80 BEETLES. 



as you will mental, by remaining at the water- 

 side, — always, be it understood, as far as gentle- 

 manly fishing is concerned. 



Observation will, however, sometimes reward 

 you with a good fish or two ; and here are 

 a brace of examples : — 



A fine Trout was lying close to the stone- 

 work of a weir, at Leintwardine, on the Teme, 

 but he was neither to be coaxed with fly, min- 

 now, nor grub, — at least not in the usual way 

 of using them. I was, one day, watching him 

 devouring minnows ; when, presently, one of 

 the minnows — which were continually leaping 

 to get out of the way of their formidable enemy 

 — dropped upon one of the projecting stones of 

 the weir, and thence wriggled itself into the 

 water, when it was instantly seized by the 

 Trout. I immediately thought that his honor's 

 last hour was at hand. And so it was ; for I 

 put on the Fly -minnow, and succeeded in pitch- 

 ing it on to one of the stones. Waiting till he 

 was near the spot, I then gently jerked the 

 bait off the stone ; and it had barely touched 

 the water, when he had it, — and / had him. 



