236 REFLECTIONS ON NIGHT-FISHING. 



of their having gorged themselves so much under cover 

 of the darkness. 



Mr. Stoddart also treats of night-fishing, and recom- 

 mends a large black fly to be used, made of the beard 

 of a crow's feather warped round the shank of a common 

 bait-hook, during the hours of darkness. 



To such as are of a melancholy temperament, and 

 fond of solitude, night-fishing may be peculiarly agree- 

 able, where nothing around will break the stillness 

 of night, or disturb his lonely cogitations,' but the 

 distant bark of the hill-fox, the hoarse croak of 

 some demure heron, watching by a sedgy shallow, 

 the plaintive wail of the pewit, as he awakes at 

 intervals from his slumbers, the whistle of the plover, 

 searching the neighbouring fallows for his midnight 

 meal, or the screech of the owl, as he ^'flits past 

 on noiseless pinions; sounds not by any means cal- 

 culated to enliven the scene, or distract the train of 

 sweet or bitter memories which may perchance engage 

 the thoughts of the midnight sportsman. And so far as 

 this is concerned, night-fishing may be styled, par 

 excellence, "the contemplative mail's recreation;" but I. 

 must confess that sporting after this fashion has some- 

 thing about it altogether too gloomy and too solitary to 

 be agreeable to most men ; and I for one most decidedly 

 prefer to cast my lines on purling brooks, beneath the 

 cheering rays of the morning sun, when the whole of 

 created nature is redolent of life and gladness, and 

 leave those who list to divide their midnight vigils, by 

 the side of some solitary stream, with the heron, the 

 owl, and the bittern. 



