302 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



of your best caution, render suspected to them ; but even 

 then, in swift streams, or by sitting down patiently behind a 

 willow bush, you shall do more execution than at almost 

 any other time of the year with any other fly ; though one 

 may sometimes hit of a day, when he shall come home very 

 well satisfied with sport with several other flies : but with 

 these two, the GREEN-DRAKE and the STONE-FLY, I do verily 

 believe I could, some days in my life, had I not been weary 

 of slaughter, have loaclen a lusty boy ; and have sometimes, I 

 do honestly assure you, given over upon the mere account of 

 satiety of sport ; which will be no hard matter to believe, ' 

 when I likewise assure you, that with this very fly, I have 

 in this very river that runs by us, in three or four hours 

 taken thirty, five-and-thirty, and forty of the best trouts in 

 the river. What shame and pity it is, then, that such a 

 river should be destroyed by the basest sort of people, by 

 those unlawful ways of fire and netting in the night, and of 

 damming, groping, spearing, hanging, and hooking by day, 

 which are now grown so common, that, though we have very 

 good laws to punish such offenders, every rascal does it, for 

 ought I see, impune. 



To conclude, I cannot now in honesty but frankly tell you, 

 that many of these flies I have named, at least so made as 

 we make them here, will peradventure do you no great 

 service in your southern rivers ; and will not conceal from 

 you, but that I have sent flies to several friends in London, 

 that for ought 1 could ever hear, never did any great feats 

 with them ; and therefore if you intend to profit by my in- 

 structions, you must come to angle with me here in the Peak ; 

 and so, if you please, let us walk up to supper, and to-morrow, 

 if the day be windy, as our days here commonly are, 'tis ten 

 to one but we shall take a good dish of fish for dinner. 



CHAPTER IX. 



Pise. A good day to you, sir ; I see you will always be 

 stirring before me. 



VIAT. Why, to tell you the truth, I am so allured with the 



