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which the trout have been feeding; but I shrewdly suspect that, like ourselves, they relish a change of diet occasionally, and a variety in their food; so, often, when I see the May-fly abroad in vast quantities, I try almost any other fly in preference, with a greater chance of success. A grasshopper is an almost irresistible bait to a trout; but mind, when he bites, not to make too soon sure of him, but take care he gorges your hook well, for he 's not a leathermouthed fish."

"What do mean by a leather-mouthed fish,' Sir?" asked William.

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Why, I mean such fish as have their teeth in their throat, and have leathery or thick-skinned mouths, in which the hooks take a firm hold, as, for instance, the chub, the barbel, the carp, the gudgeon, and others; while a trout, a

pike, or a perch, having their teeth in their mouths, which are bony and thin-skinned, are less likely to afford a good, firm hold for your hook. This is one of the reasons that renders the chub a good fish for a young angler to make a beginning with; for he 's easily caught, though he's one of the most timid of all fish. Keep yourself well concealed,

move your rod softly and creepingly, let your bait fall gently upon the water three or four inches before him, and take my word for it, he is your own, for he 'll infallibly bite, and, once hooked, he's safe. A black beetle is a killing bait for him. A gudgeon is another good fish for a young beginner, as he's a free biter, a firm hooker, and easily taken. There is a great fascination in gudgeonfishing; which, perhaps, may be accounted for by the facility of the sport; for success in angling, as in most pursuits, is irresistibly bewitching. A small red worm or gentles are good bait for gudgeons, with a short rod and line, fine tackle and hook, and a quill float; and you'll generally find these fresh-water smelts (as they've been aptly called) in shallow water on a warm cloudy day."

"A dish of carp is a stately viand," said Mr. Singleton; "how do you fish for him, Sir ?"

"You are right, Sir," said Mr. Rightley, with an appreciating twinkle of his eye, "the carp is indeed an admirable feast properly dressed—that is, stewed in claret; but he is, like most superexcellent things, not to be attained without considerable trouble and a large measure of patience; for he is a subtle and a crafty fellow, and it is well if you can contrive to outwatch and surpass him in vigilance. A good way is to throw him off his guard, by casting a few handfuls of paste-bait at intervals for a day or two before you fish for him, in the water where you hope to surprise him. He will bite at either worms or paste, for which latter bait there are various recipes."

"What do you

Mr. Singleton.

think of a pike, Sir?" asked

"Good, very good, Sir," replied Mr. Rightley, "especially if he be not too large; for your large pike is more glorious in the taking than in the eating."

"And how is this glorious feat best achieved ?" said Mr. Singleton.

"By a set of trolling-hooks, a light but strong cane rod, a line of about forty yards' length, with a gudgeon, a bleak, a small perch, or, if it be readily obtained, a smelt, which is perhaps, the most killing bait, though I prefer a gudgeon, as being the toughest and least liable to be jerked off the hooks. Deep holes under banks, the edges of bull-rushes, water-lilies, or other water-weeds, are favourite haunts of the pike; you will generally find him in weather not too bright, and if the surface of the water be slightly ruffled, all the better."

"I remember old Walton seems especially to dread an east wind," said Mr. Singleton, "making it his farewell wish, at the end of his preface to all honest anglers, that none such may blow when they go a-fishing."

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"Yes," answered Mr. Rightley, with a merry glance; "but if my memory serve me, he elsewhere bids us 'not to busy our heads too much about them,' as if he wished to hint that the particular quarter of the wind were but an idle excuse for want of skill, and that a dexterous angler need not care over-much about the weather, so that it be not too cold."

"I should very much like to see some of your artificial flies, Sir," said William; "they seem to be so pretty and curious; how I should like to be able to make one myself; but that, I suppose, is dreadfully difficult."

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'Why," said Mr. Rightley, "I agree with old Izaak Walton in this matter too; that, 'to see a fly made by a good artist in that kind, is the best teaching to make it.' But if your good father will allow you to come over and stay with me for the next two or three days, while I am at Mr. Meadows's house, I'll show you my assortment of flies,

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ARTIFICIAL FLIES AND BAITS.

how to make one for yourself, and teach you two or three other little matters, so as to make an honest angler of you. Very much has been written and said about the value of a vast variety of flies," continued Mr. Rightley, "old Walton even giving an elaborate description of twelve different sorts, one for each month in the year, but he owns that 'three or four flies, neat and rightly made, and not too big, serve for a trout in most rivers all the summer.' I agree with him in this, as well as with a modern elegant writer on angling (Jesse), who says he is of opinion that a great variety of flies are unnecessary, and that much time is lost in putting them off and on the line, though he owns that by many of those who pride themselves on the beauty and variety of their flies, this opinion will be scouted as erroneous. Generally speaking, the smaller flies are the best; a small dark fly is especially good for a bright, clear day, though a larger and lighter fly may be used for cloudy and more sombre weather."

"What kind of worms do you consider the best bait Sir?" asked Mr. Singleton.

"None at all, Sir," answered Mr. Rightley, quickly, and then he added, in a gentler tone, "the least possible inflic tion of pain pleases me best, and as I do not consider angling need necessarily be more cruel than any other kind of sport, if properly pursued, so I never fish with a live bait or with worms. For old Izaak himself tells us, that 'a dead worm is but a dead bait, and likely to catch nothing;' and as I cannot relish all his cold-blooded directions for scouring and keeping worms, so as to make them tough, and lively, and longest-lived in the water,' I therefore never use worms at all, but keep to my artificial flies and dead gudgeons, which, skilfully put on the hooks, spin as well, and are as like to please and

BEST HOURS FOR ANGLING.

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attract the fish as they are sure to gratify me and my dread of giving pain."

"And what part of the day do you generally find most propitious, Sir ?" enquired Bessie Mountain, who was much delighted with this declaration of feeling on the part of the angler.

"Indeed, Madam," said Mr. Rightley, raising his hat with the graceful courtesy of the old school, as he addressed a lady, "I think I may safely say, the best sport I have ever had, has been between the hours of five and nine in the morning, and six and eight in the evening."

"You anglers had need be early risers, indeed, if that be the case," answered she.

"In my early eager days, 'my sallet days,' when perhaps you will say I was 'green in judgment,' said Mr. Rightley, "Meadows and myself have frequently left London overnight and gone down to some quiet fishing station on the

banks of the Thames, in order that we might be up before the sun next morning; and many a time have we baited our hooks in the grey dawn, when there was scarce light enough to see each other's face, and of course have been