WADERS AND WADING. 113 



— woollen neck-bands which contract into * chokative ' dimen- 

 sions the first time they are washed — and so on ; until one 

 feels at last inclined to start a rival company, and call it the 

 ' Jaeger system stripped of fads and made possible for ordinary 

 mortals ! ' . . . As, however, I still feel under obligation to Dr. 

 Jaeger for his capital idea — from which, all drawbacks notwith- 

 standing, I have derived much advantage — I tried instead what 

 could be done in my own small way for my personal comfort, 

 by persuading another firm — Messrs. Harborrow, of Cockspur 

 Street — to take up the manufacture of ' Jaeger shirts,' and so 

 forth, on principles free from the inconveniences alluded to. 

 The very slight admixture of cotton in the ' webbing ' of the 

 material, which they use at my suggestion, is practically pre- 

 ventative of shrinking, and makes on the whole, I think, a more 

 agreeable and equally healthy garment, whilst, as I say, I can 

 now get my fishing and shooting dress in a form which gives 

 me the advantages of the Jaeger system without its eccentricities. 

 A propos, I cannot imagine why some more simple 

 and convenient style of dress has not long ago been adopted 

 by 'lady fishers,' as well as by anglers of the sterner sex. 

 Many ladies who now would never dream of approaching the 

 river bank (nearer than the towing path) for fear of spoiling 

 their dresses or wetting their shoes, would if suitably ' appa- 

 relled ' find as keen an interest and enjoyment in the sport as 

 we do, and might even become enthusiastic votaries of the 

 gentle art. How charming it would be when we sally forth 

 after breakfast to lake or stream, to have the companionship 

 of some ' sweet girl graduate,' who, with hair either golden or 

 otherwise, would by her graceful companionship double the 

 pleasures of success ! There would be no slovenly casting, no 

 calling to halt for pipes or liquor when fish were on the rise then. 



Fight on, brave knights ! Bright eyes behold your deeds, 



written of the ' free and easy passage of arms ' of Ash by de la 

 Zouche, finds its modern parallel in the hunting field, the polo 

 ground, and the rifle tournament, in fact, wherever youth and 

 I. 1 



