26 THE BORDER ANGLER. 



superior acuteness of the angler, who, using a line 

 almost invisible in its fineness, passes off a feather for 

 one of Nature's insect masterpieces, and makes a worm 

 or a minnow the tempting disguise by which to intro- 

 duce a barbed hook into the mouth of his not easily- 

 deceived victim. Angling re-awakens in him who 

 practises it the original faculties by which man gained 

 his food before he took to ploughing, or pettifogging, 

 or cotton-spinning, or preaching ; and he must have 

 re-acquired in a considerable degree the power of 

 exercising those faculties before he can daily fill his 

 basket with trout from the Tweed or its tributaries. 

 He must be able to unite in himself the man of the 

 time when the world's grey fathers came forth from 

 the Ark, after the fishes for a season had it all their 

 own way over the deluged earth and who would 

 doubtless have to take to fishing for their food, until 

 the corn grew, or the veal was ready with the man 

 of the nineteenth century, who moves about amongst 

 whirring wheels or pores over papers, and whose din- 

 ner is sure every day in the year, without his knowing 

 whence it comes. But as it may perhaps be said that 

 the praise of fishers and of fishing has already been 

 said and sung to a sufficient extent by members of the 

 fraternity, we had better pass on to the more particular 

 business before us. Our functions are those of a guide 

 rather than of an angling preceptor Wilson, Stoddart, 

 Younger, and Stewart, and hosts of others, have de- 

 scribed the mysteries of the art as practised in Scot- 

 land, as well as they may be described and therefore 

 our instructions shall be brief. 



