ON ANGLING. 151 



ever, venture upon an illustration. Always 

 take one or two of your canine favourites with 

 you to the river, and you will find them ever 

 showing their acuteness by hunting rats, swim- 

 ming after water-fowl, galloping about close 

 to the edge of the river, entangling your flies 

 about their legs, and then starting off, tail on 

 end, in the highest glee, with divers other 

 pranks of a like amusing nature. All this 

 plainly shows that they are fully conscious 

 you were not at the water for angling pur- 

 poses ; but wholly and solely for their particular 

 and especial amusement. Should you even 

 happen to speak harshly to them, they only 

 look up at you, wag their tails, and, consider- 

 ing your rough tones part of the fun, plunge 

 headlong into the stream, driving the fish about 

 in the most admired confusion. I once, how- 

 ever, saw a dog that had been trained to do 

 duty for a landing net. When a fish had been 

 hooked, he would, on a sign from his master, 

 leap in, lay hold of it by the middle, and bring 

 it safe to shore. 



K 4 



