JOHN, LORD SOMERVILLE. 115 



CHAP. VI. 



" I tell you more : there was a fish taken, 

 A monstrous fish, with a sword by 's side, — a long sword ; 

 A pike in's neck, and a gun in's nose, — a huge gun; 

 And letters of mart in's mouth from the Duke of Florence. 

 Cleanthes. This is a monstrous lie. 

 Tony. I do confess it ; 



Do you think I'd tell you truths ? " 



Fletcher's Wife for a Munth. 



Having set forth the advantages, as well as the risk 

 of wading, in a fair, and I hope a rational light, I will 

 proceed to advise on other matters. 



In primis, your rod should be proportioned to the 

 size of the river you fish in ; eighteen or twenty feet 

 long. The longer the rod, the greater command you will 

 have over your fish ; for being enabled to keep the line 

 more perpendicular, you can lead him with more ease 

 and security amongst rocks and eddies ; whereas with a 

 short rod you cannot keep enough of your line clear of 

 the water to prevent danger in such places. It is true 

 that the late Lord Somerville, who was an excellent 

 fisherman, used a one-handed trout rod for salmon. He 

 did not, however, do so from choice, but from necessity ; 

 for having once put out his shoulder, he could not 

 manage to throw with a rod of the usual size. He 

 once put this little rod into my hands when we were 

 fishing together in his water ; but, for want of practice, 



I 2 



