32 AN ANGLER'S SEASON 



slightest fear. They would do so if each 

 of the bits concealed a hook. Now, this 

 acquired rashness continues for a con- 

 siderable time after the fish have been 

 put into a stream ; indeed, there is 

 reason for questioning whether the native 

 instincts are ever recovered. What are 

 we to think of the leisurely gentlemen 

 who, catching fish of that kind, calmly 

 assume and publicly declare that we 

 rustic anglers, mainly in respect that we 

 use more than one fly at a time and do 

 not mind if the lures dip a little below 

 the surface, take trout by unsportsman- 

 like methods ? 



Do not let us think anything uncharit- 

 able. There is no real reason to do so. 

 The error is of the head rather than being 

 of the heart. It is the result of the prose- 

 poetry habit to which many anglers in 

 the South have abandoned themselves. 

 ^Esthetic emotions are not invariably 

 good. Under their influence the brain 

 may become as balmy as the summer 

 breeze. Certainly it loses touch with 



