180 RELATIVE VALUE OP DRESS. 



person. A tall black hat, or one of the genus called ' shiner,' 

 I do not recommend ; and though I would rather fish in 

 the Bishop of Winchester's stream than in his lordship's 

 company when in full canonicals, I should equally consider 

 Mr. Chadband in his cerements an objectionable party for 

 successful trouting on a shy or well-fished stream ; while 

 a stage coachman in a white top-coat and shiny hat would 

 be fully as unacceptable. Brilliant paste buckles on the 

 shoes I have no objection to if anyon > likes them, but on 

 the hat no. I even dislike a highly-varnished rod. Who 

 has not seen the flash of a rod waving in the air while half 

 a mile distant ? and surely so unusual and startling a pheno- 

 menon cannot but be calculated to disturb the equanimity 

 of so sharp-eyed a creature as the trout. The angler must 

 not always consider, because the spot where a trout lies is 

 apparently out of the direct range of his vision, that there- 

 fore he is invisible to the trout ; because owing to the re- 

 fraction of the rays of light consequent on their passing 

 from the rarer medium of air into the denser medium of 

 water, the direct line of vision becomes broken on reaching 

 the water, and takes a much more perpendicular direction. 

 The reader will understand this by placing a coin in an 

 empty pan, so far out of the line of sight as to be hidden 

 by the side of the vessel, and then filling the pan with 

 water, when the coin previously hidden will be plainly 

 visible. The same thing of course takes place inversely 

 with respect to the fish seeing the fisher, with this remark- 

 able difference, that the line is still farther diverted from 

 the direct line of vision, and therefore the fish can see at 

 a greater angle of divergence than the fisherman, and con- 

 sequently a fish lying under a bank between the angler and 

 himself can often see his enemy, when by no possibility 

 could the angler see him. 



It is as well that the angler should bear this little bit of 

 science in mind, as it will often account for a fish not 



