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 aught 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 aught 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

ISC. A good day to you, sir; I
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.

Do but

VIAT. Oh, sir, mind your affairs by all means. 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 instructions 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.

VIAT. I'll obey your direction, and so good morning to you. Come, young man, let you and I walk together. But 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

ISC. 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