PISCATORY DISQUISITIONS. 49 



I had endured in finding my flies so unprofitable, had 

 made me hold the entire outfit of the London artist in 

 disrepute ; and I would have given my most elaborate 

 and expensive fishing-rod for the hazel angle of the ancient 

 otter-killer. 



" Frank," said my cousin, " you must not undervalue 

 what really is unexceptionable ; I mean the mechanical 

 part of your collection. Those rods are beautiful ; 

 and your reels, lines, gut, and hooks cannot be surpassed ; 

 your flies may be excellent in an English river, so put 

 them carefully aside, as I will supply you with some better 

 adapted to our mountain streams. But what a size 

 that book is ! In fishing, as in literature, the school- 

 men's adage holds, Mega biblion, mega kakon. Why, 

 nothing but a soldier's pack would carry it ! We will 

 soon, however, render you independent of this mighty 

 magazine, by teaching you to fabricate your own flies." 



" I fear I am too old to learn ; the art of tying must, 

 I presume, be acquired early in life, and brought to 

 perfection by after experience." 



" This does not always follow ; I did, when a boy, 

 tie flies passably ; but, having left off fishing when I 

 removed from my native river, I forgot the art, and 

 depended on others for my supply. The person who 

 furnished my casting-lines fell sick, and it unluckily 

 happened that his illness occurred in the best period 

 of the season ; and as the river was filled with fish, 

 constant service soon wore out my scanty store. Neces- 

 sity is the mother you know the proverb I was 

 sadly reduced ; ground blunted hooks and patched 

 ravelling bodies, till at last my stock was reduced to 

 half-a-dozen, and that half-dozen to perfect skeletons. 

 What was to be done ? Man is an imitative animal 



