8 INTRODUCTORY. 



name a river where good sport may be had, but to 

 name a river where good sport may not be had, 

 if properly gone about. Eailway travelling has 

 afforded the angler great facilities for the pursuit 

 of his vocation. One, or at most two hours' ride 

 will convey all lovers of sport in any large town 

 in Scotland, and in most of those in England, to 

 streams where there are plenty of trout; and, to 

 do them justice, they avail themselves of it to the 

 utmost. On a holiday the banks of any stream in 

 the neighbourhood are thickly studded with anglers, 

 a few of whom meet with good sport, but the greater 

 number, having demolished their sandwiches and 

 emptied their flasks, return with their baskets, and 

 occasionally their heads, lighter than when they left 

 home. Happily, however, and it is certainly a strong 

 argument in favour of the attractions of angling, 

 they are not a whit discouraged ; but, on the con- 

 trary, eager to return first opportunity, and have 

 always a good excuse for their want of success. We 

 never yet met a bad angler that had not a good 

 excuse ; sometimes it is clear water, sometimes a 

 bright day, sometimes thunder in the air, very often 

 too many white clouds ; and failing all these, there 

 still remains the great excuse, which is equally appli- 

 cable to all states of weather and water that some- 

 how or other the trout would not take, all of which 

 we dismiss upon the ground that they should take 

 the trout. Anglers have also an extraordinary knack 

 of raising, hooking, and playing, but losing large 



