AUGUST.

The same flies with July.

1. Then another ANT-FLY, the dubbing of the black brown hair of a cow, some red wrapt in for the tug of his tail, and a dark wing; a killing fly.

2. Next a fly called the FERN-FLY, the dubbing of the fur of a hare's neck, that is, of the colour of fern, or bracken, with a darkish grey wing of a mallard's feather; a killer, too.

3. Besides these we have a WHITE HACKLE, the body of white mohair, and wrapped about with a white hackle-feather, and this is assuredly taken for thistle-down.

4. We have also this month a HARRY-LONG-LEGS, the body made of bear's dun, and blue wool mixt, and a brown hacklefeather over all.

Lastly, In this month all the same BROWNS and DUNS are taken that were taken in May.

[Small brown and black palmers will kill well this month. The two following are standard patterns for August :

:

No. 1. Wings, fibres of a brown hen's wing-feather; body, brown floss silk, ribbed with bright yellow tying silk; legs, brown hackle; tail, two hairs of a black rabbit's whiskers. Hook, 10.

No. 2. Body, cinnamon-brown mohair; wings, reddish feather of woodcock's wing; legs, cinnamon hackle. Hook, as before.-ED.]

SEPTEMBER.

This month the same flies are taken that are taken in April.

1. To which I shall only add a CAMEL-BROWN-FLY, the dubbing pulled out of the lime of a wall, whipped about with red silk, and a darkish grey mallard's feather for the wing.

2. And one other for which we have no name; but it is made of the black hair of a badger's skin, mixed with the yellow softest down of a sanded hog.

OCTOBER.

The same flies are taken this month as were taken in March.

NOVEMBER.

The same flies that were taken in February are taken this month also.

[For October and November, I would recommend small duns, and some

of the flies named for April. For September, and for July and August, I recommend five flies of great attractiveness :—

No. 1. Wings, a mixture of the fibres of the red and gray tail-feathers of the partridge; body, cinnamon-brown mohair; legs, an amber-dyed hackle, from tail to wings; tail, two fibres of the hackle. Hook, 10.

No. 2. Wings, starling's feather; body, golden olive mohair; legs, hackle of the same colour; gold tip. Hook, as before.

No. 3. Wings, a mixture of the starling's wing feather and partridge grey tail-feather; body, bronze harl, with an orange floss silk tag, gold tip; legs, black-red hackle. Hook, 8 and 10. This fly is named the "Governor."

No. 4. Wings, the top, beautiful green fibres of the peacock's moonfeather; body, bright bronze peacock's harl; legs, sometimes a furnace hackle, at others a pure black one. Hook, 10 and 11.

No. 5. Wings, a mixture of starling's wing, and brown mottled mallard feather; body, olive-green mohair; legs, hackle of same colour, and gold tip. Hook, as before.

Reader, I have now added to Cotton's monthly lists of trout and grayling flies, the very best modern patterns. I have fished, in my time, with the great majority of them. I know by experience their captivating qualities, and I recommend them confidently to all fly-fishers for fresh water salmonidæ.-ED.]

DECEMBER.

Few men angle with the fly this month, no more than they do in January; but yet, if the weather be warm (as I have known it sometimes in my life to be, even in this cold country, where it is least expected), then a BROWN, that looks red in the hand, and yellowish betwixt your eye and the sun, will both raise and kill in a clear water and free from snowbroth; but, at the best, it is hardly worth a man's labour.

And now, sir, I have done with fly-fishing, or angling at the top, excepting once more, to tell you, that of all these (and I have named you a great many very killing flies), none are fit to be compared with the DRAKE and STONE-FLY, both for many and for 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 with 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 it is, 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 ought I see, impunè.

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 ought I could ever hear, never did any great feats with them ; and therefore if you intend to profit by my 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.

CHAPTER IX.

[Third Bay.]

PISC. A good day to you, sir; I see you will always be stirring before me.

VIAT. Why, to tell you the truth, I am so allured with the

sport I had yesterday, that I long to be at the river again; and when I heard the wind sing in my chamber window, could forbear no longer, but leapt out of bed, and had just made an end of dressing myself as you came in.

Pisc. Well, I am both glad you are so ready for the day, and that the day is so fit for you; and look you, I have made you three or four flies this morning; this silver-twist hackle, this bear's dun, this light brown, and this dark brown, any of which I dare say will do; but you may try them all, and see which does best; only I must ask your pardon that I cannot wait upon you this morning, a little business being fallen out, that for two or three hours will deprive me of your company but I'll come and call you home to dinner, and my man shall attend you.

VIAT. Oh, sir, mind your affairs by all means. Do but lend me a little of your skill to these fine flies, and, unless it have forsaken me since yesterday, I shall find luck of my own, I hope, to do something.

Pisc. The best instruction I can give you is, that seeing the wind curls the water, and blows the right way, you would now angle up the still deep to-day; for betwixt the rocks where the streams are, you will find it now too brisk; and besides, I would have you take fish in both waters.

But

VIAT. I'll obey your direction, and so good morning to you. Come, young man, let you and I walk together. hark you, sir, I have not done with you yet; I expect another lesson for angling at the bottom, in the afternoon. PISC. Well, sir, I'll be ready for you.

CHAPTER X.

[Third Day.]

Pisc. Oh, sir, are you returned? you have but just prevented me. I was coming to call you.

VIAT. I am glad then I have saved you the labour.
PISC. And how have you sped?

VIAT. You shall see that sir, presently; look you, sir, here are three brace of trouts, one of them the biggest but one that ever I killed with a fly in my life; and yet I lost a bigger than that, with my fly to boot; and here are three

graylings, and one of them longer by some inches than that I took yesterday, and yet I thought that a good one, too.

PISC. Why you have made a pretty good morning's work on't; and now, sir, what think you of our river Dove?

VIAT. I think it to be the best trout river in England; and am so far in love with it, that if it were mine, and that I could keep it to myself, I would not exchange that water for all the land it runs over, to be totally debarred from it.

PISC. That compliment to the river speaks you a true lover of the art of angling; and now, sir, to make part of amends for sending you so uncivilly out alone this morning, I will myself dress you this dish of fish for your dinner; walk but into the parlour, you will find one book or other in the window to entertain you the while, and you shall have it presently.

VIAT. Well, sir, I obey you.

Pisc. Look you, sir, have I not made haste?

VIAT. Believe me, sir, that you have; and it looks so well, I long to be at it.

Pisc. Fall to, then; now, sir, what say you, am I a tolerable cook or no?

VIAT. So good a one, that I did never eat so good fish in my life. This fish is infinitely better than any I ever tasted of the kind in my life; 'tis quite another thing than our trouts about London.

PISC. You would say so, if that trout you eat of were in right season but pray eat of the grayling, which upon my word, at this season is by much the better fish.

VIAT. In earnest and so it is: and I have one request to make to you, which is, that as you have taught me to catch trout and grayling, you will now teach me how to dress them as these are drest, which questionless is of all other the best way.

Pisc. That I will, sir, with all my heart, and am glad you like them so well as to make that request, and they are drest thus:

Take your trout, wash, and dry him with a clean napkin ; then open him, and having taken out his guts, and all the blood, wipe him very clean within, but wash him not, and give him three scotches with a knife to the bone, on one side only. After which take a clean kettle, and put in as much hard stale beer (but it must not be dead) vinegar, and a little white wine and water as will cover the fish you intend