in slough |
was tempted to seek further information by
asking what eccentricity of nature caused
brook trout to nhabt such waters but in
fear of showing further ignorance and
bringing upon my self the ridcule of my COM
paniOnS. l remained silent
When the time arrived for us to return to
our boarding place my friends suggested
that as l was novice in the art of fishing
| it would rebound to my credit and establish
for me reputation as skillful angler
should l carry the entire ''catch" home as
the result of my own effort; but [ refused to
take advantage of their generosity by taking
| f,,. Il
was them proposed that we draw lots for
the honor. and when they assured me it was
not gambling L gave assent. In the drawing
that ensued | was the fortunate one, and
my friends magnanmously congratulated
me on my good luck. and kindly arranged
| the fish in the most convenient manner for
| calrving-placlng the largest fish (Which
according to their estimate was all eight
pound trOuU conspicuOusly on the outside
of the ''strng."
On our homeward journey my compan
| ions walked on in advance and l observed
| them stop frequently to converse with mu
tual acQuaintances. These acquaintances
| would also stop to converse with me-aSk
ing questions as to tie probable weight of
the fish. where they were caught, etc. | at
first felt embarrassed at answering these
questions, but l received so many cOmpli
ments on the fine string of fish. that my
customary assurance returned. and fearing
| my young friends had made too low all es-
innate OF the weight of the largest of the
trout, L increased the weight from eight to
| ten pounds When | reached my boarding
place L found my fame had preceded me
for the bOarderS were assembled i'm the sit
| ting room and as | entered they gathered
around me and piled me with questions for
fully three quarters of an hour; and the
miserable hoax of which l was the victim
was only brought to an end when a crusty
old bachelor rOared out: Young man. YOU
are an ass! and have been the dupe of those
young scamps, who have caused you to ap-
pear greater fool than nature originally
intended, by your stupidity in carrying
lot OF worthless fish through the principal
streets of the city,"
Those words brought me to a full realiZa-
ton OF how completely had been duped.
now recalled the significant winks of nv
companions when casting lots: | remem-
bered the looks of aStOnishment and half
suppressed mirth of my Questioners when l
spoke of the miserable gar fish as a
ten pound trout. The thought of
now ridiculous had been made to appear
created within me desire for vengeance.
and ION murderous thoughts intent, |
looked around for my prosecutors. but they
had he'd. rushed out of the house, and all
that long summer afternoon ] wandered
about the outskirts of the city like guilty
being. even the sounds of mirth of little
children at play imagined to be laughter
at me and my folly.
resolved to leave the city. for my sensi-
tive nature shrank from the thought of the
rldicule would be subjected to. When 1
had come to this conclusion l went to a
hotel, engaged a room and retired for the
night. Early next morning went to INV
employers and told them 1 had received