A Matter of Interest

The Purple Emperor watched me in silence. I cast again, spinning out six feet more of waterproof silk, and, as the line hissed through the air far across the pool, I saw my three flies fall on the water like drifting thistledown. The Purple Emperor sneered. "You see," he said, "I am right. There is not a trout in Brittany that will rise to a tailed fly." "They do in America," I replied. "Zut! for America!" observed the Purple Emperor. "And trout take a tailed fly in England," I insisted sharply. "Now do I care what things or people do in England?" demanded the Purple Emperor. "You don't care for anything except yourself and your wriggling caterpillars," I said, more annoyed than I had yet been.