2 SEA-FISH. 
as to whether the result of an outing may be a 
blank, a boatload of fish, or a capsize. 
One aspect of sea-fishing has, however, been 
curiously overlooked ; and that is its artistic possi- 
bilities. The river and lake have had their idylls ; 
and it is hard to write nowadays of the fly-fisher’s 
birds and beasts, his companions of the waterside, 
without going over old ground. The haunts of the 
sea-angler, which are not, by the way, necessarily 
restricted to draughty piers or evil-smelling har- 
bours, are, however, still without their bard. I am 
not, least of all in the present little handbook, 
offering myself for the post; I mercly want to 
raise my voice against the prevalent notion that 
there is nothing in modern sea-fishing over and 
above the mere hooking and unhooking of fish ; 
and that the elements of scenery and bird life, so 
great a factor in the enjoyment of a quiet day 
beside the trout-stream, are altogether wanting at 
the coast. 
The perpetual motion of the sea, the glare of the 
sun and the turmoil of passing steamers, are, let us 
grant, foreign to that feeling of perfect rest so 
suggestive of the river's bank. The gull is without 
doubt less beautiful than the dipper or kingfisher, 
less tuneful than the nightingale or sedge-warbler ; 
the rolling of the porpoise Jacks the grace of the 
otters splash; nor are there many who would 
prefer the sight of some fishy cormorant drying 
its wings on a slippery rock to that of the lean 
grey heron motionless in the shallows. It would 
be foolish to insist that the typical, beauties of 
river and lake find their match on the sea-shore. 
Yet there is a grandeur about the open sca 
which, not more than half realised by those who 
