DRY-FLY MEDITATIONS 81 



hassock. Finally, he patted the ground and tried 

 kneeling on both knees. This seemed rather more 

 successful, and the rod was taken up. As an exhibition 

 of underhand casting the extending of line was very 

 pretty, but unhappily, just as enough had been got out, 

 the fly took hold of the clump of rushes growing behind 

 the rod. Thereupon the angler had to creep away, 

 release the hook, and then begin again. 



A position of comparative comfort once lost is not 

 easily regained without knee-pads, so it was consider- 

 ably later when the line at last swept backwards and 

 forwards. This time the rod was held higher, on 

 account, no doubt, of the reeds, and it may have 

 been for this reason that before ever the fly fell the 

 lowest immortal stopped feeding, turned, and went 

 away. Made aware of this by the onlooker, the angler 

 crept on a few yards for attack on the second fish, 

 which was still rising, and again sought diligently for 

 a spot where kneeling was not an agony. He had just 

 found it, when the second immortal, after a second or 

 two of evident thought, also turned and went away. 

 The third fish continued to feed, and the angler 

 crawled a little nearer, found a kneeling-place, got out 

 his line, and at last placed the fly beautifully about 

 six inches in front of his enemy's nose. It was not 

 taken, but " He turned, didn't he ?" the angler felt 

 able to ask. This was a fact, and the observer was 

 able to answer " Yes." But truth constrained him to 

 add that the third immortal had merely turned, like 

 his fellows, for the purpose of departure, and that 

 further efforts would be useless. 



Such are the immortals, and such (as their humble 

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