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traps, miglit save his life. But it was not to be ; lie made 

 a gallant fight for it, and finally came to net without a 

 wag left in his tail. And this was the inglorious end of 

 the '■ Ghost, " concerning whose blindness I should like 

 to hear further from that deeply learned and eminent 

 German professor ! The " Ghost " has a piebald brothe.r -- 

 but that is another story. 



The treacherous month of May having fully sustained 

 its reputation, has now given place to the leafy month of 

 June, and the mystic words " The fiy is up " have gone the 

 round of the angling world ; ye& " she " is up in her 

 myriads, and whatever may be urged against the wholesale 

 slaughter of trout, which goes on during the " duffers' 

 carnival," there is something to be said on the other side 

 of the question. For my o-nm part, I defend May-fly fish- 

 ing upon the ground that it enables you to clear out some 

 of the big fish that never rise to a fly at any other time, 

 and who live upon trout fry all the rest of the year. But 

 I am not concerned about the ethics of fishing with artificial 

 drake ; my present purpose is rather to invite you to share 

 with me the first day's " May-flying " on the Darenth in 

 this year of grace. The ungenial weather and cold winds 

 have kept back the delicate "ephemera vulgata," and re- 

 tarded their hatching to the extent of a week beyond the 

 date of their usual appearance on our queen of Kentish 

 trout streams ; but we shall find them up in goodly num- 

 bers when presently the sun has warmed the waters. By 

 the kindness of a generous non-angling owner, m'c have to- 

 dav the run of a lovely length of the river which is seldom 

 fished, and we are specially enjoined by our host to " thin 

 the ranks of those big fellows, and don't sparse them." At 

 the OTitset our prospects of doing this are not very promis- 

 ing, for the day is yet young, and not a sign of insect life 

 ca:i we discover upon the calm surface of the stream. Let 

 us be patient, as becomes the true disciples of old Isaac 

 AValton, for assuredly there is abundant material in this 

 delightful Kentish valley wherewith to occupy our time 

 until the trout begin to feed. How lovely and f]"esh, in their 

 delicate spring tints, do the trees and hedgerows look, and 



