98 A SCOTTISH FLY-FISHER 



cognizant of the intentions of the figure on the bank, 

 why does he flee from it in panic to his lair among the 

 roots of the ancient alder, or under the great stone in 

 the centre of the stream ? Why does he not calmly 



maintain his position 

 and, with tongue in 

 cheek, smile at the 

 angler's futile efforts 

 to entice him ? Since 

 he knows that he is 

 being fished for, it is surprising that he does not know 

 how to avoid being caught, except by running away. 

 To a fish of his gifts it should be obvious that there is 

 no cause for alarm ; while he refrains from interfering 

 with the fly which he knows to be artificial, and part 

 of the engine designed for his undoing, the angler is 

 powerless to harm him. It is impossible that the 

 writer referred to can realize all that his words imply. 



The intelligence of the trout is amazing ; chiefly, 

 perhaps, by reason of its curious inequalities. He is so 

 sharp that he detects the most trifling discrepancy be- 

 tween the colour scheme of the angler's lure and that of 

 the insect it represents, and so dull that he perceives 

 nothing unusual in that obtrusive and unnatural feature 

 of the fly — the hook ; so quickly observant that he 



