STREAM-FISHING 87 



artfully contrived up-stream curve on the line, his fly 

 circles with the eddy beneath the opposite bank ; now 

 it falls, light as a feather, behind the great stone where 

 the stream, parted for a moment, comes together again ; 

 now it is thrown deftly to the very spot desired, under 

 the overhanging bushes in whose shadow the expectant 

 trout lie in wait for the flies which fall from above. On 

 the changeful stream the angler is ever encountering 

 something new ; some new problem to be solved, some 

 new difficulty to be overcome. His ingenuity and fer- 

 tility of resource are in frequent request, and, should 

 they prove equal to the demands made on them, he is 

 amply rewarded : he has not only the joy of taking fish; 

 he has the pleasing satisfaction derived from the con- 

 sciousness of knowledge intelligently applied and of 

 skill exercised successfully. 



The angler should fish up stream. The advantages 

 of casting in that direction are obvious, and they have 

 been impressed on us with such frequent iteration, that 

 it is hard to believe in the continued existence of an 

 adherent of the earlier method. The conversion of the 

 angler, especially the angler south of the Tweed, seems 

 to have been slow, but it must be now complete ; 

 it is impossible that he can retain a vestige of his 

 ancient faith. The old order passed with Captain St. 



