58 Fly-FiJhing. 



fully at him, I caught fight of a long, lank, {hark- 

 like creature, fufpended round his fhoulders, and 

 dangling down his back. After a momentary in- 

 fpection of the uncouth creature, I inquired, inno- 

 cently enough, where he had met with that mife- 

 rable looking " Jack ? " " Jack ! " faid my young 

 friend, " Jack, indeed ! why, don't you fee it's a 

 falmon, and a glorious one too ? " And with 

 thefe words, uttered in a tone of ineffable difdain 

 at my extreme fimplicity, off ftalked the proud 

 captor, without condefcending to exchange ano- 

 ther fyllable with me. 



If Sam Weller was led fo feelingly to exclaim, 

 " Rum creeturs is women ! " not the lefs feeling- 

 ly could I help faying in his expreffive ftyle, " Rum 

 creeturs is fifhermen ! " I could not for the life 

 of me for a long time folve the knotty problem of 

 my friend's ftrangenefs. That I was right and he 

 wrong the finny creature being far more like a 

 jack than a falmon I had not the fmalleft doubt. 

 Whence then the unexpected airs and graces of 

 the indignant youth ? 



I felt quite uneafy and diflatisfied, till the cat 

 fairly jumped out of the bag. It feems that my 

 young friend had been talking in his father's pre- 

 fence of the wonders he meant to achieve in the 



