50 FISHES. 



art, may be said to characterize man in his 

 highest or intellectual state; and he who fishes 

 for Salmon and Trout with the fly, employs, not 

 only machinery to assist his physical powers, but 

 applies sagacity to conquer difficulties : the plea- 

 sure derived from ingenious resources and devices, 

 as well as from active pursuit, belongs to this 

 amusement. Then, as to its philosophical ten- 

 dency, it is a pursuit of moral discipline, re- 

 quiring patience, forbearance, and command of 

 temper. As connected with natural science, it 

 may be vaunted as demanding a knowledge of 

 the habits of a considerable tribe of created 

 beings, — fishes and the animals they prey upon, — 

 and an acquaintance with the signs and tokens of 

 the weather and its changes, — and of the nature 

 of waters and of the atmosphere. 



" As to its poetical relations, it carries us into 

 the most wild and beautiful scenery of nature ; 

 amongst the mountain-lakes, and the clear and 

 lovely streams that gush from the higher ranges 

 of elevated hills. How delightful is the early 

 spring, after the dull and tedious time of winter, 

 when the frosts disappear, and the sunshine 

 warms the earth and waters, to wander forth by 

 some clear stream, to see the leaf bursting from 

 the purple bud, to scent the odours of the bank 

 perfumed by the violet, and, enamelled, as it 

 were, with the primrose and the daisy. To 

 wander upon the fresh turf below the shade of 

 trees, whose bright blossoms are filled with the 

 music of the bee, and on the surface of the waters 

 to view the gaudy flies sparkling like animated 

 gems in the sunbeams, whilst the bright and 

 beautiful Trout is watching for them below ; to 



