ON THE THAMES. 311 



hear ; can't they, indeed ? What bird may be best 

 taken as the type of the angler ? Look at yon heron, 

 how quietly he sits, and what a sober-coloured coat 

 he wears ; but what fine, sport he has ! When anybody 

 accomplishes difficult feats which others fail in doing, 

 it is always said, and always will be said, that he 

 has some charm, some scent, some hidden device. 

 Earey was stated to give his horses a drug to tame 

 them ; a successful angler had his worm and bait 

 boxes examined when his back was turned, to see what 

 scent he used ; and the poor heron has not escaped, 

 for he is said by many, even at the present day, to 

 have an oil in his legs which attracts the fish, and I 

 have heard of anglers being foolish enough to shoot 

 or buy a heron, and endeavour to extract this oil from 

 the bird's legs to be applied to their own base pur- 

 poses. All three cases Earey, the angler, and the 

 heron are alike ; there is no conjuring, no charming, 

 except the charm of gentleness, patience, and quiet ; 

 hence we see anglers generally silent men, not inclined 

 to quarrel. Dear old gossiping Izaak Walton was of 

 these, and the following might have been a part of 

 one of his discourses addressed to the friend who was 

 lucky enough to be in his company : 



" Say, canst thou tell where eels in winter hide, 

 Or where the swallows' vagrant race reside, 

 How salmon yearly quest th' accustomed main, 

 Or wintry frogs their foodless kind sustain ? 



