122 



Fly-Fifoing. 



upon, that, though the fifh is gone there can be 

 no miftake about that I he was fo fine a fellow (fo 

 to fpeak) that he fought far beyond a fifh's ufual 

 efforts ! thus ennobling the victorious fifh, as a 

 fop to the wounded pride of the difcomfited fifher- 

 man. 



Without this comfortable feeling to confole me, 

 I had a ftrong fufpicion that the trout that did me 

 fo much damage was a diminutive little fellow 

 after all. At any rate, diminutive or not, he taught 

 me a leflbn that I mail be in no hurry to forget. 



When I rofe from my pebbly feat, and com- 

 menced "flogging" the water again, I muft con- 

 fefs I was grievoufly difappointed at the refult for 

 the next two hours. Better water there could 

 not be, or a more favourable day, (efpecially at in- 

 tervals when the fun hid his face a bit behind a 

 cloud,) and yet I could not get the fifh to move. 

 Only four trout, juft large enough not to throw in 

 again, lay at the bottom of my balket three of 

 which I killed with the Marlow-buzz, or cocha- 

 bonddu, though it was full early for his appearance 

 on the water and one with a yellow-dun, toned 

 down a bit with a little more blue about the body 

 than ufual. 



I caught fight of the Alder fluttering about in 



