THE TROUT. 41 



from the favourable aspect of tlie weather; the sky, perhaps, 

 clear and settled, with a gentle breeze from the ^west or south- 

 west a more promising day could not well be ^imagined. The 

 river was fished with uncommon care and assiduity ; all kinds of 

 flies were tried in their turn, and every dodge which experience 

 teaches was successively resorted to, but never a fish could be 

 hooked ; miles of ground were walked over, but not even a solitary 

 rise could be obtained, and the fellow-craftsmen whom we met in 

 our rambles were in precisely the same predicament. The waters, 

 in fact, appeared as still, and quiet as if there was not a single 

 trout in them to disturb the calm surface. Well ! in a short time, 

 out comes the explanation. The next day is ushered in by a 

 violent storm of snow and rain ; the waters rise, the floods come 

 down, and the fish get gorged with food to their heart's content. 

 Now, in our humble opinion, for we speak with diffidence on the 

 subject, this is a striking exemplification of the existence of a 

 powerful instinct for a given end or purpose. The secret influ- 

 ences of the atmosphere, imperceptible to man, intimate to the 

 wakeful and conscious fish that an abundant supply of food is at 

 hand ; and, on this account, they have no inclination to forestall 

 the copious repast which awaits them. We may add to these 

 statements, that we never saw trout take freely immediately before 

 or during powerful thunderstorms. 

 And we may observe in passing, that these statements we have 



middle ages. It was then the custom to have Piscatory Dramas 

 acted, and in one of these pieces we have a song comparing the 

 ordinary journey of human nfe to the art of angling. It is clear, 

 from the general scope and bearing of the sentiment of this poetical 

 effusion, that the fact of fishermen experiencing what appeared to 

 them unaccountable disappointments in their amusements, must 

 have been known and observed as a regular condition of the art as 

 then practised. We shall cite these few lines, and the reader will 

 be the better able to judge whether our conjectures are borne out 

 by the historical testimony of bygone ages : 



" How oft times with my rod in hand, 



In wandering by the stream, 

 I've liken'd the angler's magic wand 

 To life's deceptive dream ! 



" The sky, perchance, looks fair and bright, 



The breeze curls on the brook, 

 The waters ting'd to please the sight, 

 Trout waiting for the hook ! 



