246 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [part ii. 



rise to-day. I will walk along by you, and look on : and after 

 dinner I will proceed in my lecture of fly-fishing. 



Viator. I confess I long to be at the river : and yet I could 

 sit here all day to hear you : but some of the one, and some of 

 the other, will do well ; and I have, a mighty ambition to take a 

 Trout in your river Dove. 



PiSCATOR. I warrant you shall : I would not, for more than 

 I will speak of, but you should ; seeing I have so extolled my 

 river to you ; nay, I will keep you here a month, but you shall 

 have one good day of sport' before you go. 



Viator. You will find me, I doubt, too tractable that way ; 

 ■ for, in good earnest, if business would give me leave, and that 

 if it were fit, I could find in my heart to stay with you for ever. 



PiSCATOR. I thank you, Sir, for that kind expression. And 

 now let me look out my things to make this fly. 



Chap VI PiSCATOR. BOY ! coilie, give me my dubbing-bag 



here presently; and now, Sir, since I find you so 

 honest a man, I will make no scruple to lay open my treasure 

 before you. 



Viator. Did ever any one see the like ! what a heap of 

 trumpery is here ! certainly never an angler in Europe has his 

 shop half so well furnished as you have. 



PiSCATOR. You, perhaps, may think now, that I rake together 

 this trumpery, as you call it, for show only, to the end that such 

 as see it, which are not many I assure you, may think me a great 

 master in the art of angling : but let me tell you, here are some 

 colours, as contemptible as they seem here, that are very hard to 

 be got, and scarce any one of them which, if it should be lost, I 

 should not miss, and be concerned about the loss of it too, once 

 in the year. But look you, Sir, amongst all these I will choose 

 out these two colours only ; of which, this is bear's hair, this darker, 

 no great matter what ; but I am sure I have killed a great deal 

 of fish with it ; and with one or both of these you shall take Trout 

 or Grayling this very day, notwithstanding all disadvantages, or 

 my art shall fail me. 



Viator. You promise comfortably, and I have a great deal 

 of reason to believe everything you say ■ but I wish the fly were 

 made, that we were at it. 



PiSCATOR. That will not be long in doing : and pray observe 

 then. You see, first, how I hold my hook ; and thus I begin. 

 Look you, here are my first two or three whips about the bare 

 hook ; thus I join hook and line ; thus I put on my wings ; thus 



