314 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



trees, in a difficult river, yet I would rather see him manage 

 his fish after hooking it ; the cool nerve and delicate touch 

 are the very perfection of art : and I should never pronounce 

 a man a true salmon-fisher until I had seen him working one 

 in a difficult situation. To throw a very long line, and to 

 search the casts properly with the fly, are no doubt indispens- 

 able requisites ; but a river fly-angler (for I don't here speak 

 of either bait or loch fishing) who can work his hooked fish 

 scientifically, will seldom be deficient in all the pre-requisites 

 for fixing him ; while the rising man, who has only fished 

 preserved waters, where all is clear and open, should he hook 

 a salmon in a difficult place, will most likely find that he has 

 got hold of too strong a customer. And here we may ask, 

 what was the magic in angling that captivated the intellects 

 of such men as Chantrey and Davy ? Sir Humphry, I sus- 

 pect, would have looked rather queer if an officious friend had 

 told him that all the sport was over when the forty-pound 

 fish he landed above Yair Bridge was first hooked. And the 

 great sculptor would have been equally astonished if the 

 struggles of a sixteen-pound Thames trout had been treated 

 with the like contempt ! Whatever may be the reason, all 

 true anglers know that the doubtful contest with a monster 

 fish forms no inconsiderable part of the enjoyment, and his 

 being laid upon the shelving bank the crowning point of 

 all. No doubt the philosophy or the poetry of angling was 

 one reason of its being the pastime of so many great minds ; 

 but when even contemplative Walton had fairly landed a 

 gorgeous fish, I will venture to say that the triumph of suc- 

 cess swallowed up every other pleasure. 



But, without analysing their feelings, we know not how 

 much we owe to this recreation of departed genius. Might 

 not the safety-lamp have been lit amid the limpid waters of 

 the Tweed, and some of the most beautiful creations of 

 Chantrey's fancy have been first conceived on the green banks 

 of Father Thames ? Great men, however, can sometimes be 



