236 Grayling-Fishing. 



and I hold that, other things being equal, just in 

 proportion to the difficulty of its capture, is the 

 worth of capturing it. 



But when the grayling has readily yielded to 

 the blandishments of the angler, and has taken 

 his lure, how does it comport itself ? Mr Francis 

 will answer. " Its play is composed of a series of 

 rolls and tumbles," and "too often it behaves as 

 a trout might be imagined to do if he had been 

 drinking success to the May-fly rather too freely." 

 Precisely so ; indeed I should say oftener than too 

 often it does so ; but is this not rather an un- 

 gallant admission for its champion to make ? I 

 do not envy our author his keen angler's eye, if 

 it is sharp enough to see the graceful bearing of 

 the " lady of the stream " in the ungainly gambols 

 of a devotee of Bacchus. But I am glad to notice 

 the concession, that though this "behaviour" is 

 only too real in the case of the grayling, it is merely 

 imaginary in the case of the trout; and I fancy 

 we have here got the reason of the absence of 

 shyness in the one, and of its presence in the 

 other. Deep potations oft make prospective heroes. 



" Inspiring bold John Barleycorn ! 

 What dangers thou canst make us scorn ! " 



But what of those that thou dost create? More 

 discretion in her cups, and there will be less danger 

 in the toils. Now the trout, the " gentleman of the 



