OUR FIRST TRIUMPH. 169 



can be neatly made, he may essay striking and 

 playing. Dace or Perch in the summer months afford 

 ample scope for the acquirement of these accomplish- 

 ments. It is the determined will to succeed that 

 attains its object; and when the resolve is once 

 taken there is the immediate response of the will to 

 the perceptive powers seen in the discernment of a 

 rise, and at once, and without delay, the quarry is 

 successfully struck. Well do we remember our first 

 take with the fly ; filled with the ardour natural to 

 youth we were foolish enough to resolve to effect a 

 capture prior to quitting the river's brim. All the 

 day we flogged and fished, the result being simply nil, 

 ten, twelve, and thirteen hours passed away without 

 so much as moving a fin. The summer twilight set 

 in, shadowing the outlines of the surrounding land- 

 scape. Still our resolution was firm, and in keeping 

 with a set purpose we presented the lure more gently, 

 and with greater precision upon the edge of the 

 shadows caused by the rising moon, where the 

 heavy ' switching ' sound, repeated at short intervals, 

 proclaimed the daily dinner hour of an old veteran. 

 After casting for some time directly over him, we 

 finally hooked the old gent. As we had had the 

 discretion to fit up a strong collar to carry the large 

 fly employed, we had small difficulty in landing our 

 quarry, which was afterwards found to measure 17 

 inches in length, and 9^ inches in girth, scaling 

 2j Ibs., a venerable monster in truth to our boyish 

 eyes. 



Care and patience in execution are required after 



