FLY-FISHING. 293 
desired spot. A moment of expectancy succeeds ; 
the flies approach the very place where the trout 
was last seen. Look at the angler how with keen 
eye he watches, to strike with alert hand the moment 
he either feels or sees the least movement. There is 
a stoppage of the line and an instantaneous move- 
ment of the angler’s wrist, and the trout is fast. At 
first he shakes his head as if surprised and’ bewildered 
at the unwonted interference with his liberty, but 
gradually awakening to a sense of the danger of his 
position, he collects his scattered energies, and makes 
a gallant fight for liberty. Frequently he will leap in 
the air several times as if to ascertain the character 
of his opponent, and then make a frantic rush; but 
the figure on the bank follows him like a shadow, 
and at last, strength and hope both exhausted, he 
turns on his side and becomes an easy prey, leaving 
the angler to congratulate himself on having achieved 
such a feat with a tiny hook and tackle like a gos- 
samer. 
The victory, however, is not always with the 
angler—more frequently the other way. Often at the 
last moment, just as he is putting out his hand to 
secure his prize, the trout makes a bolt, and is gone, 
leaving the disappointed artist the picture of blank 
dismay, and in a very unenviable frame of mind ; in- 
deed, of all the trials‘of the temper which occur in 
the ordinary course of life, there is none to compare 
