DIAMOND POND. 307 



cut of the society of anglers because he fished with bait. 

 Izaak was wise in his generation, and among the wisest 

 of his doings was this same act of sagacity as a sports- 

 man — using bait when the fish would not take a fly. But 

 I wander, and return to the subject, only adding that deli- 

 cate tackle will sometimes take more and larger fish than 

 homely rods and lines, and Diamond Pond itself shall 

 prove the proposition. 



They said our Norris rods would not lift a trout to the 

 surface, much less out of water. They forgot, as most 

 people do, that a dead fish is little if at all heavier than 

 water, and does not need lifting to the top. The mys- 

 teries of a landing-net are seldom understood by those 

 who are accustomed to throw their fish over their heads 

 on the end of a short line and long stiff rod. " But your 

 rods are too short. You can not throw your fly far 

 enough. If you fish Diamond Fond you must have a rod 

 fifteen feet long, and a line twelve feet at least. The 

 trout are very shy there." Reply : "We can throw a fly 

 seventy-five feet with these rods." Rejoinder: incredulous 

 smiles, and a murmur in the corner of the room that they 

 are " not so green in Colebrook" as we seemed to imagine. 



The morning of Saturday was by all odds the most glo- 

 rious morning on record. It was a day of days. Such 

 a sky! such sunshine ! such rich, cool atmosphere ! Our 

 guide failed us at the start, and two hours' delay ensued. 

 A volunteer was gladly accepted. He was a gentleman 

 who was seeking health by a long stay at Colebrook. He 

 had been frequently at Diamond Pond, and knew all about 

 it. He proved the best of company, and the horses went 

 like the wind under his handling of the ribbons. I don't 

 think horses ever did better work. It was fifteen miles 

 if it was a red, and we did it in an hour and three quar- 



