MORE FISHING NOTES. 249 



is exceedingly artful ; and, for sport, by no means to 

 be despised. 



Bream give very good sport for those who like 

 such quarry. I am not able honestly to say that I 

 admire even the filleted bream. As one of my old 

 angling acquaintances, who always fished in a white 

 flannel jacket and a rusty black drain-pipe hat, used 

 to say, " They allers hev a mispicion of mud about 

 'em." The word suspicion he never could master ; but 

 the emphasis he gave at all times, in season and out 

 of season, to the substitute, fully made up for the 

 defective etymology. If I do not greatly love the 

 bream, I do admire his haunts and surroundings. 

 Picture to yourself a calm stretch of deep water close 

 to the edge of the woods through which the river 

 flows in its course to the Thames, long stretches of 

 meadow-land, finely timbered on either side, the edge 

 of the water fringed with king-cups and yellow iris, 

 and many other plants which make the river-side so 

 very beautiful. The water flows on with that slow 

 oily motion which at once tells the angler naturalist 

 that fish are there, and large ones. The simple move- 

 ment of a twig, appearing above the surface from 

 some branch of a limb submerged below, is quite 



