MATHEMATICAL ANGLING. 133 



or the fish will either lose sight of it, or not choose to 

 follow where you may wish him. All these things are 

 not easily explained in writing, nor, I believe, in con- 

 versation, as will appear from the following example. 



A friend of mine went with two companions to fish in 

 the river Mora, on the coast of Inverness-shire. One of 

 these two comrades was a young Oxonian, and a novice ; 

 the other was an experienced fisherman. They were 

 all three in one of those Highland shielings, redolent of 

 peat smoke and whiskey, which is absolute luxury to 

 a thorough-bred sportsman, as being in keeping and 

 character with the nature of his pursuit. The Oxonian 

 was an excellent person, but, as I have hinted, knew 

 nothing upon earth about salmon fishing ; so Mr. E. 

 C, who was an adept in the said art, set about in- 

 structing him by word of mouth. The third person of 

 the party happened not to coincide with the excellence 

 of the simple instructions he was giving, and laid it 

 down as an axiom, that it was impossible to catch a fish, 

 unless your fly was at right angles to your rod. This 

 seemed not at all to be comprehended; and after a little 

 arguing, the said oracle, by way of illustration, took a 

 stick, tied his handkerchief to it, and gave a few throws on 

 the table. " Now," said he, "these are very bad throws, 

 and would never catch a fish." This assertion was ap- 

 plauded, and immediately carried by acclamation. To 

 make a good cast, and keep your fly in the rectangular 

 position," continued the maestro, " you must furl your 

 line thus. " So saying, he gave the handkerchief a knowing 

 whisk, which extinguished both the candles. Thus he 

 argued with all his might, feeding the young Oxonian 



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