began to think that he was a much nicer boy than he had supposed, and
felt very glad that he had brought him out with him that evening.

The laird rowed on for some distance, till he came to the spot where he
proposed fishing. He then put his rod together, and told Norman to
watch what he did, that he might imitate him as soon as he had a rod of
his own.

"I must get a nice light one which you can handle properly," observed
the laird kindly.

"Oh, but I think I could hold yours, it does not seem very heavy," said
Norman.

"You might hold it upright, but you could not move it about as I do, and
certainly you could not throw a fly with it," answered Mr Maclean.
"However, I like to see a boy try to do a thing. It is only by trying
that a person can succeed. But trying alone will not do, a person must
learn his alphabet before he can read; unless he did so, he might try
very hard to read, and would not succeed. In the same way you must
learn the a, b, c of every handicraft, and art, and branch of knowledge,
before you can hope to understand or accomplish the work. The a, b, c
of fly-fishing is to handle your rod and line, and I must see you do
that well, before I let you use a hook, with which you would otherwise
only injure yourself or any one else in the boat."

"But I should feel so foolish throwing a line backwards and forwards
over the water," answered Norman, "I should not like that."

"You would be much more foolish throwing it backwards and forwards and
not catching anything," remarked the laird. "Will you follow my advice
or not? I want your answer."

"I will do as you wish me," said Norman, after some hesitation.

"Then I will teach you how to become a fly-fisher, and perhaps another
year when you pay me a visit, you will be able to catch as many fish as
I am likely to do this evening."

The good laird had now got his tackle in order, and applied himself to
the sport, telling Norman to sit quiet in the stern. Norman watched him
eagerly.

"I cannot see what difficulty there is," he said to himself. "I think
in ten minutes or so I should be able to make the fly leap about over
the water just as well as he does. Ah! he has caught a fish, I should
like to do that! I must try as soon as he will let me have a rod."

The laird quickly lifted the trout into the boat, and in half-an-hour
caught five or six more.

It was now growing dusk, and observing that the fish would no longer
rise, he wound