The leader., 1899-07-26
En- ROUTE, May s, 1899.
To the FiShcTmnn:

En- ROUTE, May s, 1899.
To the Fishermen;
DEiH BRETHREN:
The biissfu days have come
The gaddest o! the year,
or purpling hills and fragrant bloom,
And rivers bright and clear.
The banks of the brooks are green:
the bOughs of the trees bend down: the
trout are iluttering in the streams be-
low, and the birds are nesting above.
The bees are humming among the flow
crs: the forests are singing; the waters
are laughing, and all the world is
radiant with joy. Love rides on every
passing breeze and turks in every flow
err 1t is natures sweetest resurrcc-
ton, and beauty rcigns supreme.
What a glorious time to resurrect the
fishing tackle from its dusty tomb in
the lumber room, and the red worm
from his Shiny sepulchre under the
sod and to impalc him on the hook and
send him diving after suckers. What a
glorious time to camp and frolic on the
margin of the frolicking stream, with
sklIlctS and lard, and streaked and
striped bacon, and plenty of onions,
and corn bread, and good butter and
eggs and fiddlers to play, and mig
gers for cooks; big fat trout frying in
the pan, black coffee simmering in the
pot, and snake medicine in the
'chist' 1t is the Eden of the seasons;
Il is the heaven of life.
What JOY to linger by the fishing hole,
And lazly hold your fishing pole,
And wait for the fish to bite! What
delightful thrill is the thrill of nib
pie And when you hook two-pound
bass and eagerly undertake to land
him high and dry, what beautiful
thoughts pass through your brain and
what eloquent figures of speech escape
from your lips when your line gets
your head, and you see your fluttering
prize danSle for moment in the air,
and then, with q farewell flouncc, bid
You good evening as he drops back into
The water and darts away like an ar
row This is splendid illustration of
the feelings of n candidate for political
once who is sure of his election. He
sees victory dangling for moment in
Inc air about ten feet above his head,
ana then, with farewell bounce, it
gets away from him, and there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth"
Fishing is the greatest sport in the
world There is nothing so eXhilarating
10 the nervous system as the shock of a
Jerk, and there is nothing so relaxing
% the sight of vanishing perch with
oroken hook in his mouth. There is
also great deal of relaxation in sitting
On snag five hours with bated breath
ana oaitcd hook waiting for an exhilar-
alton which never comes. [ have known
gentlemen to engage in this sort of re-
taxation all day long, and save their
reputation as fishermen only by buying
string of the fnny tribe from some
oiu duSks wizard of the piscatorial art,
ana then swearing in camp that they
up 1t with their little red worms"
Inns is another illustration of the sue
oeSS OF some statesmen.
Inc ultima thule of happiness is the
sweet expectancy of laughing and
warning gang of fishermen advancing
10 the fishing ground in the morning
win buckets full of minnows, and
hahds full of tackle, and pockets full of
cigars and tobacco and ''sich like"
ioets may sing of banquets in gilded
n"iis where all the mingled sweets of
."e culinary art are heaped upon the
'aoie' and where fairies CLINT like
speckled trout in the crimson depths of
"'hc' and painted devils dance in the
ahoer floods of corn and rve;" but
give me fsherman's lunch and
uShermans appetite beneath the
spreading tree down by the riverside in
'ne oeep-tangled wildwood, where the
waters murmur at my feet and birds
make music all the day. Let the red
nosed jewellers sip their wine and
onueKle over the triumph of their trusts
ana combines, but give me a drink of
sparkling water from the cold noun
IAN spring and liberty among the hills
let The men of millions have their
pressure in their palaces; / envy them
ho'i let them pass the gilded hours
lowing and scraping on velvet carpets
ana ioiling on silkensofas; but give me
tue pleasure of the reel and line, and
'e' me bow and scrape on natures rich
oaip't OF green, among the redbuds
ana honey-suckles, and loll on the moss
covered logs amid violets and bluebells
near the bend of the river, where the
cranes bow and scrape to the tadpoles.
ana the bullfrog sings his sweetest
song. Let historians tell of the glory
~ heroes bringing home their spoils
.rotn conquered lands, but give me a
a'umphal march TO my own happy
acme with . beautiful string Of dsh.