and Affectations 



rise and strike, nor the pleasurable 

 exercise of skill and deft manipulation 

 afforded by this method of fishing. 

 We have no desire to disturb by a dis- 

 cordant dissent the extravagant praise 

 awarded to the trout when he is called 

 the wariest of his tribe, "the speckled 

 beauty," the aristocratic gentleman 

 among fish, and the most toothsome 

 of his species. At the same time, we 

 of the unpretentious sort of fishermen 

 are not obliged to forget that often 

 the trout will refuse to rise or strike 

 and will wait on the bottom for food 

 like any plebeian fish, that he is fre- 

 quently unwary and stupid enough to 

 be lured to his death by casts of the 

 fly that are no better than the most 

 awkward flings, that notwithstanding 

 his fine dress and aristocratic bearing 

 121 



