CHAP, vin.] THE SECOND DA Y. 263 



top, excepting, once more, to tell you, that of all these, and I 

 have named you a great many very kiUing flies, none are fit to be 

 compared with the Drake and Stone-fly, both for- many and very 

 great fish ; and yet there are some Days that are by no means 

 proper for the sport. And in a calm, you shall not have near so 

 much sport, even vi^ith daping, as in a whistling gale of wind, for 

 two reasons, both because you are not then so easily discovered by 

 the fish, and also because there are then but few flies that can lie 

 upon the water ; for where they have so much choice, you may 

 easily imagine they will not be so eager and forward to rise at 

 a bait, that both the shadow of your body, and that of your rod, 

 nay, of your very line, in a hot calm day, will, in spite of your 

 best caution, render suspected to them : but even then, in swift 

 streams, or by sitting down patiently behind a willow-bush, you 

 shall do more execution than at almost any other time of the year 

 with any other fly ; though one may sometimes hit of a day when 

 he shall come home very well satisfied with sport with several 

 other flies. But with these two, the Green-drake and the Stone-fly, 

 I do verily believe I could some days in my life, had I not been 

 weary of slaughter, have loaden a lusty boy ; and have sometimes, 

 I do honestly assure you, given over upon the mere account of 

 satiety of sport ; which will be no hard matter to believe, when I 

 likewise assure you, that with this very fly, I have, in this very 

 river that runs by us, in three or four hours, taken thirty, five-and- 

 thirty, and forty of the best Trouts in the river. What shame 

 and pity is it then that such a river should be destroyed by the 

 basest sort of people, by those unlawful ways of fire and netting 

 in the night, and of damming, groping, spearing, hanging, and 

 hooking by day ; which are now grown so common, that though 

 we have very good laws to punish such offenders, every rascal 

 does it, for aught I see, impune. 



To conclude, I cannot now, in honesty, but frankly tell you, 

 that many of these flies I have named, at least so made as we 

 make them here, will peradventure do you no great service in 

 your southern rivers ; and will not conceal from you, but that I 

 have sent flies to several friends in London, that, for aught I 

 could ever hear, never did any great feats with them ; and there- 

 fore if you intend to profit by mjr instructions, you must come to 

 angle with me here in the Peak : and so, if you please, let us walk 

 up to supper ; and to-morrow, if the day be windy, as our days 

 here commonly are, 'tis ten to one but we shall take a good dish 

 of fish for dinner. 



