i6i 



IS on the rampas^c at once. lie will tell iIkmii, for instanro, not to pn* 

 lip a small rod and usr a fine line in dead Imv water, hut In ri)nliniie 

 with the taekle in use, anil shorten the md by ratehin^^ h,,!,) |,i<,Thcr 

 ui) than usual. Or he may hrin^ out a " Mary-annc " in stiff, 

 ]iretcntious costume, whirh, Ihous^h absoluteh' useless in their steady 

 ilowinj^ water, he bids them " put on and keep on till the)-'ve <jot him 

 and ills great-grandfather." They will also fmd that this " too learned 

 enthusiast " does not merely ij^niore, liul decry and calumniate all 

 ceremony and all system in fishing. Hut since the conclusion cannot 

 be avoided that he possesses no clear idea u[)on any one branch of the 

 subject, and prides himself in pursuing old nursery nostrums, they 

 [xiss on full of sorrow, seeing that reason, instead of having served as 

 a menial rudder lo steer li's nrnd intn the right course, has suffered 

 itself to be borne away by the strung g.des of a disorganised and 

 vitiated fancy. 



With the hope, then, that the present little work ma)' be found 

 acceptable to all in a measure not inferiftr to its more voluminous 

 predecessor, "The Salmon Fl\-," I cast it forth u]ion the waters, 

 hoping to meet with it (or rather an ap[)reciati(in of il^i "after many 

 days." 



