74 TROLLING IN STAFFORDSHIRE. 



baits in the pocket, and a rod and line, are all that 

 are necessary, besides a small case of hooks, a knife, 

 arid a pair of scissors. 



I am not about to make any comparison between 

 the pleasure of trolling, and that of fly-fishing. 

 They may both be enjoyed in their several ways, 

 and trolling may be had when fly-fishing cannot. 

 I always consider the mere act of fishing as a se- 

 condary consideration. I connect with it the en- 

 joyment of the country, the song of birds, the 

 beauty of the day, the refreshment of mind, 

 and the calmness of thought, which these bring 

 with them. * If,' as an old writer remarks, * an 

 4 angler is weary, his sport refreshes him ; if me- 

 * lancholy, it cheers him ; if in pain, it eases 

 'him. This is the prosperity of the fisher. Patience 

 ' and hope are the two chiefest pillars that support 

 ( him/ Cowper appears to have had this feeling, 

 when he remarked 



O, friendly to the best pursuits of man, 

 Friendly to thought, to virtue and to peace 

 Domestic life in rural pleasure past. 

 Few know the ralue, and few taste the peace, 



Perhaps there is no pleasure to be enjoyed at a 

 more easy rate than that of angling, one more 

 conducive to health, or which composes the mind 

 to that quiet and serenity which can only be appre- 

 ciated by those who have experienced the happi- 

 ness they bring with them. An old angler has 



