How Fish-hooks are Made. 39 



rity, till at last its former locality was marked by a de- 

 pression you could put your fist into. Nothing but fin- 

 gerlings (to basket which, under any circumstances, is of 

 course against the first canon of your and my angling 

 belief) had rewarded my efforts, so I sat me down to 

 seek consolation in a quiet pipe, and study the situation. 

 Those hooks were like lead in softness. 



I learned my lesson then. Learn yours now ! You 

 will find it far cheaper and more satisfactory. For 

 whether is it better to prove each part of your outfit at 

 home, when the loss of a worthless article readily re- 

 placed is the worst that can result ; or to involve the 

 good in a common fate with the bad, and lose all, your 

 temper included, in a common ruin. 



It is a good rule to try no experiments in the crisis of 

 battle. 



