218 FISHES AND FISHING. 



me with a high opinion of these flies, and to enhance 

 the price, so I cautiously selected half-a-dozen. She 

 divided them into two parcels, three being rather 

 larger than the other three, but all, as she assured me, 

 were the real Thames flies. The larger three, she 

 said, " I shall only charge YOU one shilling each, and 

 the other three ninepence each." I suppose it was 

 intended I should consider myself favoured-, but I did 

 not, for I could have bought as good flies, on as sound 

 hooks, and with as much gold (?) on them, at any of 

 the tackle shops for one shilling and sixpence, whereas 

 these six real Tliames flies, so improperly puffed, cost 

 me Jive shillings and threepence. But I have never 

 troubled this lady's shop with another visit. I con 

 sider myself, and am thought by others, a good fly- 

 fisher, but I never caught one fish, even a chub, with 

 any of these flies. 



I must here remark that there is, in point of fact, no 

 such thing as real gold lace, or gold thread ; it is silver 

 gilt with such a fine film of gold, that it would take four 

 teen millions of such films of gold to make the thickness 

 of one inch ; whereas if fourteen millions of leaves of 

 commonprintingpapercouldbeplacedone on the other, 

 they would make a pillar three thousand nine hun 

 dred and sixty feet high, (Dr. Black,) or above nine 

 teen times as high as the Monument. And the 

 ductility of gold is such, that one ounce of it is suf- 



