62 THE AET OF FISHING. 



care lest he should tear out the hook, and thus 

 lose his fly, or that a sudden jerk might kill the 

 insect, and prevent its fluttering on the water to 

 entice the trout. During this merciless proceed- 

 ing I ventured to approach him, and naturally 

 observed, "Do you think, Sir, those insects feel at 

 "all?" "Feel?" he replied, and at the same 

 time suiting the action to the word, he passed the 

 hook through the body of one of his victims, add- 

 ing, " As much as any Christian." At that time I 

 happened to have in my book one of those artifi- 

 cial Winchester May flies with the wing reversed, 

 and immediately commenced fishing with it, to the 

 disdain of my brother angler with his live flies, 

 who looked upon me, I believe, after some such 

 manner as Goliath eyed David. However, I per- 

 severed in the broad sun-light, and after a few 

 casts I hooked a fish, and then another, to the as- 

 tonishment of the old gentleman. And before I 

 got home to the inn (notwithstanding the still 

 air and scorching sun, and water of the colour and 

 appearance of crystal), I had managed to secure 

 a good dish of trout ; and I had left the live fly 

 angler with an empty pannier to pursue his re- 

 flections on the many living little creatures whom 

 he had spitted alive to no purpose but to die a 

 miserable death, either from drowning or the 



