24 THAMES FISHING. 



< and played for some minutes, he will often, after 

 * his escape with the artificial fly in his mouth, 

 ' take the natural fly, and feed as if nothing had hap- 

 ' pened ; having apparently learnt only from ex- 

 ' periment that the artificial fly is not proper food. 

 ' And I have caught pikes with four or five hooks 

 ' in their mouths, and tackle which they had 

 ' broken only a few minutes before ; and the hooks 

 ' seemed to have had no other effect than that of 

 ' serving as a sort of sauce piqvante, urging them 

 ' to seize another morsel of the same kind.'' 



To the accuracy of this statement I can bear 

 testimony ; and it may tend to do away with the 

 charge of cruelty which has been brought against 

 anglers. Indeed, I much question whether any 

 animal which is deprived of life for the purpose of 

 affording food for man, does not suffer more than 

 the fish, when the latter at last is properly caught 

 and speedily killed. At all events, I am per- 

 suaded that fish taken in nets have to undergo 

 nngrgjgtual sufferinj.han those caught by the rod. 

 I have dwelt upon this subjecVfron^an anxiety I 

 felt to rescue myself and others from the charge of 

 enjoying a cruel sport. I do not consider it to be 

 so. If it was, I do not think that so many ex- 

 cellent, humane, and good men would have been 

 found amongst its advocates. 



It is now time, after this digression, to pursue 

 my account of angling. 



I regret to say that the good old times for 



