She is 'dour' in rising. But she's beginning to take
notice of the fly now. Give me another season, and I'll have her
landed."
Good old Beekman! Little did he think-- But I must not interrupt
the story with moral reflections.
The preparations that he made for his final effort at conversion
were thorough and prudent. He had a private interview with Dewlap
in regard to the construction of a practical fishing-costume for a
lady, which resulted in something more reasonable and workmanlike
than had ever been turned out by that famous artist. He ordered
from Hook and Catchett a lady's angling-outfit of the most enticing
description,--a split-bamboo rod, light as a girl's wish, and strong
as a matron's will; an oxidized silver reel, with a monogram on one
side, and a sapphire set in the handle for good luck; a book of
flies, of all sizes and colours, with the correct names inscribed in
gilt letters on each page. He surrounded his favourite sport with
an aureole of elegance and beauty. And then he took Cornelia in
September to the Upper Dam at Rangeley.
She went reluctant. She arrived disgusted. She stayed incredulous.
She returned-- Wait a bit, and you shall hear how she returned.
The Upper Dam at Rangeley is the place, of all others in the world,
where the lunacy of angling may be seen in its incurable stage.
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