discovered at last " As he left the room he observed : " Here 



is something else that precludes all argument. The gentle influence 

 of time has proved that the knowledge of what fly to use is no longer 

 the distant goal of a vague idea, but an actual, achieved reality, 

 brought home by that force which comes, not from the mist of 

 sentiment, but from downright reason and understanding. There! 

 The system will be explained presently, and this is what will happen : 

 At first you'll regard it with unconcern, presently with allowance, then 

 with approval, at last with participation. Goodbye." And the door 

 closed. 



The subject then turned upon a side issue respecting the 

 determination of some to dispute all systematic methods of fishing, 

 and culminated in a sliarp attack upon current literature. " Of all 

 national sports (continued the speaker), salmon fishing is the least fit 

 to be judged by an outsider. Only last Saturday a newspaper 

 contained a pointed criticism of one of the revelations m " The 

 Salmon Fly,"* and " 



"Oh! that is unimportant; go on please," remarked the author. 



" Well, it stands to reason that newer ideas have gained hold 

 upon those who have studied fishing as closely as our friend over 

 there. According to the critic's own remarks, even the average 

 angler will not grasp certain points of detail, the proper appreciation 

 of which throws an entirely different light on the art, and raises it 

 to a much higher level. The fact is that our angling literature is so 

 full of inaccurate observations, hasty generalisations, and crude 

 hypotheses, as to entail a great waste of time on the student of 

 authentic books of reference." 



* N.B. See " Side Issues " (page 39). 



