HAMLIN ON THE SALMON OF MAINE. 351 



The lover of the '• gentle craft " wlio has never taken the salmon with 

 an artificial fly cannot boast mudi of his professional skill, since 

 angling- for this magnificent fish is deemed the measure or standard of 

 his capacity, the test of his art, the legitimate object of his loftiest 

 aspiration. No lover of nature will ever justify Dr. Johnson's snarling 

 definition of the angler's i)rofession, the poetic vituperations of Lord 

 Byron, or the exaggerated description of the clever Horace Smith. 

 There is no sport that will compare with scientific angling for exciting 

 the mind and sustaining a joyous hilarity. The enjoyment of the pure 

 air, rambling over green meadows, in the grand old woods, among the 

 rugged mountains, and over the beautiful lakes — all this varied inter- 

 course with nature inspires the mind with happy feelings. 



The passion for angling is by no means limited to any class of society. 

 The most eminent poets, painters, philosophers, statesmen, and soldiers 

 have been fond of the art. Trajan loved angling, and Nelson threw the 

 fly with his left hand after the Spaniards had shattered his right arm. 

 Ovid, Boileau, Goldsinith, Rossini, were anglers. Br. Paley was pas- 

 sionately fond of it, and, in reply to the bishop of Durham, as to when 

 one of his most important works was to be finished, said : "M3- lord, I 

 shall work steadily at it when the fly-fishing is over." Walter Scott, 

 iufinitelysusceptible to the beauties of nature, was delighted with angling, 

 and more ihan one passage in his works betrays his predilection for the 

 sport. Walton has justly styled the gentle art as "the contemplative 

 man's recreation." We do not think that angling should be classed 

 with acts of cruelty, for fish, and all cold-blooded animals, are less sensi- 

 tive than the warm-blooded aninals, and the act of hooking a fish is 

 probably attended with less pain than we imagine, as the cartilaginous 

 part of the mouth contains no apparent nerves. A trout will often con- 

 tinue to pursue insects after escaping from the hook, though he will 

 shun the artificial ones. The pike will seize the bait even when his month 

 is full of broken hooks. Sharks are also remarkably insensible to pain. 



When the evening is calm and tranquil after a warm day or a stormy 

 period, then it is the best time to cast the artificial fly. At this hour 

 the fish emerge from the cool places of concealment, where repose has 

 sharpened their appetites, and they pursue with avidity the insects that 

 sport near the surface of the stream, or the little minnows who dare 

 venture from their safe places on the shallows. In the taking of the 

 artificial fly, the trout rarely leaps at it more than once, while the sal- 

 mon will make several attempts. Certain flys are ver^- deadly on certain 

 rivers, but not ou others, even when not far distant. This peculiarity 

 in the Salmonidw is quite remarkable, and evinces either caprice or in- 

 tellectual instinct. 



In Switzerland and Illyria, the native sportsmen fish with the rudest 

 imitations of flies, and on the Shannon the largest salmon are caught 

 with clumsy artificial bugs and flies. Fish are not only deceived by these 

 imitations of insects, but even birds are deluded by the sight. From 



