Year: 1876

There's generally about six of them
In the bunch (says an exchange), with
light dresses on, and they have three
poles with as many hooks and lines
among them.


AS soon as they get to the river they
look for good place to get down on
the RATS, and the most ventures0me
one sticks her boot heels in the bank
and makes two careful step-dOwns !;
then she suddenly finds herself at the
bottom with both hands in the water
and feeling that everybody in this
wide world is looking at her, and she
never tells anybody how she got there,
The other girls, profting by her ex-
ample, turn around and go down the
bank on their hands and toes, back wards.


Then they scamper over the RATS
until they find shallow place where
they can see the fish, and shout:


" Oh see one."


Where %


There"


Oh my, so he is."


" Let's catch him."


Who's got them balts %


4" You lazy thing, you're sitting on
my pole"


Show me the wretch that stole my
worm"


All these exclamations are gotten off
in tone that awakens every echo with
in mile around, and sends every fish
within three acres square into gallop-
ing Mysteries. Then the girls by super
human exertions manage to get worm
on the hook, and throw ia" with a
splash like the launching of wash tub,
and await the result. When a silver
fin comes along AMI nipples the bait
they pull up with jerk, that, had an
unfortunate fish weighing less than
fifteen pounds been on the hook, would
have landed it in the neighborhood of
three or four miles in the country. At
ter while a feeble minded sun fish con.
trives to get fastened on the hook of a
timid woman, and she gives vent to her
tongue:


Oh something's got my hook p


" Pull up, you little idiot - shouted
five excited voices, as poles and hooks
are dropped and trey rush to the res
cue. The girl with the bite gives q
spasmodic jerk, which sends the unfor-
tunate sunny into the air the full length
Of forty feet of line, and he comes down
on the nearest curly head with damp
flop, that sets tie girl to clawing as
though there were bumblebees in her
hair.


"Och murder | take it away. Ughl
the nasty thing -


Then they hold up their skirts and
gather about that fish as it skips over
the logs, one all the time holding the
line in both hands with her foot on the
pole as though she had an disposed
goat at the other end. They talk
over it.


How ever will he get off %


Amt it pretty 2"


" Wonder if it amt dry ?"


Poor little thing; let's put it back. "


How will we get the hook from
1t ?"


Pick it up" says girl who backs
rapidly out of the circle.


Good gracious, I'm afraid Of it.
There, it's opening its mouth at me"


just then the sunny wriggles off the
nOOk anu disappears DeIW6en TWO loRs
into the water, and the girls try for an-
other bite.


But the sun comes down and fries the
backs of their necks, and they get three
headaches in the party, and they all
get cross and scold at the fish like SC
many magpies. If any unwary chut
dare show himself in the water they
poke at him with poles, much to his
disgust. Finally, they get mad all
over and throw their poles away, hunt
up the lunch basket, climb up into the
woods, where they sit around on the
grass and caterpillars, and eat enough
IF dried beef and rusk and hard boiled.
eggs to give wood horse the night
mare after which they compare notes
about their beaux until sundown, wher
they go home and plant envy in the
hearts of all their muslin de laint
friends by telling what Just a splen
did time" they had.
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A. A