CHAPTER VI 



" I tell you more : there was a fish taken, 

 A monstrous fish, with a sword by's side, — a long sword ; 

 A pike in's neck, and a gun in's nose, — a huge gun ; 

 And letters of mart in's mouth from the Duke of Florence. 

 Cleanthes. This is a monstrous lie. 

 Tony. I do confess it ; 



Do you think I'd tell you truths ? " 



Fletcher's Wife for a Month. 



Having set forth the advantages, as well as the 

 risk of wading, in a fair, and I hope a rational light, 

 I will proceed to advise on other matters. 



In primis, your rod should be proportioned to 

 the size of the river you fish in ; eighteen or twenty 

 feet long. The longer the rod, the greater com- 

 mand you will have over your fish ; for being 

 enabled to keep the line more perpendicular, you 

 can lead him with more ease and security amongst 

 rocks and eddies ; whereas with a short rod you 

 cannot keep enough of your line clear of the water 

 to prevent danger in such places. It is true that 

 the late Lord Somerville, who was an excellent 

 fisherman, used a one-handed trout rod for salmon. 

 He did not, however, do so from choice, but from 

 necessity ; for having once put out his shoulder, he 

 could not manage to throw with a rod of the usual 



