OR WALTONIAN CHRONICLE. 89 



to say, he was too successful ; they had all the ap- 

 pearance of being Anglers, but I was much pleased 

 to find they were worthless pretenders. I have seen 

 a beautiful Trout flung at the thick skull of these 

 blackguards, and split to pieces upon his impenetrable 

 cranium; I heartily wished that some magical means 

 could convert the fish into a hard missile, by way of 

 punishment to this two-legged otter. 



I NOW COME TO THE BEST PART OF 



THE SPORT, WHIPPING WITH AN 



ARTIFICIAL FLY. 



This mode is certainly, by many degrees, the 

 most pleasant and sportsmanlike way of Angling; 

 not that I consider it half so difficult to attain, 

 as many writers would have you believe. I do 

 not at all agree with those who pretend that a fly 

 should be made to such a nicety, although the size 

 should be regulated by the depth, colour, or 

 magnitude of the stream. Now, then, for the great- 

 est mystery : it is not in the inconceivable nicety of 

 the fly, but the manner of casting 1 it, not at the thin 

 end of the line, but at the thick end of the rod. The 

 rod in length must be suited to the width of the wa- 

 ter, light and taper at the top, the play commencing 

 about two-thirds down, and increasing upwards; not 

 that the bottom of the rod should be like a poker, it 



