12 A SCOTTISH FLY-FISHER 



not infrequently the only pleasure he enjoys is that of 

 hope. The beatitude ascribed by Kingsley to the 

 Devil is characterised by all the subtlety a knowledge 

 of its origin would lead us to 

 expect. The thoughtful angler 

 restrains his fancy. He knows 

 that the dizzier the height to 

 which it bears him the longrer 

 and more hazardous the fall he 

 risks ; that the greater his expec- 

 tations the more painful his chag- 

 rin should misfortune overtake 

 him. In the holiday of the occasional angler who has 

 not learned to take fate's buffetings upstanding, angling 

 should be but an incident. To make it the single 

 interest of his vacation is to court an almost certain 

 disappointment ; whatever the result, it is unlikely to 

 prove satisfying ; the failure of his enterprise leaves 

 him disconsolately mourning the ruin of his hopes, 

 while its success seldom equals that anticipated. 



When, filling a subordinate place in his design, 

 the quest of the elusive trout is of relatively small 

 importance to the angler's happiness, he not only 

 contemplates an empty creel in undisturbed tran- 

 quillity but finds occasion for unwonted jubilation in 



