ON ANGLING. 33 



** They are a sullen fish, and bite but slowly. 

 44 The angler drops his bait in, the bullet* 

 44 at the bottom of the line fixes it to one 

 44 spot of the river; tired with waiting for 

 44 a bite, he generally lays down his rod, 

 44 and exercising the patience of a setting 

 11 dog, waits till he sees the top of his 

 " rod move ; then begins a struggle between 

 " him and the fish, which he calls his sport ; 

 41 and that being over, he lands his prize, 

 44 fresh baits his hook, and lays in for an- 

 44 other." I cannot reconcile this descrip- 

 tion of barbel fishing with my own experi- 

 ence, I know not any fish which affords the 

 angler so much diversion, and I am con- 

 vinced that his annotator would expunge 

 the observation, should he ever angle Tor 

 barbel in the Trent, in the way, and at the 

 times I have directed. I can smile at the : 

 perseverance of the sea captain, (mentioned 

 in the same page) who got into his boat on 



* In places proper for barbel, a bullet is not of suffi- 

 cient weight to keep the bait in one spot at the bottom, 

 and the roundnefs of its shape adds not a little to 

 the inconvenience, aflat plumb is greatly preferable. 



