158 The Angler's Secret 



the snell at the first cast, if anybody tried 

 to flail them, and which, if they ever did 

 get as far as the stream's surface, would 

 sorely puzzle every trout that tried to 

 solve the identity of the clumsy species. 



Buy of the reputable maker or dealer 

 who sometimes throws a fly himself. He 

 knows his subject and he is worthy of being 

 trusted if he 's a brother angler. He is 

 to be found in all the great cities, and in 

 fact in all parts of the United States. 



" The fisherman has a harmless, preoccupied look ; 

 he is a kind of vagrant, that nothing fears. He blends 

 himself with the trees and the shadows. All his ap- 

 proaches are gentle and indirect. He times himself 

 to the meandering, soliloquizing stream ; he addresses 

 himself to it as a lover to his mistress ; he wooes it and 

 stays with it till he knows its hidden secrets. Where it 

 deepens, his purpose deepens ; where it is shallow, he is 

 indifferent. He knows how to interpret its every 

 glance and dimple ; its beauty haunts him for days." 



JOHN BURROUGHS. 



