wards, nolens volens, at a fearful rate, but wondering greatly what to make of such a sudden change from softly shaded light to dingy darkness. Our spotted friend now pauses for a moment, the line slackens, and your heart, though a bold one, beats with fear, for you think him gone for ever; but no, the tightened line and trilling reel reassure your doubting grasp, and away he goes again, launching lake-ward, as if he really thought of crossing over. Now this freak wont suit you if you are wishing only to wade, have no boat, and can't swim; so (but not ungently) try to check his speed, or wheel him round, and as one good turn deserves another, he may have his own way on the gridiron towards night. Neatly done, youngster. Now he goes onwards right or left, perhaps comes pretty quickly towards you, as if to enquire by whom has been disturbed his solitary reign (reel up, and keep no slack upon your line)-give way again, for behold another burst of virtuous indignation, followed by a sudden spring of at least a yard into the air. Never mind, you have proved a tenacious hold, he begins to pech, and will soon be mollified to your content. He now takes a quiet and rather disagreeable kind of tugging range along the shore, perhaps with no bad intention, nor any definite object in view, but really looking at times as if he were in sober search of some quiet landing place. Do you the same. Behold how sweet a harbour close at hand, small gravelly stones, and sand, and broken shells, a fairy haunted haven, the shelving neither sudden nor much prolonged, the

bank—“small by degrees and beautifully less." What would ye more, so lead him gently inwards. 'By Jupiter! he makes another run and tries to dig, but can't. Alas! poor Yorick! His movements now are heavy, as if his fins were lead, his mouth is opened wide (see how the fierce Professor, with deep sunk barb, doth hang upon his tongue), languid and sore distressed he wavers to and fro, as if some thickening haze suffused his sight, he shews his broadening side, blazoned with pearls and gold. How beautiful he looks, as nearing the pebbly shore, his dorsal fin dimples the shallower depths,-no creature swims so softly as a fish. Give him the option now, once more, of land or water. Shorten your line to the utmost, but take care of the top knot, for it does no good within the ring; now he enters the hoped for haven,-lead away, my hearty,-he turns on one side (oh goodly gut be strong), his head is out of water, his gills heave, there is a suspicious looking movement of the pectoral fins, but your hand has grasped his body just above the tail, and, in another moment, you are sitting together on the green sward, as if you had known each other all your lives. Sic transit gloria trutta.

Now, of the noted flies above named, (and we have performed the same feat with each and all), none of the three resembles, or was ever intended to resemble, nature. We ourself invented, in a wayward hour, both Sam Slick and Long Tom, and the Professor, as is well known to the world in general, was called into existence by a younger

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brother of our own, whose merits in that and many other matters need not our feeble praise. mean no offence, but if any created creature, from an angler to an angel, alleges that any trout could have a foreknowledge of our invention, or that of our gifted brother, and that it views our flies as "old familiar faces," we blush not to say he lies— under a huge mistake.

Nevertheless, as we know that the progress of truth, though slow, is certain, and having no desire to proselytise, we merely commend our views to the considerate reader, and shall now proceed to explain a few practical principles of the art, as usually received and followed.

The great secret in fly-fishing, after a person has acquired the art of throwing a long and a light line, is perseverance, that is, constant and continuous exertion. Fish are whimsical creatures, even when the angler, with all appliances and means to boot, is placed apparently under the most favourable circumstances. Let him, however, commence his operations with flies, which, upon general principles, he knows to be good,—for example, a water-mouse body and dark wing, hare-ear and moorfowl wing, red hackle and teal or mallard wing. It may frequently happen that for an hour, or even two hours, he will kill nothing; but then it will as often happen, that for another couple of hours, he will pull them ashore with a most pleasing celerity.

Awake but one, and, lo, what myriads rise!

Next comes a pause of another hour or more, during which little or nothing is obtained, so that if the intermediate period is frittered away on green banks, eating biscuits, success is doubtful or impossible. We believe that the appetites and motions of the finny tribes are regulated and directed by certain (to us) almost imperceptible changes in the state of the atmosphere, with which, as they do not proceed from any determinate or ascertained principles of meteorological science, it is not easy for the angler to become acquainted; and therefore the only method to remedy the désagrément thus arising, is to fish without ceasing so long as he remains by the "pure element of waters." The art of angling, if worthily followed, and with an observant eye, will probably one day or other be the means of throwing considerable light on the science of electricity, at present one of the most obscure, though at the same time the most important and pervading, of all the subjects of physical learning. Professor Forbes has promised us to do something in this line, and will give in his "Report" the first time the British Association holds its meeting at Aberfoyle or Rowardennan.

The best natural flies, either to use fresh, or to serve as models for the artificial kinds, are-First, the different sorts of stoneflies (Phryganea and Limnephilus), which are usually found by the water side. Their common colours are various shades of brown; they have pretty long feelers or antennæ, which in a state of repose are bent over their shoulders and along their sides; their wings

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are held decumbent, or close to the sides. They fly heavily, and are produced from aquatic larvæ called caddis-bait or case-worms, remarkable for their curious dwelling-places, which are hollow tubes composed of sand, small shells, and pieces of wood, agglutinated together, and made heavier or lighter according to circumstances, that they may the more easily sink or swim. They are open at either end, and the worm crawls along the stones and gravel, by protruding its legs at the anterior extremity. They disencumber themselves from their aquatic habitations, and assume the winged state in spring and the earlier part of summer. Secondly, the different kinds of May flies (Ephemera), called green drakes, &c. are also produced from larvæ, which, for a long time previous to their appearance as perfect insects, have inhabited the waters. There are many species of this genus, all of which are greedily sought for by trout. They are easily known by their tapering abdomens, veined wings, short antennæ, and the long slender setæ or hairs which terminate their bodies. They chiefly abound from May to midsummer. Thirdly, The small black or ant-fly, is the winged female of the common black ant, and occurs in the nests or hills of that insect during the summer and autumnal months.

There is scarcely any season of the year, excepting an ice-bound winter, in which an experienced angler may not successfully ply his trade.* In the

* Although Izaak Walton, that "great master in the art of angling," informs us that no man should in honesty catch a trout till the middle of March, yet the grayling is in best condition during the