LINE-FISHING. 27 



and to hook as many fish as he could during the 

 day. 



The individual to his right was one of those Irish- 

 men who are called in New York ''Jacks of all 

 trades ^^ — or, as the Italians have it, tutte sorti di 

 mestieri — poacher, bully, smuggler, trapper, and (oc- 

 casionally) grave-digger. The third was what they 

 call in New York a " Vhoy " — a fellow who has no 

 business but that of doing nothing. Lean, sly, and 

 idle-looking, with haggard eyes and neglected gar- 

 ments ; black coat and vest, shirt of a doubtful tint ; 

 coloured necktie, and his hat cocked on one side. 



The veteran of 1777 was gravely occupied in ex- 

 amining the contents of the stomach of a salmon- 

 trout which he had just captured, and was en- 

 deavouring to ascertain, from what he found there, 

 what were the insects most sought after by the fish. 

 He was giving a lesson to his companions, who 

 seemed very attentive to what he said to them. I 

 myself listened respectfully to his discourse, and 

 resolved to follow in his wake, admiring greatly 

 the address with which he fished across the stream, 

 avoiding all contact with the bushes. He threw his 

 fly into the best places, drawing it across the surface 

 of the stream, and letting it float sometimes into a 

 deep hollow under the roots of a tree, and sometimes 

 under the shelter of the bank— likely places for the 

 big trout to lie in. As he proceeded, the fisherman 

 explained to his two pupils how to hold the rod, how 



