150 THE LIXE TO BE SUITED TO THE ROD. 



series of poppings and crackings, as if the rod were a cart 

 whip and the trout a team of Suffolk punches ; and flies 

 go to grass, or supposing they do not go quite so far, the- 

 gut at the head of the fly gets so broken and damaged 

 that the first good fish which comes at it takes it away- 

 Perhaps, to avoid the incessant popping, the angler gives- 

 a little more time behind, when he makes constant and 

 exasperating acquaintance with thistles, or a more than 

 ordinarily long blade of grass, with a nice knobby un- 

 breakable head to it, up to which the fly slides and jambs 

 as neatly as if it were made for it. Mayhap, in one of 

 these drawbacks, smash goes the top of his rod close above 

 the brazing, and this will of course be well home in the 

 ferrule, as it always is when you would just as soon that 

 it was not, and you accordingly find that there is perhaps 

 little or nothing to catch hold of to pull out the fragment 

 by. You damage a favourite grinder or so in trying to 

 twist it out with your teeth, and finally the aid of science*, 

 a penknife and picker, is invoked to worm out the 

 stoppage. You are lucky indeed if the best half of the 

 day is not lost in this interesting occupation, the trout 

 meanwhile rising right under your nose, as if they knew alt 

 about it, and were determined to make the best of their 

 time; and when at last the spare top or the old one, by 

 the assistance of a bit of wet paper and some lashing, is- 

 once more set up, the rise is over, and not a trout is to 

 be seen. This is the pleasantest aspect, but at the worst 

 (and this is something awful to contemplate) the refrac- 

 tory brazing resists all efforts to release it, and the angler 

 has to put his rod over his shoulder and stalk gloomily 

 home from two or three to ten or a dozen mortal miles,, 

 and all because he has neglected to suit his line to his rod. 

 Now, this is no fancy, and these are no imaginary cases. I 

 have known them happen half-a-dozen times and more ; OIL 

 the other hand, perhaps, the rod being rather limber, will 



