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BERKELEY 
 
 GENERAL 
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 UNIVERSITY OF 
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PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
by Vf-C Colt 1 N 
 
 of W life -and work 
 of- JOHN KVS'' 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, . . xi 
 
 INTRODUCTION, i 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES, 3 
 
 HINTS ON FLY-FISHING, 7 
 
 LIST OF THE MOST USEFUL NATURAL FLIES, 
 WITH THEIR IMITATIONS 
 
 The Spring Black, .... 9 
 
 The March Brown, ... 10 
 
 The Lesser March Brown. . . II 
 
 The Granam, or Greentail, . . n 
 
 The Spring Dun, 12 
 
 The Ruddy Fly, 14 
 
 The Cowdung Fly, .... 14 
 
 The Dark -blue Dun, or Merlin, . . 14 
 
 The Black Caterpillars, 16 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Black-headed Red, . . . . 17 
 
 The Little Chap, 17 
 
 The Black Gnat, 18 
 
 The Orange Dun, . . . . , . 18 
 
 The Grouse, ...... 19 
 
 The Iron Blue, 19 
 
 The Green Woodcock, . . . . 19 
 
 The Silk Fly, . . . . . . 21 
 
 The Sand Gnat, or Gravel Fly, ... 22 
 
 The Big Dun, 23 
 
 The Bracken Clock, ..... 23 
 
 The Flat Yellow, 24 
 
 The Stone Fly, 24 
 
 The Downlooker, or Oak Fly, ... 24 
 
 The Green Drake, or Cadow, ... 25 
 
 The Black Drake, or Grey Drake, . . 26 
 
 The Orange Fly, 26 
 
 The Black Ant, ...... 27 
 
 The Red Ant, 27 
 
 The Pale-blue, or Willow Fly, ... 28 
 
 The Shamrock Fly, 28 
 
 HOOKS, 29 
 
 ON FLY- RODS, 30 
 
 viii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ON THE WOODS PROPER FOR FLY-RODS, . 33 
 
 HOW TO MAKE RODS AT HOME, ... 34 
 
 DIMENSIONS OF A FLY-ROD, ETC., ... 35 
 
 THE ANTIQUITY OF FLY-FISHING, ... 37 
 
 A DAY'S ANGLING IN FRANCE, ... 40 
 
 APPENDIX BY A. AND A. R. SEVERN 
 
 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON ARTIFICIAL FLIES 
 
 The Blue Dun, 47 
 
 The Alder, 47 
 
 The Pheasant and Green, .... 48 
 
 The Hare's Ear, . . . . . . 48 
 
 The Soldier Palmer, 48 
 
 Hofland's Fancy, 48 
 
 The Red Palmer, 49 
 
 Mr. Pritt's Flies, 49 
 
 FLY-RODS AND LANDING-NETS, ... 50 
 
 CHAR-FISHING, 51 
 
 IX 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 THIS little book has long been a favourite 
 with those who happen to own copies, some- 
 what rare, of the original edition. They say 
 there is nothing like it ; and, now that the 
 prospects of anglers in the Lake District are 
 improving, Practical Fly-fishing ought to be 
 within the reach of every amateur. At their 
 instance accordingly it is reprinted ; and at the 
 desire of the surviving member of the Author's 
 family, his name, still honourably recollected by 
 many, is exchanged on the title-page for the 
 modest nom-de-plume of ' Arundo,' a reed of the 
 river. 
 
 John Beever was born nearly a hundred years 
 ago ; the elder son of Mr. William Beever, a 
 Manchester merchant. In the earlier years of 
 this century the family lived in an old mansion, 
 since inhabited by Mr. J. R. Wilkinson, the 
 well-known banker and art-patron, at the Poly- 
 gon, Ardwick, then hard as it is to believe it 
 
 xi 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 a rural suburb. On Mr. Beever's retirement 
 from business they removed to Birdsgrove, near 
 Ashbourne by the Dove, in Derbyshire ; and in 
 1827 they settled finally at the Thwaite House* 
 Coniston, which has ever since been known, 
 and widely known, by their name. 
 
 Four years later Mr. W. Beever died. His 
 wife had died when the children were quite 
 young. A second son, Henry, was settled in 
 Manchester, practising as a lawyer; but the 
 rest remained for many years together, Miss 
 Anne, a year older than John, and her sisters, 
 Mary, Margaret and Susanna. They lived a 
 simple country life, spending much of their 
 strength in the service of their village neigh- 
 bours, secure in the affection of a close circle of 
 friends, and contented with 'the harvest of a 
 quiet eye. 7 
 
 Several of the sisters became authorities on 
 the botany of the district. Baxter in his British 
 Flowering Plant s, speaking of a rare species of 
 Pearlwort, says : ' The specimen of this curious 
 and interesting little plant, from which the 
 accompanying drawing was made, was com- 
 municated to me by Miss Susan Beever. To 
 the kindness of this young lady, and that of 
 her sister, Miss Mary Beever, I am indebted 
 for the four plants figured in this number.' 
 
 xii 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 And in the latest Flora of the English Lake 
 District, by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S. (1885), the 
 name of * Miss Beever ' occurs again and again. 
 Under their care the garden of the Thwaite has 
 become famous not only for its flowers, for 
 its rarities domesticated among old cottage- 
 favourites, ideally picturesque, but for other 
 and more widely interesting associations. Ad- 
 mirers of Mr. Ruskin who have read the collec- 
 tion of his letters to these two ladies, published 
 under the title of Hortus Inclusus, knew some- 
 thing of their love for bird and beast, and 
 sympathies extended to human creatures, far 
 beyond the limits of their f garden enclosed.' 1 
 
 Mr. John Beever, like his sisters, was a close 
 student of natural history. He was an ardent 
 sportsman and fisherman; but he was some- 
 thing more, a diligent and affectionate 
 observer, reflective, ingenious, logical. He at- 
 tributes his first lessons in this school to a 
 humble but very efficient teacher, * Frank, the 
 Matlock chaise-driver/ who, in Derbyshire days 
 it must have been about 1810 showed him 
 then a lad in his 'teens, the grand secret of an 
 art that seemed almost like magic. 
 
 1 See also the Rev. W. Tuckwell's Tongties in Trees 
 and Sermons in Stones (George Allen), for illustrations 
 of the Thwaite and its garden. 
 
 xiii 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 It was at the pool below Cromford Bridge 
 that this initiation took place, which made young 
 John Beever a successful angler, and enabled 
 him in the end to write Practical Fly-fishing. 
 From the same place, still as lovely as in those 
 ancient days, even though its repose has been 
 broken in upon by the main line of the Mid- 
 land Railway, the Rector of Cromford, the 
 Rev. W. H. Arkwright, kindly sends the follow- 
 ing extracts from private letters, giving some 
 gossip about this same Frank, in whom any 
 reader of his pupil's book can hardly fail 
 to be interested. Mr. James Arkwright of 
 Cromford writes (Nov. 15, 1892): 'Old Frank 
 Ogden, about whom you inquire, was a great 
 friend of mine from fifty to sixty years since. I 
 learnt a good deal from him of the gentle art 
 or * contemplative man's amusement.' I got 
 my flies from him, and sat watching him making 
 them, which was his occupation in his latter 
 days. At one time Frank was my father's 
 huntsman, when he kept harriers, which was 
 before my time, though I can just remember 
 the kennels in front of the Rock House Lodge. 
 4 Old Frank' was afterwards coachman to my 
 father, and I think at one time was a post-boy, 
 probably before he lived with my father. A 
 son of Frank was a distinguished fly-maker, and 
 
 xiv 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 had a fishing-tackle shop at Cheltenham ; and 
 there are descendants of the name at Matlock 
 Bath now. Frank was a little man, very clever 
 with his rod and line, which he always used 
 short, i.e. he never attempted to throw far, say- 
 ing the sides of the stream were the most likely ; 
 though I think he enticed the fish from some 
 distance off. For some time he was confined 
 to the house at the top of the hill above Guild- 
 roy at Matlock Bath, having injured his knee 
 by a fall on slippery stones when fishing. He 
 never waded, or went into the water. His flies 
 were very small; principally duns, no bright 
 colours. I do not remember that he fished 
 up stream, or threw a dry fly as is now 
 done. I remember well Frank's long thumb- 
 nails, which enabled him to dress his flies so 
 neatly.' 
 
 Mr. Greenhough of Matlock adds : ' He 
 was great-grandfather to the present young 
 Ogdens at the shops, who now have instructions 
 and flies made by him. He was evidently a 
 local character, noted for his fishing, and going 
 about dressed up in a superior way. He pro- 
 bably drove carriages at one time, but seems to 
 have had no regular occupation, and lived an 
 easy life. Both Job Walker and old Mrs. Rad- 
 firth remember him, and repeated to me the 
 
 xv 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 lines made on him by some local * poet ' of the 
 day : 
 
 * Franky fine with his rod and line, 
 Never shall true-hearted miners join.' 
 
 1 Fine is an allusion to his fine clothes. The 
 explanation of the last line is a trial that took 
 place about the ownership of some lead ore, 
 and Frank gave evidence that did not suit the 
 miners.' 
 
 This unpopularity, no doubt, explains why 
 Mr. Beever went out of his way, as it seems, to 
 defend his first teacher : * Always true to his 
 colours, and one of Nature's gentlemen.' 
 
 Frank's grand secret was simply the principle 
 to ' Rule by obeying Nature's laws ' : to watch 
 the real flies* upon which the fish were feeding, 
 and to imitate them, without regard to common 
 usage and the rules of theorists. But it needed 
 a born artist to do that, with a keen eye, a 
 neat hand, and a good share of brains. Mr. 
 Beever was an apt pupil, and carried out the 
 principle with success during forty years' ex- 
 perience, in frequent visits to Scotland, to Wales 
 and abroad, as well as in constant practice over 
 the more familiar waters of the Lakes and 
 Derbyshire. Such an interest in fishing led to 
 a keen interest in fish, and he spared no pains 
 
 xvi 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 to make himself acquainted with their growth 
 and habits. 
 
 Behind the Thwaite House Mr. Beever made 
 a big pond by damming a little rivulet which 
 flows down from the Guards Wood; and he 
 stocked his pond with fish of various kinds. 
 Once a year he caught each member of his 
 water-colony, and examined it to see how it was 
 grown. It was for his use that the picturesque 
 Gothic boat-house, which every visitor knows as 
 the station of the steam-gondola, was built by 
 Mr. Binns, the former landlord of the Thwaite, 
 before Mr. James Garth Marshall added it to 
 his property at Monk Coniston. 
 
 The fishing-rod, described in the book, was 
 the result of long experiment and much pains- 
 taking. It was made about 1837, just in the 
 way our author recommends by a f clever 
 joiner, and a young one, 7 Mr. William Bell, 
 of Hawes Bank, Coniston, then a youth of 
 seventeen. He used to see a great deal of 
 Mr. Beever, and has a lively recollection of 
 him in several capacities as a fisherman, as a 
 very good shot, in those earlier days; on one 
 occasion bringing down twenty-two snipe at 
 twenty-one shots ; and an ingenious mechani- 
 cian. The pond behind the house served not 
 only as a fish-tank but as a reservoir for a water- 
 
 xvii c 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 wheel. As they kept no horses, only a donkey, 
 the coach-house stood empty, and was used as 
 a workshop; the water-wheel was built below, 
 and drove a lathe in the loft. There Mr. Beever 
 occupied himself when he was kept indoors, as 
 any one must be for a great part of the time in 
 rainy Coniston and he used to turn all sorts 
 of pretty and curious articles, to carve long 
 before the days when wood-carving came into 
 fashion and to make elaborate inlaid mosaic 
 of ingenious design. In most of these works 
 he employed the young joiner as an assistant ; 
 got him also to make the printing-press, still 
 standing there, at which Mr. Beever used to 
 print the little books written by Miss Susanna. 
 But the chief object of this industry was to 
 provide the texts and tickets for the Sunday- 
 school, in which he was an earnest worker, like 
 his sisters. 
 
 He was very fond of children, and beloved 
 by them. Miss M. H. Beever, his cousin, says 
 that to her and her sister, who came to spend 
 happy holidays at the Thwaite, he was a delight- 
 ful companion, and the most wonderful story- 
 teller in the world. In his Coniston Nights' 
 Entertainments they all figured under fancy 
 names, and the stories went on day after day, 
 and week after week, as inexhaustible as the 
 
 xviii 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 sequels of Scheherazade. He was a man of 
 quaint imagination and humour ; indeed all the 
 family have been noted for originality of charac- 
 ter ; all were interestingly peculiar, and each in 
 a different way. 
 
 Such was the author of this little book, his 
 only literary venture ; hardly, indeed, a literary 
 work, but the results of a ripe experience noted 
 down without affectation or ambition of style or 
 system. It appealed of course only to the few ; 
 but forty years more have amply ratified the 
 teaching he founded on forty years' practice. 
 Since his time there have been great changes, 
 both in the opportunities for angling and the 
 methods ; and yet Time is bringing about its 
 revenges. The lake that he loved became 
 gradually depopulated of fish they say, owing 
 to turbid or poisonous matter washed into it by 
 the stream from the copper-mines. Now at 
 last the copper-mines have almost ceased work- 
 ing, and the waters of Coniston Lake have 
 become pure again. An Angling Association 
 has been formed, and is working with energy to 
 re-stock the lake and the tarns in its neighbour- 
 hood with trout, and the famous native char, 
 re-imported from Windermere, or bred in their 
 pond near Coniston Hall. And as the Fishery 
 Conservators are taking similar steps in all the 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 surrounding districts, it is hoped that angling 
 will again become what it was in old days in 
 the North of England. 
 
 To bring Mr. Beever's work up to date, a few 
 notes have been all that seemed necessary, and 
 they are kept together in the Appendix, in order 
 to leave the original paragraphs untouched. 
 The contributors of the notes, Messrs. Arthur 
 Severn, junior, and Agnew Ruskin Severn, of 
 Brantwood, Coniston, are, as all their neigh- 
 bours know, experts with the rod, and fully 
 acquainted with the fishing of their own country. 
 It would be far beyond the scope of this work 
 to add detailed instructions adapted to other 
 centres, or to discuss the value of Mr. Beever's 
 paragraphs, in various matters upon which 
 opinions differ. For example, many readers 
 may feel that he lays too much stress on the 
 advantages of making your own rod ; and that 
 modern improvements have superseded the 
 clever joiner and his plane. To most amateurs, 
 certainly, who only fish a little, it is not worth 
 the trouble. But the other day, talking over 
 this question with a professional authority, 
 Mr. Hully, the watcher for the conservators of 
 the district he had come, by the way, with a 
 hundred full-grown char to add to the stock of 
 our lake I was interested to find him a staunch 
 
 xx 
 
MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 believer in the home-made rod. As to new 
 flies and fancy flies, I imagine Mr. Beever 
 would say to any reader of his : ' I put before 
 you my principles, and give you my experience. 
 If you can improve upon either, do so by all 
 means P 
 
 He outlived the date of his preface just ten 
 years and ten days. His last seven years were, 
 unhappily, clouded by illness, and the result of 
 an unsuccessful operation which affected the 
 brain so that, even before his time, our 
 'Arundo' was cut down, and his friends had 
 indeed to 
 
 ' Sigh for the cost and pain, 
 For the reed which grows nevermore again 
 As a reed with the reeds in the river.' 
 
 He died on the loth of January 1859, aged 
 sixty-four. As a parishioner of Hawkshead, he 
 was buried at the picturesque church, which 
 Wordsworth's reminiscences of his own school- 
 days have made famous. The tourist who 
 makes a hurried ascent, while his coach stops 
 at the Red Lion, to this place of modern 
 pilgrimage, will find the family tomb of the 
 Beevers hard by the old sundial, on the north 
 side of the church, where all the greater moun- 
 tains are full in view, and the quaint old town 
 
 xxi 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 seems at his feet. Many tender associations 
 haunt the ground, but no stone in the church- 
 yard bears a name more worthy to be read 
 with affection and respect. 
 
 Three younger sisters survived Mr. Beever, 
 Miss Anne having died in 1858, and Mr. Henry 
 in 1840. Of the survivors, Miss Susanna is 
 now left alone to represent a family connected 
 for so many years with Coniston at once 
 sources and loadstones of all good to the 
 village in which they had their home, and to 
 all loving people who cared for the village and 
 its vale and secluded lake, and whatever re- 
 mained in them or around of the former peace, 
 beauty, and pride of English Shepherd Land.' 1 
 
 W. G. C. 
 
 CONISTON, 
 
 New Year 1893. 
 
 1 Ruskin : Preface to Hortus Inclusus. 
 
 XXll 
 
PRACTICAL FLY-FISHING 
 
 FOUNDED ON NATURE 
 
 AND TESTED BY THE EXPERIENCE 
 
 OF NEARLY FORTY YEARS IN VARIOUS 
 
 PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM 
 
 WITH INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR IMITATING ALL THE MOST 
 USEFUL FLIES: ALSO 
 
 REMARKS ON FLY-RODS 
 
 THE BEST WOODS FOR THEM AND 
 
 THE BEST WAY OF MAKING 
 
 THEM: ETC., ETC. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 WRITERS on Trout-fishing, who are ignorant 
 of the Nature and Habits of aquatic Insects, 
 are apt to give instructions for the making of 
 flies which are so utterly unlike anything in 
 Nature, that it would puzzle any one to discover 
 what they were intended to represent. 
 
 The Author of the following pages has 
 endeavoured to describe, as distinctly and 
 accurately as he possibly could, such flies as 
 are found to be generally useful in angling for 
 Trout and Grayling. His aim has been to 
 seize their colour, size, and character. The 
 following anecdote will show the importance of 
 a close imitation of the natural fly. 
 
 Long ago, a few young Professors had fished 
 down the lowest part of the Derbyshire Wye, 
 to its junction with the Derwent; and also a 
 short portion of the latter river. They had 
 been unsuccessful, for the water was low, and 
 fine, and their skill was not very great. How- 
 ever, they had succeeded in persuading each 
 other that fish were not to be caught that day 
 by any one; they were lounging upon the 
 bridge at Rowsley, when one of them ex- 
 claimed, ' Now we shall have some fun^ here 
 i A 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 comes a fisher ! we '11 send him to those fish 
 that are rising in the pool below, that we have 
 been throwing at so long.' The man looked 
 like a mechanic, or weaver; he was plainly 
 dressed, and seemed very poor; but his 
 countenance was cheerful and intelligent. His 
 rod was of hazel, a top and a butt, tied 
 together with a waxed end ; his line of about 
 five yards long, with four more of single hair, 
 was tied to a loop at the end of his rod, and 
 was there so thick as to seem almost a con- 
 tinuation of it (being well adapted for the wood- 
 encumbered Derwent). He had neither reel, 
 nor rings, nor varnish. { Master,' said one of 
 the Gentlemen, 'you may have some rare 
 sport ; here are half a dozen good Trout and 
 Grayling rising in this pool.' The man seemed 
 glad to hear this, for he had been angling some 
 time ; had ascertained what insects the fish 
 were feeding upon, and having made himself a 
 set of flies upon the river's bank, had about 
 half filled a small woodland pannier, which 
 hung at his shoulder. He went down to the 
 rough stream at the foot of the pool, and un- 
 winding the line from his left hand, made a 
 few throws to soak and straighten it. He then 
 proceeded to the fish, as the Gentlemen pointed 
 them out to him, and after being successful in 
 taking them all, he looked up rather archly, 
 and said, f Gentlemen, can you show me any 
 more ? ' 
 
 CONISTON LAKE, January i, 1849. 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES 
 
 PERHAPS many of the flies mentioned in this 
 book may be different from those which the 
 reader has been accustomed to fish with, or 
 made in a different way. But let it be remem- 
 bered, that of all insects there are two kinds, 
 male and female, often very different both in 
 size and colour, and perhaps in some cases I 
 may have described the one, and in some the 
 other; however, they are all painted from 
 nature, and I hope faithfully. 
 
 If you have a choice, it is always best to imi- 
 tate the female fly, as she is larger, and, with 
 her eggs, makes a more tempting morsel. In 
 many kinds, the male, having performed his 
 office, leaves the water and wanders away 
 sometimes I have even seen him in the midst 
 of large towns ; but the female always returns 
 to the water to deposit her eggs and to die. 
 I am speaking now of aquatic flies, which form 
 a large proportion of those imitated by the 
 angler. 
 
 The great majority of fishers have no con- 
 fidence in their own flies, when off their usual 
 beat. Perhaps they travel four or five hundred 
 miles to a river, and see upon the water half a 
 3 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 dozen kinds of flies, the very counterparts of 
 those seen near home at the same time of year. 
 Instead of beginning to fish with confidence, 
 how do they act ? They send for some tailor, 
 cobbler, or superannuated keeper, who tells 
 them that they have not in their whole stock a 
 fly worth a bawbee. 
 
 What are they to do? He can sell them 
 some which will kill. The fisher generally 
 falls into this trap. 
 
 A gentleman who was at Selkirk in the 
 spring of 1823, inquired for a guide to St. 
 Mary's Loch. He was referred to John 
 Redhead, a Northumbrian, who lived in the 
 town, made rods, lines, and flies ; fished, sold 
 his fish, and found it hard work, by his own 
 account, to scrape up a living amongst the 
 Scotch. 
 
 They fished their way up the beautiful 
 streams of the pastoral Yarrow, and were 
 hospitably entertained for the night at ' Mount 
 Benger,' the house of Mr. Scott < the Elder.' 
 After breakfast the next morning they went to 
 St. Mary's Loch. They angled for three or 
 four hours in vain, having each taken only one 
 small fish. They repaired to the deserted 
 burial-ground of the Covenanters, on the hill, 
 to make a fisherman's meal; which, though 
 homely, is generally accompanied by an 
 excellent appetite. A good stone bridge was 
 seen in the distance. The following discourse 
 ensued 
 
 Gentleman. What bridge is that ? 
 4 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 Redhead. Over the Meggat. 
 
 Gent. What is the Meggat ? 
 
 Redh. The main feeder of the Loch. 
 
 Gent. Let us go there. 
 
 It was a fine afternoon in the month of 
 June; the water was full, the fish were rising 
 at the Middle-dun ; the creels were nearly filled, 
 when the Middle-dun ceased to come down the 
 water, and not a fish could be stirred. 
 
 Gentleman^ sitting down upon a large stone, 
 I shall try a Grouse.' 
 
 Redh. You need not, Sir. 
 
 Gent. Why not ? It 's the best fly now. 
 
 Redh. It's no use, Sir. 
 
 Gent. I ; 11 try one, however. 
 
 Redh. I've often seen English Gentlemen 
 try them, and catch nothing. 
 
 Gent. Here they are, ready dressed, and I 
 mean to give one a chance ; we cannot well be 
 worse than we are. 
 
 Redh. It may do in England, but I tell you 
 it 's no use here ; you might as well throw your 
 hat into the water. 
 
 Gent. May I not please myself? 
 
 No answer. 
 
 The Gentleman stepped on the gravel-bed, 
 threw his line, drew out a nice fish, and 
 taking it off the hook, said very quietly, 
 ' Grouse ! ' 
 
 He took another, ' Grouse ! 7 
 
 He took fourteen more ; making sixteen fish 
 in succession, all with the ' Grouse,' although he 
 had other flies on his line ; and as each fish 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 was unhooked, he pronounced the monosyllable 
 'Grouse!' Redhead now approached, his 
 hand at his bonnet, and said, 'Sir, will you 
 please to give me one of those fliest ' 
 The Gentleman gave him two. 
 
HINTS ON FLY-FISHING 
 
 1 FISH fine and far off,' say the books ; fine 
 as you please, but never far off, when you can 
 help it. Not that you are to place yourself 
 immediately above the fish, with a short line, 
 but get below them, or, at any rate, abreast of 
 them. Nineteen out of every twenty fish, 
 taken by the fly, are killed with a line under 
 ten yards long from the top of the rod. Whilst 
 the fisher is straining nerves and tackle, and 
 cracking off his flies, to reach a fish in a broad 
 part of a river, let him remember that other fish 
 are rising at the same time in narrower places, 
 which he can cover with ease. It is of no use 
 throwing more line than he can swim when it 
 is thrown ; and this swimming of the artificial- 
 fly is beyond my power to explain, as it par- 
 takes of the nature of Genius. Some acquire 
 it, in a degree, very early, whilst others would 
 plod for a hundred years, without ever dream- 
 ing that such a thing was requisite. Give a 
 fiddler, who knows how to play, Paganini's violin 
 and bow will that make him a Paganini ? 
 
 A fact or two will better illustrate my mean- 
 ing. Two Gentlemen went out together, in 
 Derbyshire, for a few hours' fishing ; they used 
 7 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 the same flies ; both were attentive and diligent. 
 After the lapse of a few hours one of them had 
 eighteen pounds, the other not more than four. 
 
 Two anglers got permission for a day's fish- 
 ing, and the use of a boat, on a lake in Wales. 
 One of them made a few flies for their joint 
 use. The one, at the end of the day's sport, 
 had forty-eight Trout, weighing twenty-four 
 pounds ; the other had not three pounds. 
 
 Let no learner despair, or think to himself, / 
 shall never be a fly-fisher ; / shall never return 
 home with a basket full of fish. Depend upon 
 it, you will. Industry, neatness, and persever- 
 ance, will do anything. I had just your ideas 
 when a youth. I was standing on the margin 
 of that broad and beautiful pool, below the 
 bridge at Cromford ; the flies were on the water ; 
 the fish were rising ; but I could take nothing. 
 
 A brisk and cheerful little man jumped over 
 the wall, and came to me in his shirt sleeves, 
 with a fly-rod in his hand. It was Frank^ the 
 chaise-driver of Matlock, one of the nicest and 
 best fishers in England always true to his 
 colours. And what was far better, one of 
 Nature's gentlemen. I showed him the fish I 
 had been throwing at, and he took them. Then 
 he showed me his flies, and kindly told me what 
 they were, and pointed out their resemblance to 
 those which I had seen upon the water. 
 
 I followed him for some time, to watch him 
 fish, and to ask from him such information as 
 occurrences suggested, which he kindly gave 
 me ; and I have never desponded since. 
 
A LIST OF 
 
 THE MOST USEFUL NATURAL FLIES 
 WITH THEIR IMITATIONS 
 
 THE SPRING BLACK 
 
 THIS is the first Black of the season, on 
 most running waters appears about the latter 
 end of March, and is good until about the 
 middle of May, when the Black Caterpillars 
 and Black Gnat take its place. 
 
 The hook is No. i \ the wing from the quill 
 of the Swift ; body, silk, the colour of Lundy 
 Foote's snuff, with a bit of fine black Ostrich's 
 herl laid on like a screw, to show the silk 
 underneath ; and a small hen's hackle, 1 of a 
 sooty black, for legs. 
 
 About four-and-twenty years ago, a friend 
 and myself were fishing, in the middle of April, 
 in the Slate-Quarry Dub, on Tweed, a little 
 below Elibank Wood. We had come, in a 
 chaise, from Selkirk (eight or nine miles) that 
 
 1 Cock's Hackles. The hackles of game fowls are 
 preferable to those of any other breed, being narrow and 
 well tapered. The hackles of well bred bantams are 
 also very good for small flies. 
 
 9 B 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 morning. For about an hour all was still, 
 until a shoal of Spring Blacks came upon the 
 water. Every fish seemed in pursuit of them. 
 I had three of them dressed in my book, and 
 immediately put two of them on my line, one 
 at the point, and one next me. The colour 
 was so true, and so many fish were feeding 
 within reach, that I had only to select the best 
 fish. This feed only lasted forty minutes ; and, 
 in that time, I got six pounds and a half, taking 
 two at once six times. Unfortunately, my 
 friend, who had the opposite side of the river, 
 had no Spring Blacks, and could not touch a 
 fish. I tied up my remaining fly in a piece of 
 paper, with a pebble for ballast, and threw it 
 across to him. At the first throw he hooked a 
 Trout, which took his fly from him, as he had 
 neglected to tie the knot securely. During the 
 whole of the feed, though a skilful and indus- 
 trious fisher, he only got two fish ; for so very 
 particular were the fish that day, as they some- 
 times are, but they would have nothing but 
 the Spring Black. This fly may often be seen 
 in great numbers in the cold afternoons of 
 spring, upon fresh horse-dung. 
 
 THE MARCH BROWN. 
 
 Dun Drake, Brown Drake, Turkey Fly. This 
 is a fine handsome insect, and is out during 
 the whole of April, and part of May. On sunny 
 mornings it springs early, and is often very 
 numerous. It is the first of the large flies 
 10 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 which attract the notice of good fish. A party 
 of gentlemen, who made Selkirk their head- 
 quarters for about a month, many years ago, took 
 a great quantity of fish with this fly in Tweed, 
 Ettrick, Yarrow, St. Mary's, and Meggat. They 
 made it in many ways; the following was 
 esteemed the best. Hook 2 or 3 ; wing from 
 the tail of a hen Pheasant, or the quill of a 
 Partridge ; hackle dappled, or cuckoo-coloured 
 (prevailing colours, light-blue dun and tawny 
 yellow). Silk, generally primrose, but some- 
 times chocolate. 
 
 On the Dove, it is called the Turkey-fly, and 
 winged from the quill of a Turkey-hen, or 
 Turkey-poult, and hackled with a light, meally 
 dun cock's or hen's hackle. 
 
 THE LESSER MARCH BROWN. 
 
 This fly is not much more than half the size 
 of the last. It is generally made as a hackle, 
 with a feather taken from the back of the cock 
 Partridge, in November or December, which is 
 then beautifully and regularly speckled. Hook 
 i or 2 ; silk mahogany colour ; and a little 
 coarse claret-coloured dubbing, of mohair. 
 
 THE GRANAM OR GREEN-TAIL 
 
 is an early fly, generally seen the first warm 
 days of April, and is very fond of sunshine. 
 Sometimes it is so numerous that the water 
 appears as if a quantity of chaff had been 
 ii 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 thrown out by a miller. Old anglers are not 
 generally much pleased to see it ; for the 
 number and liveliness of the natural flies render 
 their chance small, and also enable the fish so 
 to glut themselves, as to require little more 
 insect food that day. It is like many other 
 insects, very variable in its appearance. In 
 some years scarcely any are seen. It is a flat 
 fly with four wings, and flutters very much upon 
 the water, perhaps, from an instinct of the 
 female to deposit her eggs, which hang in a 
 large green bunch at the end of her body ; and 
 from which, doubtless the name of the fly 
 originated. Hook No. 2 ; wing or hackle from 
 a feather which grows on the bone underneath 
 the Woodcock's wing, and is of a lead colour, 
 barred with white ; silk, of a grass or ivy-green 
 colour. About half the body should be made 
 with fur from a hare's face, leaving the re- 
 mainder of it bare to show the green silk. 
 
 THE SPRING DUN, 
 
 The Middle Dun, the Dun Cut, the Yellow 
 Dun, the Dotterel Dun, the Honey Dun, the 
 Brown Dun. These names, and many more, 
 are, in various parts of the country, applied to 
 an ephemera, which appears in most, if not all, 
 of the Trout waters of these kingdoms, through- 
 out the whole season, although in greater num- 
 bers during spring and autumn than at other 
 times. It is also rather larger at those periods 
 than in the summer months. 
 12 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 Like other ephemerae, it is an afternoon or 
 evening fly. Various as are the names by 
 which it is known amongst anglers, the ways of 
 imitating it are far more so. It is winged or 
 hackled, in different parts of the country, in 
 many different ways. In Scotland, the under- 
 wing of the Moorpoult, the wing of the Sparrow, 
 the Skylark, and the Bunting, are used : for the 
 North of England, the Snipe, the Dotterel, and 
 the Golden Plover are preferred : in the Peak 
 of Derbyshire, cock's and hen's hackles are 
 much employed : in the South of England they 
 use the wing of the Starling ; a feather from the 
 bastard-wing of the wild Mallard is sometimes 
 made use of. Having tried these and several 
 others, without the success which an imitation 
 of such a well-known fly ought to command, 
 my next attempt was with the wing of the young 
 Starling, before it attains the adult plumage. 
 It is a beautifully blended tint of blue, brown, 
 and yellow. 
 
 I tried it in conjunction with a hen's hackle 
 of the same colour (not easily met with), and 
 a mixed body of a primrose and dandelion- 
 coloured silk, and have never made it any other 
 way since. So very often has excellent sport 
 been had with this fly, in England, Scotland, 
 Ireland, and Wales, that it is needless to men- 
 tion any particular locality. It will always be 
 in fashion whilst the world lasts and streams 
 run. The hook for this fly is i, 2, or 3, accord- 
 ing to the water. 
 
 13 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 THE RUDDY FLY, 
 
 The Mario Buzz, the Furnace, Coch a Bondu. 
 The Ruddy is a beetle, chiefly a fly for spring 
 and summer ; and most useful as an afternoon 
 or evening fly. The upper wings are of a colour 
 redder than cinnamon, and much brighter, and 
 the under wings are black. Under different 
 names it is a great favourite on most Trout 
 streams. Hook 2 ; silk, bright red, between 
 scarlet and crimson ; hackle from a ruddy cock ; 
 the body, black ostrich's herl, rather full. 
 
 I once (early in May) saw a person hook 
 three very nice Trout at once ; (he was fishing 
 three Ruddys) ; he landed two of them, and 
 lost the third. 
 
 THE COWDUNG FLY. 
 
 A good fly, particularly for cold, windy days. 
 Hook 2 ; wing, a yellowish brown feather from 
 the bastard-wing of the female Woodcock ; silk, 
 orange ; dubbing, a mixture of orange and red 
 mohair, with a few hairs from a hare's face. 
 
 THE DARK-BLUE DUN, OR MERLIN. 
 
 This fly is excellent on dark, cold, and 
 stormy days, throughout the season. It is 
 one of the ephemerae,, or upright wing flies, and 
 is generally made with a dark blue cock's or 
 hen's hackle, and lead-coloured silk. The fol- 
 lowing way of making it is original, and has been 
 very successful during a long trial. Hook 2 ; 
 14 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 wing from the dark-blue part of the quill of 
 the male Merlin Hawk ; hackle from the grey 
 part of a Jackdaw's neck ; silk, dark lead, with 
 a little Mole's fur for dubbing, very sparingly 
 introduced. 
 
 One day, long ago, in the middle of June, 
 being in the neighbourhood of Ashburn, I took 
 my rod, and walked (about four miles) to Dove- 
 dale. The day was dark and foggy, with a 
 gentle rain, which was just sufficient to give the 
 river a faint milky tinge without muddying it. 
 
 This was one of the best days I ever saw for 
 fish feeding upon the fly, as they were rising 
 greedily when I arrived at the water, about 
 eleven o'clock in the morning, and I left them 
 feeding at three in the afternoon. This was a 
 great day for the Merlin. After angling for 
 about an hour, I saw the gamekeeper approach- 
 ing : he asked about the fish, and I told him 
 that they were doing pretty well, and whilst we 
 were talking, I noticed several very nice Trout 
 and Grayling feeding not far from where we 
 stood. At last, the keeper wished me good 
 sport, and left me. I soon took most of the 
 fish that I had marked whilst conversing with 
 him, and then my basket was full. Fortunately, 
 I had a large hare-pocket in my jacket, and I 
 loaded one end of it, until it became very un- 
 comfortable, when I began to fill the other end, 
 and soon brought matters to a balance. I 
 believe I had eight-and-thirty fine fish, and 
 nearly all of them were taken with the Merlin. 
 
 I once met with an old Friend who was going 
 15 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 off to a distance to fish fly. I gave him two 
 small feathers of the Merlin Hawk, which I 
 happened to have in my pocket-book. When 
 I next saw him, some time afterwards, he told 
 me that he had made two flies with the feathers 
 which I gave him ; and that he had caught 
 fifty-six Trouts with them, having carefully re- 
 made and repaired them several times, until 
 they were quite worn out. 
 
 THE BLACK CATERPILLARS. 
 
 There are two flies of this name, the little one 
 and the large one. The latter is too large for 
 stream fishing, except in very rough weather. 
 The little Black Caterpillar appears about the 
 tenth of May, and when out, may always be 
 found on the hawthorn. It may easily be 
 known by some of its legs hanging down when 
 flying, in a peculiar way, as if one or two of 
 them were broken. Hook i ; wing from a 
 Starling's quill; silk, dark lead colour; a turn 
 or two of black Ostrich's herl under the wings. 
 The large Black Caterpillar is made in a similar 
 way, on a 3 or 4 hook, and is an excellent fly 
 for Lake or Tarn fishing. 
 
 A few years ago, a large flight of insects came 
 out in the neighbourhood of Coniston, of a kind 
 which I have never noticed before or since. 
 They were, in every respect but one, quite 
 similar in size and appearance to the Black 
 Caterpillar. The whole of their legs and thighs 
 were a deep rich claret colour, whilst in the 
 16 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 caterpillar they resemble black sealing-wax. In 
 the time of their appearance also there was a 
 difference, as this flight came in September. It 
 was dimcult to walk in the lanes without tread- 
 ing upon some of them : they were all over the 
 lake, and upon the hedges, fields, and fells ; in 
 fact, they appeared to be everywhere, and re- 
 mained about a fortnight. 
 
 THE BLACK-HEADED RED. 
 
 This is a beetle or Lady-bird, made as a 
 hackle, in two ways. First, with a cock's 
 hackle, of which about one half is red and the 
 other black ; second, with a deep red hackle, 
 having a black stripe up the middle of it, 
 Hook i or 2 ; silk, dark orange, or red. This 
 fly is good all the season, especially when the 
 water is resuming its natural size and colour 
 after a flood. 
 
 THE LITTLE CHAP. 
 
 A small beetle, good from April to October, 
 on sunny days, and an especial favourite with 
 the Grayling. Hook o or i. It is hackled 
 with a Peewit's topping, or a very small sooty- 
 black hackle of cock or hen. The body is 
 short, of Peacock's herl ; silk, dark lead or very 
 dark brown. In July, orange silk is very good, 
 made to show a turn or two of silk below the 
 Peacock. A very dark-blue dun hackle may 
 sometimes be substituted with advantage. 
 17 c 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 THE BLACK GNAT. 
 
 The Black Gnat is generally first seen early 
 in May, and sometimes congregates in flocks 
 of hundreds if not of thousands. If nicely 
 made, and finely fished, a well-filled basket is 
 often the result. I have found it to answer 
 best as a hackle. Hook o or oo; feather 
 from the bastard-wing of the Swift, or small 
 hackle from a very dark brown (nearly black) 
 hen's neck : silk, the colour of Irish snuff ; a 
 very fine piece of black Ostrich's herl put on 
 open like a screw to show the silk. 
 
 THE ORANGE DUN. 
 
 The Orange Dun may be looked for about 
 the middle of May, and lasts to the end of 
 October. There are several distinct ephemerae 
 known by this general name, of which the three 
 following will be found the most useful to the 
 angler, ist. The Dark Orange Dun ; hook, o, 
 i, 2 ; wing from the Merlin Hawk's wing ; 
 silk, deep orange ; hackle from a dark-blue 
 cock or hen's hackle ; no dubbing. 2nd. 
 Orange Dun ; hook o, i, 2 ; wing from the 
 Starling's quill ; hackle from dun cock or hen ; 
 silk, orange. 3rd. Light Orange Dun ; hook 
 o, i, 2 ; wing from a light-coloured Sea-gull or 
 Sea-swallow ; hackle, very light-blue dun ; silk, 
 tawny or faded orange. All these flies may be 
 made as hackles, by feathers of their various 
 shades, which are often to be found on the 
 18 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 backs of half-grown chickens. Pigeon or 
 Cuckoo feathers do not wet well. 
 
 The Dun flies, especially the Orange, and the 
 Blue, and middle Duns, are great favourites on 
 limestone waters, particularly the clear streams 
 of the Peak of Derbyshire, where coarse tackle 
 and slovenly imitations will not do. 
 
 THE GROUSE. 
 
 This is a beetle, and is excellent from the 
 middle of May to the middle of July in all 
 waters. Hook i, 2, 3 ; hackle, a dark mottled 
 feather from the back of the cock moorgame ; 
 silk, orange \ body, Peacock's herl of a copper 
 colour. 1 
 
 THE IRON BLUE. 
 
 This is one of the ephemerae, appears in May 
 and June on cold days, and generally in great 
 numbers. It is a very small fly, and is usually 
 made with wings from the Tomtit's tail or 
 Jackdaw's ruff. The Merlin's wing makes it 
 best. Hook o ; silk, dark lead colour ; body, 
 a little Mole's fur. It is called the Iron Blue, 
 I believe, from the resemblance of the colour 
 of its wings to that of tempered steel. 
 
 THE GREEN WOODCOCK. 
 
 A decided evening fly, and best from the 
 middle of May to the middle of July. It 
 
 1 [Note by A. and A. R. Severn. A green or yellow 
 body takes very well from the middle of May until the 
 end of June.] 
 
 19 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 should never be seen upon the line until after 
 six o'clock. In the almost endless days of 
 summer, it will kill after bright hot days, longer 
 than a person can see his flies. 
 
 Once, at Midsummer, when on a visit at 
 Birdsgrove, near Ashburn, on the Dove, I 
 determined to try for an extra large Trout, with 
 this fly, in the evening; as I had heard of 
 several very fine fish having been taken by 
 some country night fishers. I made a Green 
 Woodcock on one of the largest Salmon hooks 
 I had, perhaps a 15 or 16 Kendal hook. Not 
 having any gut which I thought strong enough 
 for my purpose, I selected sixteen good strong 
 horse-hairs, to which I dressed my fly, making 
 it very rough. That I might not be diverted 
 from my purpose, I took out with me only this 
 one fly. 
 
 The place I had selected, as most likely for 
 my operations, was an extremely rough narrow 
 stream, about half a mile above Hanging 
 Bridge ; with an open stone wall, and excellent 
 holds on the Derbyshire side of it, and not a 
 likely place for a net to be put into by any one 
 who ever expected to see it come out again 
 whole. I arrived there at dusk, and, beginning 
 at the top of the stream, fished it step by step ; 
 when I came to the middle of the stream, 
 where it was still very rough, there was a splash 
 at the fly, as if some one had thrown into the 
 water a large paving-stone, and my line flew 
 over my head. On looking at it, the sixteen 
 hairs were staring in all directions, but the fly 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 was gone. I have seen many a large Salmon 
 rise, but never any with such a plunge as that ; 
 and there -was no struggle, but a clear cut. I 
 can only conclude that an Otter had mistaken 
 my large fly, in the rough stream, and in the 
 twilight, for a small fish. 
 
 Hook for the Green Woodcock i, 2, 3 ; 
 hackle, light-coloured feather of mixed brown, 
 dun, and dirty yellow, from a Woodcock's 
 wing silk, ivy or apple-green ; body, hare's 
 ear (dark part). 
 
 THE SILK FLY. 
 
 This is one of the most delicate and beautiful 
 insects that we have. It is one of the ephemerae. 
 The angler may not perhaps meet with it half a 
 dozen times in the course of his life, and if he 
 is not prepared with a few ready-made ones, or 
 materials for making them, he need not expect 
 any sport so long as any of the natural flies re- 
 main. It is a very rich bright yellow (brighter on 
 limestone than on gravelly or sandstone streams), 
 the colour that of the dandelion flower, body 
 and wings, and is generally made with a dyed 
 feather. There is a North American Starling 
 with a brilliant yellow breast, which imitates it 
 very well, and few dyed feathers are to be 
 trusted, as if stained with vegetable matter, they 
 are apt to fade ; if with mineral acids, they are 
 sure to be tender. Hook 2 ; hackle bright yel- 
 low ; body, floss silk of the same colour. 
 
 21 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 THE SAND GNAT OR GRAVEL FLY. 
 
 A man may have with him ten thousand good 
 flies, ready dressed, on a good fishing day too, 
 and not meet with much sport. 
 
 In the course of many years' fly-fishing, it 
 had not been my fortune to meet with the Sand 
 Gnat, though I had frequently heard it extolled 
 by my seniors : my angling had been much 
 confined to limestone waters, where it does not 
 appear. 
 
 It was a fine gray morning, early in June, 
 somewhere about 1825, when I set out in com- 
 pany with a friend from Coldstream, to have a 
 day's fly-fishing in the Bowmont, one of these 
 well-stocked little Trout rivers which rise in the 
 Cheviots, and find their way, by the Till, into 
 the Tweed. We began to fish about eleven 
 o'clock, and as the Trout were feeding pretty 
 steadily, we got on tolerably till about one, 
 when we came to an abrupt turn of the river, 
 with a fine large deep dub ; which was quite 
 alive with fish. The flies with which I had 
 previously been having fair diversion the 
 Grouse, the Spring Dun, and the Ruddy, were 
 no longer of any use. I was quite disconcerted, 
 till looking at the sandy gravel in which I stood, 
 I exclaimed, ' It is the Sand Gnat.' There they 
 were by scores, under and about my feet, and 
 a gleam of sun and a light breeze had sent 
 them upon the water. I sat down on the gravel 
 and caught one, and made two imitations, one 
 at each end of a piece of gut. Hook i ; body, 
 
 22 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 light-blue silk ; wing, from the brown part of 
 the quill of a Thrush ; legs, a dark sooty-dun 
 hen's hackle. I was soon upon my legs again. 
 I got about twenty fish out of that dub, and 
 raised and hooked many more. It was quite 
 still when I left it, and as the fly-feed appeared 
 to be nearly over for that day, I walked away 
 with my friend to Coldstream. 
 
 THE BIG DUN 
 
 appears about the end of May, or beginning 
 of June ; it is rather a large ephemera, and the 
 fish are fond of it. Hook 2, 3, wing or hackle, 
 Sea-swallow or Sea-gull ; body, yellow camlet 
 and pale blue Rabbit's fur mixed ; silk, prim- 
 rose colour. 
 
 THE BRACKEN CLOCK 
 
 is a beetle, bred in light sandy ground, with 
 a south or west aspect. It is very common in 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland, where it is 
 generally called 'The Clock.' It is first seen 
 about the middle of May, and generally lasts 
 about a month. Hook 2, 3 ; wing from a 
 Landrail's wing ; hackle from a red cock ; silk, 
 red; body, Peacock's herl. When this fly is 
 numerous, there is no good fly-fishing for a 
 month after it is fully out. The fish glut them- 
 selves with it, and it soon makes them soft and 
 out of condition. 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 THE FLAT YELLOW 
 
 is a long, flat four-winged May-fly. Hook i, 
 2 ; hackle, a white cock's or hen's hackle, dyed 
 with the ' Green Drake Dye ' ; silk, bright yel- 
 low ; body, a mixture of stained Hare's fur 
 (yellow), which may be got at the hatters, and 
 a little blue Rabbit's, or Water-rat's fur mixed. 
 
 THE STONE FLY. 
 
 A large flat fly, is generally most seen in the 
 months of May and June. The male and 
 female are very different in appearance. The 
 former has short wings, which are only about 
 half the length of his body, whilst his lady has 
 four large broad flowing ones, an inch long, 
 which give her a very imposing appearance 
 when she comes paddling across the stream. 
 Hook 3 ; hackle, dark grizzly cock's ; body, 
 yellow mohair and Water-rat's fur mixed ; silk, 
 light brown. 
 
 THE DOWNLOOKER, OR OAK FLY. 
 
 A rather large fly, generally seen in or near 
 long grass. It is not, I believe, known where 
 it is bred, certainly not in the oak-apple, as 
 frequently asserted. It has many names, and 
 is beautifully marked and variegated, both in 
 wing, body, and legs, with shades of black, 
 brown, and orange. 
 
 It stands upon a tree, rail, or post, with its 
 24 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 head downwards, whence its name. It appears 
 on breezy, sunny days in May and June. Hook 
 2 ; hackle, feather from the top of a Woodcock's 
 wing ; body, fur from a Squirrel's cheek ; silk, 
 orange. 
 
 THE GREEN DRAKE, OR CADOW. 
 
 This is the largest ephemera of Trout fishers, 
 and appears generally about the end of May or 
 the beginning of June, varying about a week as 
 the season is a forward one or otherwise. It 
 continues a fortnight, or more, if the weather be 
 cold. The fish are very partial to it, and it is 
 of little use trying anything else during its stay 
 upon the water, though a few fish may be had 
 with the small flies, in the early part of the day, 
 before the Drake appears, which is often near 
 two o'clock. Many are the ways of imitating 
 this fly. Very large hooks are used for it, often 
 5 or 6. My own experience has led me to 
 think better of it as a hackle. Hook 2 or 3. 
 A good light-grey feather is got from the side or 
 breast of an old cock Partridge, in December or 
 January. This must be stained by the follow- 
 ing mixture : 
 
 DYE FOR THE GREEN DRAKE. Take a large 
 table-spoonful (heaped) of ground quercitron 
 bark, and put it into a glazed mug, with a small 
 tea-spoonful of pounded alum. The feathers to 
 be dyed must first be well washed with soap and 
 warm soft-water, and slowly dried. Pour about 
 half-a-pint of boiling water upon the mixture of 
 25 D 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 bark and alum. Put the feathers in, one by 
 one, and stir them well up with a bit of clean 
 wood. Take out a feather or two rinse them 
 in cold clear water, and dry them. If the 
 colour is not deep enough, add another spoon- 
 ful of bark, and a little more hot water, till it is 
 to your mind. The higher coloured ones will 
 be best for the Silk Fly. Put in a few white 
 cock's and hen's hackles at the same time, they 
 will be useful for the Flat Yellow or the Silk 
 Fly. The body for the Green Drake is of wool 
 from the lower part of the abdomen of an old 
 sheep ; silk, rather a bright yellow. 
 
 THE BLACK DRAKE OR GREY DRAKE. 
 
 This is the same fly as the last, only, having 
 lived a few days longer, and cast off some of its 
 superfluous raiment, it has become an old friend 
 with a new face. Hook 2, 3 ; hackle, a dark 
 grey feather from the side of the Teal Drake ; 
 silk, light brown ; body, white floss silk. This 
 fly must be kept very clean whilst making it. 
 After a broiling hot day, when the sun sets, this 
 fly is often taken very greedily for half an hour 
 or an hour. 
 
 THE ORANGE FLY. 
 
 This is an afternoon and evening fly, in the 
 long days of May and June ; good for Trout or 
 Grayling, especially the latter. Hook No. i ; 
 wing from the bright buff part of a Thrush's 
 quill. The legs are imitated by a feather of 
 26 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 a Wren's tail, used as a hackle, the long side of 
 the feather being pulled off. The body is 
 formed of orange silk, with a little fur from the 
 cheek of a Squirrel. 
 
 THE BLACK ANT. 
 
 This fly is an inhabitant of woods and cop- 
 pices, and is very abundant in the neighbour- 
 hood of the English lakes. The nest is often 
 of enormous size, sometimes containing more 
 than a cart-load of sticks and small twigs. The 
 Vale of Duddon swarms with Wood Ants, and 
 is the only place in which I have seen the Wry- 
 neck, which is said to feed principally on these 
 insects. Like other Ants, they have the enjoy- 
 ment of wings for a few weeks in each year ; 
 and often, as the proverb says, { to their sorrow,' 
 as by them they are conveyed to places where 
 they suffer greatly from birds, as well as from 
 fishes. They generally make their appearance 
 in August and September. Body/ a strand of 
 Peacock's herl, and one of black Ostrich's herl 
 laid on together ; silk, dark brown ; wing, the 
 lightest part of a Starling's quill ; hackle from 
 a black Cock. 
 
 THE RED ANT. 
 
 This fly is much more generally distributed 
 than the former, and is frequently a very good 
 fly for Trout; and is also much admired by 
 Grayling in the month of September : especially 
 
 27 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 in a clearing water after a slight fresh, or in 
 warm, showery weather. Hook i ; body, Pea- 
 cock's herl ; silk, red ; hackle from a red Cock ; 
 wing, Starling's quill. 
 
 THE PALE BLUE, OR WILLOW FLY. 
 
 This is a capital fly in September, October, 
 and November. It is often called the Willow 
 Fly, perhaps, from its being most numerous 
 when the early frosts are taking off the leaves 
 of the willows, which overhang the water. 
 
 It is a most delicate ephemera, and is equally 
 good for Trout or Grayling. Hook No. i ; 
 wing from the Sea-swallow ; silk, pale straw or 
 brimstone colour; hackle, very light pale-blue 
 hen ; a little Water-rat's fur for dubbing. 
 
 This fly is excellent at Matlock, and also on 
 such parts of the Wye and Dove as are sheltered 
 with wood. 
 
 THE SHAMROCK FLY. 
 
 This is a large gnat, and is excellent in Gray- 
 ling streams, particularly in September, October, 
 and November. Hook i, 2 ; middle dun or 
 blue dun cock's or hen's hackle ; silk, ivy green ; 
 dubbing, a little Hare's face. 
 
 28 
 
HOOKS 
 
 IT may be necessary to say that the hooks 
 mentioned in the foregoing pages are the 
 Kendal ones; numbering from oo to 16 
 the double cypher being the smallest Trout, 
 and No. 16 the largest Salmon hook. A hook 
 exceeding No. 6 is rarely used for Trout flies. 
 
 These hooks, which are excellent in quality 
 and reasonable in price, are made by Mr. Philip 
 Hutchinson, 1 late partner of, and successor to, 
 the famous Adlington, of Kendal ; and I think 
 that they are now made better, and more equal 
 in temper, than I ever remember them to have 
 been. 
 
 Mr. Hutchinson is very obliging in making 
 hooks to order, of any kind which the angler 
 thinks more suitable than the regular sorts for 
 any particular purpose. I had a few hundred 
 bright ones, made by him some years ago, and 
 they answered well for fly-fishing on bright 
 sunny days. Of course the size of hook and 
 fly varies with the water. For instance, if 
 No. 2 is mentioned, an average water is meant. 
 No. 3 would be the same fly for a high, and 
 No. i for a low water. 
 
 [ x Whose successors, Messrs. G. Hutchinson & Co., 
 of 43 Strickland gate, Kendal, worthily sustain the 
 reputation of the house.] 
 
 29 
 
ON FLY-RODS 
 
 A FEW words on rods for fly-fishing. The 
 majority of rods are made, not primarily for 
 fishing, but for portability. When we had only 
 small coaches to squeeze ourselves and our rods 
 into, there was an excuse for this ; but as travel- 
 ling is now chiefly performed by steam, and as 
 a few feet in the length of a parcel is no objec- 
 tion, either upon the roof of a railway carriage, 
 or the deck of a steamer, it is high time that 
 there should be a radical reform in rod-making. 
 Lengths of five or six feet would rid us of at 
 least half the ferrules, diminish the expense, 
 and greatly increase the efficiency of fly-rods. 
 I may be allowed to observe, that I never saw 
 any kind of rod that would open a line half so 
 well, to say nothing of the lightness and comfort, 
 as a neat, handy, home-made rod, in two or 
 three pieces, without ferrules, made of such 
 materials, and in such a way, as some few 
 amateurs whom I have the pleasure of knowing 
 can make them. 
 
 The greater number of fly-rods are also faulty 
 
 in another respect. The spring is continued 
 
 too far down. The object of this is to enable 
 
 a long line to be thrown ; and as the top of the 
 
 30 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 rod is unable to do this, the assistance of the 
 middle is called in, and sometimes a portion of 
 the butt. This is a very ancient as well as a 
 very common error most of the books on 
 Angling recommending that the rod should 
 play down to the hand. 
 
 Generally speaking, a long line is not required 
 in Trout-fishing, except in large rivers, as the 
 Teviot, Tweed, Wharfe, Herefordshire Wye, 
 etc., etc. ; and in cases of this kind, it is much 
 better to have a light two-handed rod of sixteen 
 or seventeen feet, as the character of the fishing 
 is completely changed, and, instead of throwing 
 at points^ the streams are swept by successive 
 throws, advancing a step between each, not 
 unlike mowing on a gigantic scale. In this 
 kind of fishing, comparatively little skill or judg- 
 ment is required. In Boat Fishing, a long rod 
 and short line, and also an extra long shaft for 
 the landing-net, are very advantageous, as with 
 an expert lander the time and trouble of winding 
 and unwinding the line are spared. 
 
 The fly-rod proper should have nearly all its 
 play in the one-third part next the top. This 
 arrangement will be found to be attended by 
 several advantages, ist. The line can be thrown 
 much quicker ; and it is generally desirable to 
 cover a feeding fish as soon as you can. 2nd. 
 It requires less room to turn, amongst wood, or 
 with bushes, or high banks, or rank vegetation 
 behind. 3rd. By the rod not following the 
 line so far, the slack line is got up by the time 
 the flies are well on the water, and the Angler 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 is enabled to show his flies in the quiet part of 
 it, beyond the stream, and to keep them there a 
 little while, without having them dragged away 
 in a forcible and unnatural manner the instant 
 they touch the water, which the natural flies 
 never are. 4th. Fish can be better hooked and 
 managed amongst rocks, piles, or weeds, or kept 
 out of dangerous places. And, lastly, if a rod 
 should unfortunately be broken, it will always 
 be in the thin part, where a pocket-knife and a 
 little waxed thread, with the loss of a few 
 minutes, will make a temporary repair, sufficient 
 to carry on, through the remainder of the day, 
 without material inconvenience. 
 
ON THE WOODS PROPER FOR 
 FLY-RODS 
 
 ALMOST any kind of wood, if not heavy, will 
 make the butt of a fly-rod, but the middle and 
 the top require a brisk wood, in which the 
 qualities of elasticity and toughness are well 
 combined ; it should also be very sound and 
 well seasoned, and the grain must be in the 
 right direction. White hickory is decidedly 
 bad, and even red hickory is better employed 
 as a material for hand-spikes than fly-rods : like 
 ash, it is too pliable for tops, or even for middle 
 pieces. Lancewood, which can be had every- 
 where, makes a middling top, and is easily 
 worked, but it is heavy and dull, especially in 
 damp weather. Bamboo is tough and pretty- 
 looking, but slow, and if severely bent, will 
 never return without help ; Green-heart, which 
 may now be got at any shipbuilding port, is 
 very much better ; but clean and straight-grained 
 logwood is the best of all ; with common care 
 seems almost imperishable ; nor will a fly-fisher 
 who has used logwood for a season or two 
 ever be contented with anything else. Red-deal 
 and white-spruce make very good butts; red 
 and yellow-pine very fair ones ; there is no 
 33 E 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 danger of their breaking with fair play ; indeed, 
 I never remember one breaking, and from their 
 being so much lighter than ash, of which butts 
 are usually made, they may be larger in the 
 handling-part, with less weight. A small butt 
 cramps the ringers in the course of a day's fish- 
 ing. White-pine I cannot recommend, nor 
 beech. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE RODS AT HOME. 
 
 As all anglers are not amateur joiners, it may 
 be well to inform them how they may become 
 possessed of a few good rods at a moderate 
 price. After purchasing a small quantity of the 
 best wood that you can procure, send for a 
 clever joiner (if a young one so much the 
 better), and let him saw up the wood, under 
 your directions, for the length of rods, and the 
 number of pieces they are to consist of ; taking 
 care to have wood enough in them, but at 
 the same time not to cut the middles and 
 tops wastefully. Then order him to splice 
 them with rather long splices, and to see that 
 they are straight. Let every rod in the rough 
 be well glued together, and very firmly bound 
 with sound twine. Put them all in a dry place, 
 and let them remain there a day at least, or 
 until the glue is set. Let your joiner come 
 again, when you can spare time to be with him, 
 and let him bring a plank or thick board, at 
 least the length of your rods, to lay upon his 
 bench. Let him begin at the top, and round 
 34 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 and taper it, dress over the joinings, and form 
 the butt to your fancy. As soon as it begins 
 to look like a rod, handle it, and tell him from 
 time to time where to take off wood, invariably 
 working from the top downwards (as you must 
 always leave wood enough below to carry the 
 top) : when you find it play to your mind, you 
 may order him to take out the plane marks 
 with a file and sand-paper. Tie a few folds of 
 rag round each splice, and pour boiling water 
 quietly over them for a few minutes, and the 
 joints will separate. Any fisherman can put on 
 the rings, and varnish. When finished, you will 
 find it to handle very much the same as it did 
 from the bench : the rings and varnish about 
 compensating for the filing and sand-paper. 
 
 DIMENSIONS OF A FLY-ROD. 
 
 As example is said to be better than precept, 
 I here give the dimensions, etc., of a home- 
 made fly-rod, for brook-fishing or small rivers 
 (about twelve years old), which seems no worse 
 for wear, and comes very near what a small fly- 
 rod should be. 
 
 This rod consists of three pieces : The butt 
 is of yellow-pine, and is five feet long; the 
 middle is of logwood, four feet long ; the top, 
 also of logwood, is three feet three inches and 
 a half. 
 
 The first splice, on the butt, five inches and 
 a quarter; the second, on the middle, two 
 inches and a quarter. Allowing for the loss by 
 35 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 splices, this leaves the rod about twelve feet 
 long. 
 Diameter at the top, yV of an inch. 
 
 Do. 
 
 i foot from the 
 
 top, y 1 ^ do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 2 feet 
 
 do. 
 
 i do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 3 
 
 do. 
 
 and ^ of i do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 4 
 
 do. 
 
 I do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 5 
 
 do. 
 
 \ and T \- do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 6 
 
 do. 
 
 Jandf of|do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 7 
 
 do. 
 
 \ do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 8 
 
 do. 
 
 Jandf of |-do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 9 
 
 do. 
 
 1 do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 10 
 
 do. 
 
 f do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 ii 
 
 do. 
 
 i inch and $ do. 
 
 Thick end of 
 
 butt, i 
 
 inch and J do. 
 
 Weight of the above rod, eight ounces and a 
 half. 
 
 Should you purpose staying a week or more 
 at any fishing station, it is well worth while to 
 glue your spliced rods together, and bind them 
 with fine waxed thread or silk ; they will then 
 handle as if they were all in one piece. For 
 home fishing it is desirable to keep a rod or 
 two, glued, and neatly and firmly bound up, 
 with a little varnish over the joints. 
 
THE ANTIQUITY OF FLY- 
 FISHING 
 
 THE Art of Fishing with the Artificial Fly is 
 of much higher antiquity than is generally 
 imagined ; as will be seen by the following 
 extract from ^Elian, a Greek author, who 
 flourished more than sixteen hundred years 
 ago, and who is quoted by Walton, in his 
 1 COMPLETE ANGLER ' ; though, most probably, 
 he had never read his works, as a passage so 
 interesting could not well have escaped his 
 notice. We are informed by his biographer, 
 that Walton had not the advantage of a learned 
 education, and that he quoted chiefly from the 
 translations of Topsel and others. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM .ELIAN. 
 
 1 1 have been informed of the following 
 method of fishing, practised in the river 
 Astraeus, which flows between Bersea and 
 Thessalonica. The fishes bred here are tinged 
 with many colours, and provide themselves 
 food from the indigenous insects which flutter 
 about the river. 
 
 * Nor are these flies of the same species with 
 37 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 those which are found everywhere; they are 
 unlike Bees, Wasps, and Hornets : they bear, 
 however, some affinity to each of these, for, 
 together with a degree of boldness, which they 
 possess in common with many others, they 
 have the size of the Hornet, the colour of the 
 Wasp, and like the Bee make a humming noise 
 (the inhabitants call them Hippuri). These 
 insects, fluttering about on the surface of the 
 water, are not unnoticed by the fish; for as 
 soon as a fish sees one of these flies come upon 
 the water, he sails to it in the quietest manner, 
 lest the agitation of the water should cause it to 
 change its situation ; and approaching directly 
 to its shadow, like a wolf snatching a sheep 
 from the flock, or an eagle a goose from the 
 flight, so does he with his widely-gaping mouth 
 devour it. 
 
 'Now, although the fishermen are by no 
 means ignorant of this circumstance, they do 
 not make use of these flies to ensnare the fish, 
 for upon being touched with the hand, they 
 immediately lose their natural colour, their 
 wings fall off, and they become unfit for the 
 food of fishes, as they do not value them in the 
 least. They, however, who are eminently 
 skilled in the art of angling, by a certain crafty 
 device and cunning machination overreach 
 these fishes. They wrap the hook round with 
 scarlet wool, and to this they add two wings 
 from the beard or wattles of a cock, and of a 
 yellowish colour : they form these into the 
 figure and shape of the fly : their rod is four 
 
 33 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 cubits long, and their line a similar length : 
 these hidden deceits they cast upon the waters ; 
 the fishes, allured by the colour, eagerly 
 approach, and believing from its fair appear- 
 ance that it is their much-admired food, are 
 transfixed by the hooked bait, and with the loss 
 of their liberty, obtain the vexatious food.' 
 De Animalium Natura, xv. i. 
 
 39 
 
A DAY'S ANGLING IN FRANCE 
 
 VERY early in the year 1821, I was in France, 
 and was obliged to return before the season was 
 advanced ; I arrived at Montreuil in the middle 
 of March ; and, having heard that there was a 
 pretty little river near that place, I determined 
 to explore it. 
 
 Montreuil is a very strongly fortified town, 
 situated upon a lofty hill in the midst of a 
 plain, about twenty miles from Boulogne, and 
 a dozen miles from the sea. The low grounds 
 and marshes surrounding the place can, by 
 opening the sluices at the spring-tides, be all 
 laid under water. 
 
 Owing to the flatness of the land, many 
 ditches are formed, which are, as is usual in 
 such situations, both drains and fences. There 
 had been many wet days in succession these 
 dykes were all streams, and many of them 
 rather considerable ones. 
 
 Passing the barriers, I made my exit from 
 the town by a drawbridge over the river Canche, 
 which fills the ditches of the fortress. I came 
 soon after to several of the drains which I have 
 mentioned, and was quite at a loss to know 
 which was the little river Etrelles. Seeing a 
 40 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 man approaching, I said to him, c Monsieur y 
 auriez-vous la bonte de me montrer la petite 
 riviere d'Etrelles ? ' ' Oh, oui, Monsieur, vous 
 allez par ce moulin-la. Are you not English, 
 sir ? ' * I believe I am/ I replied. ' Oh, then, 
 I can tell you a great deal better in English, 
 for I am an Englishman myself, and I belonged 
 to the Hussars who were quartered here. I 
 married a girl, and when the troops left, I got 
 leave to remain here, and I look after two 
 horses for a gentleman who lives at Montreuil. 
 But with regard to the river, there is little or 
 no fishing near here, and the best is about twa 
 leagues off, near the villages of Wrek and 
 Etrelles. General Vyvian, who commanded 
 the Hussar brigade, was so fond of fly-fishing, 
 that he went almost every day when the troops 
 were not out, and I always attended him. 
 There is an old fisherman who lives at Enxern 
 the General always left his tackle with him 
 through the winter a very honest old fellow/ 
 I gave the old soldier a shilling for his informa- 
 tion, and walked on in the direction he had 
 sent me, but got entangled in a bye-water, 
 which ran about two miles ; and when I got 
 out of this labyrinth it was too late to think of 
 proceeding up the water, the feed at this early 
 part of the season being very short. I saw a 
 man catching Eels ; he told me that there were 
 no Trout in that part of the water, but a good 
 many higher up, in the streams, and a consider- 
 able quantity of Sea-Trout in the autumn, some 
 of them of a very large size. I returned to the 
 41 F 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 Hotel de 1'Europe, a very comfortable and 
 reasonable house, to take up my quarters for 
 the night. 
 
 When I arose in the morning, I found that 
 the frost had been very severe during the night, 
 and the ice was of considerable thickness. 
 Having nothing else to do, I breakfasted, and 
 again ascended the stream of Etrelles, about 
 two leagues, through a very beautiful valley, 
 extremely well wooded. I had a rod, eight feet 
 and a half long, composed of four pieces, and 
 spliced together with slanting joints. The two 
 lower pieces were of lancewood, the upper ones 
 of logwood. Though it was in appearance but 
 a hand-whip, yet it opened well a line of eight 
 yards and a half. This rod I carried in my 
 portmanteau. 
 
 As the morning was so cold, I sauntered 
 along, admiring the little villages and chateaus 
 with which the valley was studded. In one part 
 of my route, observing a sequestered hamlet 
 environed with trees, I made a deviation to 
 explore it; but no sooner had I got into it, 
 than I was surrounded by about a score of curs 
 of various sizes and shapes, who seemed bent 
 on worrying me. I confess I felt rather alarmed, 
 and took refuge in a hovel, where an old couple 
 lived. The old woman had two dun hens of 
 excellent colour, and I asked her if she would 
 allow me to have a few feathers from them. 
 ' Oh, certainement, Monsieur. 7 And strewing 
 a handful of corn on the floor, she had her 
 flock in the house quickly. I gave her 
 42 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 a half franc, with which she was much pleased, 
 and, driving away the host of collies, she 
 escorted me out of danger. My road lay on the 
 side of the hill which skirted the valley, on the 
 left bank of the river, through immense corn- 
 fields, intersected only by hollow roads, which 
 the heavy rains had made to resemble the dry 
 beds of torrents, being strewed with flint-stones, 
 of which the soil is full, and which, from their 
 knotty and knobbed forms, have a striking 
 resemblance to bones blanched in the sun. 
 Many of the peasants were ploughing, and I 
 stood still some time admiring the dexterity of 
 one man who was cleverly managing a team of 
 five horses without a driver. When I came to 
 that part of the river which I intended to fish, 
 the sun was very bright, and the wind easterly 
 and cold. I tried some time, but saw no evi- 
 dence of a fish being in the water. At last my 
 eyes were gladdened by seeing about half a 
 dozen of my old English friends, the Spring 
 Dun and the Blue Dun, sailing down the 
 stream, and two exceeding good Trout rose at 
 them just opposite to me. A bottom of flies, 
 which had been successful in Dovedale, was 
 soon attached, and after soaking it in the lower 
 part of the stream, I prepared for action. The 
 point-fly was a Spring Dun, the first hanger a 
 Ruddy cock's hackle with a little black Ostrich, 
 and the third, what in Derbyshire is called the 
 Turkey-fly, or large March-brown. I threw 
 over the first fish, and in a moment we were 
 together ; and after a famous battle I landed 
 43 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 him. I did the same with the second ; and 
 perceiving other fishes rising above me, I had 
 an hour of very good fishing. 
 
 About a score I lost, as, from the shortness 
 of my rod, I could not hold them up ; and they 
 got down to the gravel, and rubbed the fly out 
 of their noses in spite of me. However, I 
 managed to land seven fish in very good con- 
 dition, and I had scarcely one under a pound. 
 I varied my walk by taking the right bank of 
 the river on my return, and upon the whole 
 enjoyed the day very much. 
 
 44 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 BY ARTHUR SEVERN, JUNIOR 
 
 AND 
 AGNEW RUSKIN SEVERN 
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES 
 
 THE BLUE DUN 
 
 APPEARS about the end of March, and is a 
 good fly all through the season, especially on cold 
 dark days. It is equally useful for lake and 
 stream fishing. 
 
 Body, dubbed with the fur of a water-rat, and 
 ribbed with yellow silk ; legs, dun hen's hackle ; 
 wings from the feather of the Starling's wing ; 
 tail, two strands of a grizzle cock's hackle. Hook, 
 No. 10 ; or 7 or 8 for a lake. 
 
 THE ALDER. 
 
 Also very good both for lake and stream fishing. 
 It comes in May, and will kill fish even when the 
 May-fly is on the water. 
 
 Body, Peacock's herl tied with dark brown silk ; 
 legs, coch-a-bonddu hackle ; wings, the brown 
 speckled feather of a Mallard's back. Hook, 
 No. 8. 
 
 If this fly be dressed on a 6 or 7 hook, and 
 winged with the red rump-feather of a Pheasant, 
 it will be found an excellent lake fly. 
 47 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 THE PHEASANT AND GREEN. 
 
 Good throughout the season, and best on a dark 
 day. The fish will often take it when they refuse 
 others. 
 
 Hook, No. 7 ; silk, apple-green ; wing, from a 
 hen Pheasant's tail ; legs, black. This fly may 
 be used successfully on any of the English lakes. 
 
 THE HARE'S EAR. 
 
 A capital fly for June and August. 
 
 Body, the fur of the Hare's ear ; wings, the 
 feather from a Starling's wing ; tail, two fibres of 
 the brown feather from a Starling's wing. Hook, 
 about No. 10 for streams, but on a lake about 
 No. 7 or 8. 
 
 This fly will often kill fish with a Woodcock's or 
 Pheasant's wing. 
 
 THE SOLDIER PALMER. 
 
 This fly will take almost anywhere. 
 Body, red mohair ribbed with gold twist ; and 
 over all, a red cock's hackle. 
 
 HOFLAND'S FANCY. 
 
 This is a south country fly, which we have used 
 with success after sunset in the Lake District, for 
 both lake and stream fishing. 
 
 Body, a reddish brown silk ; legs, red hackle ; 
 wings, from a Woodcock's tail ; two or three fibres 
 of a red hackle. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 THE RED PALMER 
 
 is a good fly, either for lakes or streams 
 throughout the season. Body, Peacock's herl ; 
 a red cock's hackle over all. Hook, about No. 8. 
 
 MR. PRITT'S FLIES. 
 
 There are also a number of north country 
 Hackle Flies invented by Mr. Pritt. They are 
 used very successfully in the Lake District, in 
 Yorkshire, and in a few other counties. Some of 
 the principal are Dark Snipe and Purple ; Dark 
 Woodcock ; Partridge and Orange ; Night Hawk ; 
 Brown Owl ; and Dark Starling. They can be got 
 from Hutchinson of Kendal, or at any good 
 tackle-shop. 
 
 49 
 
FLY-RODS AND LANDING-NETS 
 
 MR. BEEVER'S model was excellent, no doubt ; 
 but nowadays fly-rods are made more or less with 
 Hickory, Green-heart, or Split-cane ; and the tops 
 are sometimes Lancewood. They are brought to 
 such perfection, with balance-handles, snake-rings, 
 and lock-joints, that it is hardly worth while to go 
 to the trouble and expense of making a rod at 
 home. The number of joints is a matter of taste : 
 more than three are not necessary. As a rule, 
 however, every fisherman has his own pet rod, and 
 will hear of no other. 
 
 A landing-net should be carried, if there is a 
 chance of a big fish. A very good model, which 
 can be used while wading, has a short handle, a 
 pear-shaped ash ring, water-proof net, and a clip 
 which fixes on to the strap of the basket. This 
 net can be brought into action very easily, and is 
 quite as serviceable as more elaborate patterns. 
 
CHAR-FISHING 
 
 No account of fishing in the English Lake 
 District at the present time would be quite com- 
 plete without some mention of Char. A separate 
 description is necessary, because these fish seldom 
 rise to a fly, and, when they are not netted, are 
 usually caught by Trolling, which is differently 
 managed at different times of the year. 
 
 The Plumb-line. Early in the season, that is to 
 say in the end of March and during April and the 
 first weeks of May, the Char are found very deep, 
 in about ninety feet of water. It is necessary then 
 to use the plumb-line, though difficult to manage. 
 
 You have about 40 yards of strong fine line, six- 
 thread, with a pound and a half of lead, pear- 
 shaped, at the end. The plumb has sometimes a 
 wing or fin of tin inserted to prevent its spinning 
 and twisting the line. To this plumb-line you 
 attach at different depths half a dozen gut lines, 
 with 3 or 4 swivels on each ; they should be of 
 salmon gut, as they have occasionally to bear 
 very considerable strain. The lowest gut line is 
 about three yards long ; the highest about five. 
 In this way you will be sure to hit the right depth 
 for the fish. 
 
 The plumb-line is carried by a stout rod, about 
 ten feet long, fixed into the stern of the boat. The 
 country fishermen cut their own rods of ash ; they 
 then tie about three yards of twine to the top, and 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 fix a wire hook at the end of the twine. On the 
 plumb-line proper they make a loop, which they 
 hang on the hook, leaving three or four yards of 
 the proper line in hand, to be wrapped on the 
 winder and laid within reach of the fisherman as 
 he sits rowing, with gentle short strokes, at an 
 easy pace, enough to make the baits spin quietly, 
 but no more. 
 
 When the jerking of the rod tells of a bite, the 
 fisher rows steadily until he is sure the fish is 
 hooked, and then pulls in the line (unhooking it 
 from the rod, if he thinks well, or else leaving it 
 hooked) until he comes to the fish. 
 
 When the fish comes to the top of the water, if 
 it offers a lively resistance, it must not be allowed 
 to get under water again ; but it must be pulled 
 steadily out, and, if large, landed with a net. In 
 Windermere Char are sometimes caught over a 
 pound ; but in Coniston Water they average five 
 to the pound, and do not usually need the landing- 
 net. 
 
 Ordinary Trolling. By the end of May the 
 Char come up to the top of the water, so that 
 during June and July trolling is much simpler. 
 Instead of the complicated plumb-line, you have 
 a cast about four yards long, with swivels on it, at 
 the end of a line of about forty-five yards. This 
 is managed with a rod and wire hook, in the way 
 already described, except that the rods for this 
 kind of trolling are cut thirteen or fourteen feet 
 long ; and three or four rods and lines are used at 
 once, as there is only one cast to each. 
 
 The Char go down a little in July, so that during 
 August you must put some lead, about a J to \ 
 an ounce, on your line, one or two feet above the 
 cast. They come up again in September, and the 
 fishing is as it was in June. But they now begin 
 to go nearer the shore, in shoals, in anticipation 
 52 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 of their spawning-time, which, at Coniston, is 
 in October ; in Windermere it is later. During 
 September, therefore, it is better to leave the deep 
 parts of the lake, and try about 100 yards from 
 the shore, now and then turning in towards the 
 bank ; and as they go in shoals, when one is 
 caught, the same ground should be fished over 
 again. 
 
 Kinds of Char. In the English lakes there are 
 two kinds of Char ; the Red^ most familiarly 
 known, and largest ; with bellies red all through 
 the season, but redder towards spawning-time ; 
 red pectoral fins, and dark backs, looking black or 
 violet in some lights : and the Silver Char, al- 
 together lighter in appearance than the red ; with 
 bellies and pectoral fins inclining to orange ; 
 backs silvery, with a few very pale pink spots. 
 The Silver Char, though smaller, are thought to be 
 more delicately flavoured than the Red. The 
 flesh of both kinds is red. 
 
 Baits. As we said, Char seldom rise to the 
 fly. When you see them playing in shoals on the 
 surface it is very little use fishing for them ; 
 though when one or two here and there rise 
 almost imperceptibly, making a faint ring on the 
 water, they can be caught. 
 
 In the early season they take best the natural 
 minnow on a Chapman or Archer Spinner. For 
 ordinary trolling (without the plumb) it is best to 
 have three lines out, one with a natural minnow, 
 and two with artificial baits of different shapes : 
 you will soon find which is the most successful. 
 
 Country fishermen make their own baits of old 
 carriage-lamp reflectors, or other thin metal ; one 
 side painted with vermilion and the other showing 
 the silver highly polished. The baits are about 
 i inches long with a swivel at the head, a small 
 triangle hook at the tail, and two little fans or fins 
 
 53 
 
PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 
 
 cut out at the sides, turned opposite ways to make 
 them spin. The most useful shapes are those 
 shown in the figure. 
 
 Licence for Trout and Char includes fly-fishing 
 and trolling, and can be got for half-a-crown at 
 any Post-office. 
 
 54 
 
EDINBURGH 
 
 T. &> A. CONSTABLE 
 
 Printers to Her Majesty 
 
 MDCCCXCIII 
 
LIST OF BOOKS 
 
MAY 1893. 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 Gladstone. THE SPEECHES AND PUBLIC ADDRESSES 
 OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. With Notes. 
 Edited by A. W. HUTTON, M.A. (Librarian of the Gladstone 
 Library), and H. J. COHEN, M.A. With Portraits. Svo. Vol. IX. 
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 Messrs. METHUEN beg to announce that they are about to issue, in ten volumes 
 8vo, an authorised collection of Mr. Gladstone's Speeches, the work being under- 
 taken with his sanction and under his superintendence. Notes and Introductions 
 will be added. 
 
 In view of the interest in the Home Rule Question, it is proposed to issue Vols. IX. 
 and X., which will include the speeches of the last seven or eight years, im- 
 mediately, and then to proceed with the earlier volumes. Volume X. is already 
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 Henley & Whibley. A BOOK OF ENGLISH PROSE. 
 
 Collected by W. E. HENLEY and CHARLES WHIBLEY. Crown 
 
 %vo. [October. 
 
 Also small limited editions on Dutch and Japanese paper. 2is. 
 
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 A companion book to Mr. Henley's well-known Lyra Heroica. It is believed that 
 no such collection of splendid prose has ever been brought within the compass of 
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 Oxford. Large crown $>vo. Js. 6d. [May. 
 
 This important book is a historical sketch of O.T. Criticism in the form of biographi- 
 cal studies from the days of Eichhorn to those of Driver and Robertson Smith. 
 It is the only book of its kind in English. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 3 
 
 Prior. CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. Edited by C. H. PRIOR, 
 
 M. A. , Fellow and Tutor of Pembroke College. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 {October. 
 
 A volume of sermons preached before the University of Cambridge by various 
 preachers, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Westcott. 
 
 Collingwood. JOHN KUSKIN : His Life and Work. By 
 W. G. COLLINGWOOD, M.A., late Scholar of University College, 
 Oxford, Author of the 'Art Teaching of John Ruskin,' Editor of 
 Mr. Ruskin's Poems. 2 vols. 8vo. $2s. [Ready. 
 
 Also a limited edition on hand-made paper, with the Illustrations 
 on India paper. 3, 3*. net. {All sold. 
 
 Also a small edition on Japanese paper. $, $s. net. {All sold. 
 
 This important work is written by Mr. Collingwood, who has been for some years 
 Mr. Ruskin's private secretary, and who has had unique advantages in obtaining 
 materials for this book from Mr. Ruskin himself and from his friends. It con- 
 
 biography of Mr. Ruskin. The book contains numerous portraits of Mr. 
 Ruskin, including a coloured one from a water-colour portait by himself, and also 13 
 sketches, never before published, by Mr. Ruskin and Mr. Arthur Severn. A biblio- 
 graphy is added. 
 
 The First Edition having been at once exhausted, a Second is now ready. 
 
 ' No more magnificent volumes have been published for a long time than " The Life 
 and Work of John Ruskin." In binding, paper, printing, and illustrations they will 
 satisfy the most fastidious. They will be prized not only by the band of devotees 
 who look up to Mr. Ruskin as the teacher of the age, but by the many whom no 
 eccentricities can blind to his genius. . . . These volumes cannot be dismissed with- 
 out a word as to the beauty of the Illustrations, which show Mr. Ruskin's extra- 
 ordinary artistic precocity.' Times. 
 
 1 These volumes are valuable alike in their contents and in the care with which they 
 are issued from the press. They contain many drawings some of Mr. Ruskin, 
 and others by him, and altogether they amply illustrate the spiritual life of this 
 great teacher from its beginning to the present period, when, spiritually speaking, 
 it may be said to have reached its close. It is just because there are so many 
 books about Mr. Ruskin that these extra ones are needed. They survey all the 
 others, and supersede most of them, and they give us the great writer as a whole 
 . . . He has given us everything needful a biography, a systematic account of his 
 writings, and a bibliography. . . . This most lovingly written and most profoundly 
 interesting book.' Daily News. 
 
 1 The story of Mr. Ruskin's life and work, as told by Mr. Collingwood in two thick 
 and sumptuous volumes, is one of singular interest. . . . The record is one which is 
 well worth telling ; the more so as Mr. Collingwood knows more about his subject 
 than the rest of the world. . . . His record of this notable life is done with taste and 
 judgment. Mr. Collingwood is an artist whose sympathies are always on the right 
 side. . . . His two volumes are fitted with elaborate indices and tables, which will 
 one day be of immense use to the students of Ruskin's work. ... It is a book 
 which will be very widely and deservedly read.' St. James's Gazette. 
 
4 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 John Beever. PRACTICAL FLY-FISHING. Founded on 
 Nature, by JOHN BEEVER, late of the Thwaite House, Coniston. A 
 New Edition, with a Memoir of the Author by W. G. COLLINGWOOD, 
 M.A., Author of 'The Life and Work of John Ruskin,' etc. Also 
 additional Notes and a chapter on Char-Fishing, by A. and A. R. 
 SEVERN. With a specially designed title-page. Crown Svo. $s. 6d. 
 
 [Ready. 
 
 Also a small edition on large paper. los. 6d. 'net. 
 
 A little book on Fly-Fishing by an old friend of Mr. Ruskin. It has been out of 
 print for some time, and being still much in request, is now issued with a Memoir 
 of the Author by \V. G. Collingwood. 
 
 Hosken. VERSES BY THE WAY. BY J. D. HOSKEN. 
 Printed on laid paper, and bound in buckram, gilt top. $s. 
 Also a small edition on large Dutch hand-made paper. Price 
 I2s. 6d. net* {October. 
 
 A Volume of Lyrics and Sonnets by J. D. Hosken, the Postman Poet, of Helston, 
 Cornwall, whose interesting career is now more or less well known to the literary 
 public. Q, the Author of 'The Splendid Spur,' etc., will write a critical and 
 biographical introduction. 
 
 Oscar Browning. GUELPHS AND GHIBELLINES. A Short 
 History of Mediaeval Italy, A.D. 1250-1409. By OSCAR BROWNING, 
 Fellow and Tutor of King's College, Cambridge. Crown Svo. $s. 
 
 Oliphant. THOMAS CHALMERS : A Biography. By Mrs. 
 OLIPHANT. With Portrait. Crown Svo. Buckram, $s. [Ready. 
 
 A Life of the celebrated Scottish divine from the capable and sympathetic pen of 
 Mrs. Oliphant, which will be welcome to a large circle of readers. It will be 
 issued uniform with Mr. Lock's 'Life of John Keble.' 
 
 Anthony Hope. A CHANGE OF AIR: A Novel. By 
 
 ANTHONY HOPE, Author of ' Mr. Witt's Widow,' etc. i vol. 
 
 Crown Svo. 6s. [Ready. 
 
 A bright story by Mr. Hope, who has, the Athenceum says, 'a decided outlook and 
 
 individuality of his own.' 
 
 Baring Gould. MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. 
 By S. BARING GOULD, Author of 'Mehalah,' 'Old Country Life, ' 
 etc. Crown Svo. 3 vols. 31 s. 6d. [Ready. 
 
 A powerful and characteristic story of Devon life by the author of ' Mehalah. ' 
 
 Benson. DODO : A DETAIL OF THE DAY. By E. F. 
 
 BENSON. Crown Svo. 2 vols. 2is. [Ready. 
 
 A story of society by a new writer, full of interest and power, which will attract 
 considerable notice. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 5 
 
 Parker. MRS. FALCHION. By GILBERT PARKER, Author of 
 
 * Pierre and His People.' 2 vols. Crown 8v0. 2is. [Ready. 
 
 A new story by a writer whose previous work, ' Pierre and his People,' was received 
 with unanimous favour, and placed him at once in the front rank. 
 
 ' There is strength and genius in Mr. Parker's style.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
 4 His style of portraiture is always effectively picturesque, and sometimes finely 
 imaginative the fine art which is only achieved by the combination of perfect 
 vision and beautifully- adequate rendering.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 1 He has the right stuff in him. He has the story-teller's gift. St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Pearce. JACO TRELOAR. By J. H. PEARCE, Author of 
 'Esther Pentreath.' 2 vols. CroivnSvo. 2is. [Ready. 
 
 A tragic story of Cornish life by a writer of remarkable power, whose first novel has 
 been highly praised by Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 Norris. HIS GRACE. By W. E. NORRIS, Author of 
 
 ' Mademoiselle de Mersac,' ' The Rogue,' etc. Third and Cheaper 
 
 Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. [October. 
 
 An edition in one volume of a novel which in its two volume form quickly ran through 
 
 two editions. 
 
 Pryce. TIME AND THE WOMAN. By RICHARD PRYCE, 
 
 Author of * Miss Maxwell's Affections/ ' The Quiet Mrs. Fleming,' 
 
 etc. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown %vo. 6s. [October. 
 
 Mr. Pryce's work recalls the style of Octave Feuillet, by its clearness, conciseness, 
 
 its literary reserve.' Atheneeum. 
 
 Dickenson. A VICAR'S WIFE. By EVELYN DICKENSON. 
 
 Cheap Edition. Crown $vo. 3.?. 6d. [Ready. 
 
 Prowse. THE POISON OF ASPS. By R. ORTON PROWSE. 
 
 Cheap Edition. Crown 8vo. %s. 6d. [Ready. 
 
 Taylor. THE KING'S FAVOURITE. By UNA TAYLOR. 
 
 Cheaper Edition. I vol. Crown %vo. 6s. [Ready. 
 
 A cheap edition of a novel whose style and beauty of thought attracted much attention. 
 
 Baring Gould. THE STORY OF KING OLAF. By S. 
 BARING GOULD, author of 'Mehalah,' etc. Illustrated. Crown 
 
 Sz><?. 6s. [ October. 
 
 A stirring story of Norway, written for boys by the author of ' In the Roar of the Sea.' 
 
 Cuthell. THECHILDREN AND CHING. By Mrs. CUTHELL. 
 Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6s. [October. 
 
 Another story, with a dog hero, by the author of the very popular ' Only a Guard- 
 Room Dog.' 
 
 Blake. TODDLEBEN'S HERO. By M. BLAKE, author of 
 4 The Siege of Norwich Castle.' With over 30 Illustrations. Crown 
 Sv0. 5-r. [October. 
 
 Sv0. 5-r. 
 A story of military life for children. 
 
6 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 NEW TWO-SHILLING EDITIONS 
 
 Crown 8vo, Picture Boards. < 
 
 A DOUBLE KNOT. By G. MANVILLE FENN. 
 
 A REVEREND GENTLEMAN. By J. MACLAREN COBBAN. 
 
 MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By MABEL ROBINSON. 
 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES 
 
 ELECTRICAL SCIENCE. By GEORGE J. BuRCH. With 
 
 numerous Illustrations. $s. 
 
 THE CHEMISTRY OF FIRE. By M. M. PATTISON Mum. 
 2s. 6d. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL BOTANY. By M. C. POTTER. Copiously 
 Illustrated. Crown $vo. 3$. 6d. 
 
 SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TO-DAY 
 
 Crown %vo, 2s. 6d. 
 
 WOMEN'S WORK. By LADY DILKE, Miss BEILLEY, and 
 Miss ABRAHAM. 
 
 BACK TO THE LAND. By HAROLD E. MOORE, F.S.I., 
 Author of ' Hints on Land Improvement , ' Agricultural Co- 
 operation,' etc. 
 
 anti l&ccent 
 Poetry 
 
 Eudyard Kipling. BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS; And 
 
 Other Verses. By RUDYARD KIPLING. Sixth Edition. Crown 
 8v0. 6s. 
 
 A Special Presentation Edition, bound in white buckram, with 
 extra gilt ornament. Js. 6d. 
 
 1 Mr. Kipling's verse is strong, vivid, full of character. . . . Unmistakable genius 
 rings in every line.' Times. 
 
 1 The disreputable lingo of Cockayne is henceforth justified before the world ; for a 
 man of genius has taken it in hand, and has shown, beyond all cavilling, that in 
 its way it also is a medium for literature. You are grateful, and you say to 
 yourself, half in envy and half in admiration : " Here is a book ; here, or one is a 
 Dutchman, is one of the books of the year." ' National Observer. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 7 
 
 '"Barrack-Room Ballads" contains some of the best work that Mr. Kipling has 
 ever done, which is saying a good deal. " Fuzzy-Wuzzy," "Gunga Din," and 
 " Tommy," are, in our opinion, altogether superior to anything of the kind that 
 English literature has hitherto produced.' Atkenceum. 
 
 1 These ballads are as wonderful in their descriptive power as they are vigorous in 
 their dramatic force. There are few ballads in the English language more 
 stirring than "The Ballad of East and West," worthy to stand by the Border 
 ballads of Scott.' Spectator. 
 
 ' The ballads teem with imagination, they palpitate with emotion. We read them 
 with laughter and tears ; the metres throb in our pulses, the cunningly ordered 
 words tingle with life ; and if this be not poetry, what is ? ' Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Henley. LYRA HEROICA : An Anthology selected from the 
 best English Verse of the i6th, I7th, i8th, and iQth Centuries. By 
 WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY, Author of * A Book of Verse,' * Views 
 and Reviews,' etc. Crown Svo. Stamped gilt buckram, gilt top, 
 edges uncut. 6s. 
 
 ' Mr. Henley has brought to the task of selection an instinct alike for poetry and for 
 chivalry which seems to us quite wonderfully, and even unerringly, right.' 
 Guardian. 
 
 Tomson. A SUMMER NIGHT, AND OTHER POEMS. By 
 GRAHAM R. TOMSON. With Frontispiece by A. TOMSON, Fcap. 
 &vo. y. 6d. 
 Also an edition on handmade paper, limited to 50 copies. Large crown 
 
 8vo. los. 6d. net. 
 
 ' Mrs. Tomson holds perhaps the very highest rank among poetesses of English birth. 
 This selection will help her reputation.' Black and White. 
 
 Ibsen. BRAND. A Drama by HENRIK IBSEN. Translated by 
 
 WILLIAM WILSON. Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
 'The greatest world-poem of the nineteenth century next to "Faust." "Brand" 
 will have an astonishing interest for Englishmen. It is in the same set with 
 "Agamemnon," with " Lear," with the literature that we now instinctively regard 
 as high and holy.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 " Q." GREEN BAYS : Verses and Parodies. By " Q.," Author 
 of * Dead Man's Rock ' etc. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 ( The verses display a rare and versatile gift of parody, great command of metre, and 
 a very pretty turn of humour.' Times. 
 
 "A. G." VERSES TO ORDER. By "A. G. Crown Svo, 
 
 cloth extra, gilt top. 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 A small volume of verse by a writer whose initials are well known to Oxford men. 
 ' A capital specimen of light academic poetry. These verses are very bright and 
 engaging, easy and sufficiently witty.' St. James's Gazette. 
 
8 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 Langbridge. A CRACKED FIDDLE. Being Selections from 
 the Poems of FREDERIC LANGBRIDGE. With Portrait. Crown Svo. $s. 
 
 Langbridge. BALLADS OF THE BRAVE : Poems of Chivalry, 
 Enterprise, Courage, and Constancy, from the Earliest Times to the 
 Present Day. Edited, with Notes, by Rev. F. LANGBRIDGE. 
 Crown 8vo. Buckram $s. 6d. School Edition, 2s. 6d. 
 
 1 A very happy conception happily carried out. These "Ballads of the Brave" are 
 intended to suit the real tastes of boys, and will suit the taste of the great majority.' 
 Spectator. ' The book is full of splendid things.' World. 
 
 History and Biography 
 
 Gladstone. THE SPEECHES AND PUBLIC ADDRESSES 
 OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. With Notes 
 and Introductions. Edited by A. W. HUTTON, M.A. (Librarian of 
 the Gladstone Library), and H. T. COHEN, M.A. With Portraits. 
 Svo. Vol. X. I2s. 6d. 
 
 Eussell. THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COLLING- 
 WOOD. By W. CLARK RUSSELL, Author of < The Wreck of the 
 Grosvenor.' With Illustrations by F. BRANGWYN. 8vo. 15*. 
 
 ' A really good book.' Saturday Review. 
 
 1 A most excellent and wholesome book, which we should like to see in the hands of 
 every boy in the country.' St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Clark. THE COLLEGES OF OXFORD : Their History and 
 their Traditions. By Members of the University. Edited by A. 
 CLARK, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln College. Svo. I2.r. 6rf. 
 
 ' Whether the reader approaches the book as a patriotic member of a college, as an 
 antiquary, or as a student of the organic growth of college foundation, it will amply 
 reward his attention. 1 Times. 
 
 1 A delightful book, learned and lively.' Academy. 
 
 4 A work which will certainly be appealed to for many years as the standard book oa 
 the Colleges of Oxford.' Athenccum. 
 
 Hulton. RIXAE OXONIENSES : An Account of the Battles 
 of the Nations, The Struggle between Town and Gown, etc. By 
 S. F. HULTON, M.A. Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 9 
 
 James. CURIOSITIES OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY PRIOR 
 TO THE REFORMATION. By CROAKE JAMES, Author of 
 4 Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.' Crown %vo. *js. 6d. 
 
 Perrens. THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE FROM THE 
 TIME OF THE MEDICIS TO THE FALL OF THE 
 REPUBLIC. By F. T. PERRENS. Translated by HANNAH 
 LYNCH. In three volumes. Vol. I. Svo. i2s. 6d. 
 
 This is a translation from the French of the best history of Florence in existence. 
 This volume covers a period of profound interest political and literary and 
 is written with great vivacity. 
 
 * This is a standard book by an honest and intelligent historian, who has deserved 
 well of his countrymen, and of all who are interested in Italian history.' Man- 
 chester Guardian. 
 
 Kaufmann. CHARLES KINGSLEY. By M. KAUFMANN, 
 
 M.A. Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
 A biography of Kingsley, especially dealing with his achievements in social reform. 
 ' The author has certainly gone about his work with conscientiousness and industry.' 
 Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 
 
 Lock. THE LIFE OF JOHN KEBLE. By WALTER LOCK, 
 M.A., Fellow of Magdalen, Subwarden of Keble, Oxford. With 
 Portrait. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. Buckram^ $s. 
 
 'This modest, but thorough, careful, and appreciative biography goes very far to 
 supply what has been wanted. It is high but well-deserved praise to say that the 
 tone and tenor of the memoir are thoroughly in harmony with the character and 
 disposition of Keble himself. . . . All Churchmen must be indebted to Mr. Lock 
 for this admirable memoir, which enables us to know a good and great churchman 
 better than before ; and the memoir, which to be appreciated must be carefully 
 read, makes one think Mr. Keble a better and greater man than ever.' Guardian. 
 
 Hutton. CARDINAL MANNING : A Biography. By A. W. 
 HUTTON, M.A. With Portrait. Crown 8vo. 6s. Cheap Edition, 
 2s. 6d. 
 
 Wells. THE TEACHING OF HISTORY IN SCHOOLS. A 
 
 Lecture delivered at the University Extension Meeting in Oxford, 
 Aug. 6th, 1892. By J. WELLS, M. A., Fellow and Tutor of Wadham 
 College, and Editor of ' Oxford and Oxford Life.' Crown $vo. 6d. 
 
 Pollard. THE JESUITS IN POLAND. By A. F. POLLARD, 
 B.A. Oxford Prize Essays The Lothian Prize Essay 1892. Crown 
 Svo. 2s. 6d. net. 
 
 Clifford. THE DESCENT OF CHARLOTTE COMPTON 
 
 (BARONESS FERRERS DE CHARTLEY). By her Great-Granddaughter, 
 ISABELLA G. C. CLIFFORD. Small j^to. los. 6d. net. 
 A 2 
 
io MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 General Literature 
 
 Bowden. THE IMITATION OF BUDDHA: Being Quota- 
 tions from Buddhist Literature for each Day in the Year. Compiled 
 by E. M. BOWDEN. With Preface by Sir EDWIN ARNOLD. Second 
 Edition. i6mo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Ditchfield. OUR ENGLISH VILLAGES : Their Story and 
 their Antiquities. By P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.R.H.S., Rector 
 of Barkham, Berks. Post 8vo. 2s. 6d. Illustrated. 
 1 An extremely amusing and interesting little book, which should find a place irt 
 every parochial library.' Guardian. 
 
 Ditchfield. OLD ENGLISH SPORTS. By P. H. DITCH- 
 FIELD, M.A. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. Illustrated. 
 
 * A charming account of old English Sports.' Morning Post. 
 
 Burne. PARSON AND PEASANT: Chapters of their 
 Natural History. By J. B. BURNE, M.A., Rector of Wasing. 
 
 Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
 * " Parson and Peasant " is a book not only to be interested in, but to learn something 
 
 from a book which may prove a help to many a clergyman, and broaden the 
 hearts and ripen the charity of laymen.' Derby Mercury. 
 
 Massee. A MONOGRAPH OF THE MYXOGASTRES. By 
 
 GEORGE MASSEE. With 12 Coloured Plates. Royal %vo. i8s. net. 
 This is the only work in English on this important group. It contains 12 Coloured 
 
 Plates, produced in the finest style of chromo-lithography. 
 ' Supplies a want acutely felt. Its merits are of a high order, and it is one of the 
 
 most important contributions to systematic natural science which have lately 
 
 appeared. ' Westminster Review. 
 ' A work much in advance of any book in the language treating of this group of 
 
 organisms. It is indispensable to every student of the Mxyogastres. The 
 
 coloured plates deserve high praise for their accuracy and execution.' Nature. 
 
 Cunningham. THE PATH TOWARDS KNOWLEDGE: 
 Essays on Questions of the Day. By W. CUNNINGHAM, D.D., 
 Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Professor of Economics at 
 King's College, London. Crown %vo. 45. 6d. 
 Essays on Marriage and Population, Socialism, Money, Education, Positivism, etc. 
 
 PROFIT SHARING AND THE LABOUR QUESTION. 
 By T. W. BUSHILL, a Profit Sharing Employer. With an Introduc- 
 tion by SEDLEY TAYLOR, Author of ' Profit Sharing between Capital 
 and Labour.* Crown &vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST n 
 
 Anderson Graham. NATURE IN BOOKS : Studies in Literary 
 Biography. By P. ANDERSON GRAHAM. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 The chapters are entitled : I. ' The Magic of the Fields ' (Jefferies). II. ' Art and 
 Nature' (Tennyson). III. 'The Doctrine of Idleness' (Thoreau). IV. 'The 
 Romance of Life ' (Scott). V. ' The Poetry of Toil ' (Burns). VI. ' The Divinity 
 of Nature ' (Wordsworth). 
 
 Wells. OXFORD AND OXFORD LIFE. By Members of 
 the University. Edited by J. WELLS, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of 
 Wadham College. Crown Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 This work contains an account of life at Oxford intellectual, social, and religious 
 a careful estimate of necessary expenses, a review of recent changes, a statement 
 of the present position of the University, and chapters on Women's Education, 
 aids to study, and University Extension. 
 
 ' We congratulate Mr. Wells on the production of a readable and intelligent account 
 of Oxford as it is at the present time, written by persons who are, with hardly an 
 exception, possessed of a close acquaintance with the system and life of the 
 University.' A thenaum. 
 
 Driver. SERMONS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. By S. R. DRIVER, D.D., Canon of 
 Christ Church, Regius Professor of Hebrew in the University of 
 Oxford. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 An important volume of sermons on Old Testament Criticism preached before the 
 University by the author of 'An Introduction to the Literature of the Old 
 Testament.' 
 
 * A welcome volume to the author's famous ' Introduction.' No man can read these 
 discourses without feeling that Dr. Driver is fully alive to the deeper teaching of 
 the Old Testament.' Guardian. 
 
 WORKS BY S. Baring Gould. 
 
 Author of ' Mehalah,' etc. 
 
 OLD COUNTRY LIFE. With Sixty-seven Illustrations by 
 W. PARKINSON, F. D. BEDFORD, and F. MASEY. Large Crown 
 Svo, doth super extra, top edge gilt, los. 6d. Fourth and Cheaper 
 Edition. 6s. [Ready. 
 
 ' " Old Country Life," as healthy wholesome reading, full of breezy life and move- 
 ment, full of quaint stories vigorously told, will not be excelled by any book 
 to be published throughout the year. Sound, hearty, and English to the core.' 
 World. 
 
12 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. Third 
 
 Edition, Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 ' A collection of exciting and entertaining chapters. The whole volume is delightful 
 reading. ' Times. 
 
 FREAKS OF FANATICISM. (First published as Historic 
 
 Oddities, Second Series.) Third Edition. Crown Sv0. 6s. 
 ' Mr. Baring Gould has a keen eye for colour and effect, and the subjects he has 
 chosen give ample scope to his descriptive and analytic faculties. A perfectly 
 fascinating book.' Scottish Leader. 
 
 SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional Ballads and Songs of 
 the West of England, with tlieir Traditional Melodies. Collected 
 by S. BARING GOULD, M.A., and H. FLEETWOOD SHEPPARD, 
 M.A. Arranged for Voice and Piano. In 4 Parts (containing 25 
 Songs each), Parts /., //., ///., 3*. each. Part IV., $s. In one 
 Vol., roan, 15.?. 
 
 'A rich and varied collection of humour, pathos, grace, and poetic fancy.' Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Crown $vo. 6s. 
 
 SURVIVALS AND SUPERSTITIONS. With Illustrations. 
 By S. BARING GOULD. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. 
 
 A book on such subjects as Foundations, Gables, Holes, Gallows, Raising the Hat, 
 Old Ballads, etc. etc. It traces in a most interesting manner their origin 
 and history. 
 
 ' We have read Mr. Baring Gould's book from beginning to end. It is full of 
 quaint and various information, and there is not a dull page in it.' Notes and 
 Queries. 
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF THE CAESARS: The 
 
 Emperors of the Julian and Claudian Lines. With numerous Illus- 
 trations from Busts, Gems, Cameos, etc. By S. BARING GOULD, 
 Author of ' Mehalah,' etc. 2 vols. Royal Svo. 30*. 
 
 This book is the only one in English which deals with the personal history of the 
 Caesars, and Mr. Baring Gould has found a subject which, for picturesque detail 
 and sombre interest, is not rivalled by any work of fiction. The volumes are 
 copiously illustrated. 
 
 ' A most splendid and fascinating book on a subject of undying interest. The great 
 feature of the book is the use the author has made of the existing portraits of the 
 Caesars, and the admirable critical subtlety he has exhibited in dealing with this 
 line of research. It is brilliantly written, and the illustrations ore supplied on a 
 scale of profuse magnificence.' Daily Chronicle. 
 
 * The volumes will in no sense disappoint the general reader. Indeed, in their way, 
 there is nothing in any sense so good in English. . . Mr. Baring Gould has 
 most diligently read his authorities and presented his narrative in such a way as 
 not to make one dull page.' Athenceum. 
 

 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 13 
 
 JACQUETTA, and other Stories. Crown ST//I. 3.?. 6<t. 
 
 ARM I NELL : A Social Romance. New Edition. Crown Svo. 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 'To say that a book is by the author of " Mehalah" is to imply that it contains a 
 story cast on strong lines, containing dramatic possibilities, vivid and sympathetic 
 descriptions of Nature, and a wealth of ingenious imagery. All these expecta- 
 tions are justified by " Arminell." ' Speaker. 
 
 URITH: A Story of Dartmoor. Third Edition. CrownZvo. 3s.6d. 
 
 ' The author is at his best.' Times. 
 
 ' He has nearly reached the high water-mark of " Mehalah." 'National Observer. 
 
 MARGERY OF QUETHER, and other Stories. Crown %vo. 
 35. 6d. 
 
 IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA : A Tale of the Cornish Coast. 
 
 New Edition. 6s. 
 
 Fiction 
 
 Author of ' Indian Idylls.' IN TENT AND BUNGALOW: 
 
 Stories of Indian Sport and Society. By the Author of * Indian 
 Idylls.' Crown Svo. $s. 6d. 
 
 Fenn. A DOUBLE KNOT. By G. MANVILLE FENN, Author 
 of * The Vicar's People,' etc. Crown &vo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 Pryce. THE QUIET MRS. FLEMING. By RICHARD PRYCE, 
 
 Author of 'Miss Maxwell's Affections,' etc. Crown Svo. $s. 6d. 
 Picture Boards^ 2s. 
 
 Pryce. TIME AND THE WOMAN. By RICHARD PRYCE, 
 
 Author of * Miss Maxwell's Affections,' 'The Quiet Mrs. Fleming,' 
 etc. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Mr. Pryce's work recalls the style of Octave Feuillet, by its clearness, conciseness, 
 its literary reserve. Athenteum. 
 
 Gray. ELSA. A Novel. ByE. M'QUEEN GRAY. CrownKvo. 6s. 
 
 ' A charming novel. The characters are not only powerful sketches, but minutely 
 and carefully finished portraits.' Guardian. 
 
 Gray. MY STEWARDSHIP. By E. M'QUEEN GRAY. 
 
 Crown Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 
14 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 Cobban. A REVEREND GENTLEMAN. By J. MACLAREN 
 
 COBBAN, Author of ' Master of his Fate/ etc. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 Picture boards, 2s. 
 
 ' The best work Mr. Cobban has yet achieved. The Rev. W. Merrydew is a brilliant 
 
 creation.' National Observer. 
 'One of the subtlest studies of character outside Meredith.' Star. 
 
 Lyall. DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST. By EDNA 
 LYALL, Author of 'Donovan.' Crown 8vo. 31^ Thousand. 
 3*. 6d. ; paper, is. 
 
 Lynn Linton. THE TRUE HISTORY OF JOSHUA DAVID- 
 SON, Christian and Communist. By E. LYNN LINTON. Eleventh 
 and Cheaper Edition. Post 8vo. is. 
 
 Grey. THE STORY OF CHRIS. By ROWLAND GREY, 
 
 Author of ' Lindenblumen,' etc. Crown 8vo. $s. 
 
 Dicker. A CAVALIER'S LADYE. By CONSTANCE DICKER. 
 
 With Illustrations. Crown Svo. $s. 6d. 
 
 Author of 'Vera.' THE DANCE OF THE HOURS. By 
 
 the Author of ' Vera,' ' Blue Roses,' etc. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 'A musician's dream, pathetically broken off at the hour of its realisation, is vividly 
 represented in this book. . . . Well written and possessing many elements of 
 interest. The success of " The Dance of the Hours" may be safely predicted.' 
 Morning Post. 
 
 Norris. A Deplorable Affair. By W. E. NORRIS, Author of 
 
 ' His Grace. ' Crown 8vo. $s. 6d. 
 
 'What with its interesting story, its graceful manner, and its perpetual good 
 humour, the book is as enjoyable as any that has come from its author's pen.' 
 Scotsman. 
 
 Dickinson. A VICAR'S WIFE. By EVELYN DICKINSON. 
 
 Crown &vo. 35. 6d. 
 
 Prowse. THE POISON OF ASPS. By R. ORTON PROWSE. 
 
 Crown 8v0. 35. 6d. 
 
 Parker. PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. By GILBERT 
 
 PARKER. Crown %vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 * Stories happily conceived and finely executed. There is strength and genius in Mr. 
 Parker's style.' Daily Telegraph. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 15 
 
 Marriott Watson. DIOGENES OF LONDON and other 
 Sketches. By H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON, Author of 'The Web 
 of the Spider.' Crown %vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 'Mr. Watson's merits are unmistakable and irresistible. 1 Star. 
 
 ' A clever book and an interesting one.' St. James's Gazette. 
 
 Clark Russell. MY DANISH SWEETHEART. By W.CLARK 
 
 RUSSELL, Author of ' The Wreck of the Grosvenor,' * A Marriage at 
 Sea, 'etc. With 6 Illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. Crown^vo. 6s. 
 ' The book is one of the author's best and breeziest.' Scotsman. 
 
 Bliss. A MODERN ROMANCE. By LAURENCE BLISS. 
 
 Crown $vo. Biickram. 3^. 6d. Paper. 2s. 6d. 
 f Shows much promise. . . . Excellent of dialogue.' Athencenm. 
 
 Novel Series 
 
 3/6 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN will issue from time to time a Series 
 of copyright Novels, by well-known Authors, handsomely 
 bound, at the above popular price of three shillings and six- 
 pence. The first volumes (ready) are : 
 
 1. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 
 2. JACQUETTA. By S. BARING GOULD, Author of * Mehalah,' 
 
 etc. 
 
 3. MY LAND OF BEULAH. By Mrs. LEITH ADAMS (Mrs. 
 
 De Courcy Laffan). 
 
 4. ELI'S CHILDREN. By G. MANVILLE FENN. 
 
 5. ARMINELL : A Social Romance. By S. BARING GOULD, 
 
 Author of * Mehalah,' etc. 
 
 6. DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST. With Portrait of 
 
 Author. By EDNA LYALL, Author of 'Donovan,' etc. Also 
 paper, is. 
 
 7. DISENCHANTMENT. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 
 8. DISARMED. By M. BETHAM EDWARDS. 
 
 9. JACK'S FATHER. By W. E. NORRIS. 
 
 10. MARGERY OF QUETHER. By S. BARING GOULD. 
 IT. A LOST ILLUSION. By LESLIE KEITH. 
 
16 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 12. A MARRIAGE AT SEA. By W. CLARK RUSSELL. 
 
 13. MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 
 14. URITH. By S. BARING GOULD. 
 
 15. HOVENDEN, V.C. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 
 Other Volumes will be announced in due course. 
 
 NEW TWO-SHILLING EDITIONS - 
 
 Crown 8vo, Ornamental Boards. ^ 
 
 ARMINELL. By the Author of * Mehalah.' 
 ELI'S CHILDREN. By G. MANVILLE FENN. 
 DISENCHANTMENT. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. 
 JACQUETTA. By the Author of < Mehalah.' 
 
 Picture Boards. 
 
 THE QUIET MRS. FLEMING. By RICHARD PRYCE. 
 JACK'S FATHER. By W. E. NORRIS. 
 MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By MABEL ROBINSON. 
 A REVEREND GENTLEMEN. By J. MACLAREN COBBAN. 
 
 Books for Boys and Girls 
 
 Cuthell. ONLY A GUARD-ROOM DOG. By Mrs. CUTHELL. 
 With 1 6 Illustrations by W. PARKINSON. Square Crown Sv0. 6s. 
 
 1 This is a charming story. Tangle was but a little mongrel Sky terrier, but he had a 
 big heart in his little body, and played a hero's part more than once. The book 
 can be warmly recommended.' Standard. 
 
 CoUingwood. THE DOCTOR OF THE JULIET. By HARRY 
 COLLINGWOOD, Author of 'The Pirate Island/ etc. Illustrated by 
 GORDON BROWNE. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 1 "The Doctor of the Juliet," well illustrated by Gordon Browne, is one of Harry 
 Colling wood's best efforts.' Morning Post. 
 
MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 17 
 
 Walford. A PINCH OF EXPERIENCE. By L. B. WAL- 
 FORD, Author of * Mr. Smith.' With Illustrations by GORDON 
 BROWNE. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 f The clever authoress steers clear of namby-pamby, and invests her moral with a 
 fresh and striking dress. There is terseness and vivacity of style, and the illustra- 
 tions are admhable.' Anti-Jacobin. 
 
 Moleswortli. THE RED GRANGE. By Mrs. MOLESWORTH, 
 Author of ' Carrots. ' With Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 
 Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 'A volume in which girls will delight, and beautifully illustrated.' Pall Mall 
 Gazette. 
 
 Clark Russell. MASTER ROCKAFELLAR'S VOYAGE. By 
 W. CLARK RUSSELL, Author of ' The Wreck of the Grosvenor,' etc. 
 Illustrated by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo. 3^. 6</. 
 
 'Mr. Clark Russell's story of "Master Rockafellar's Voyage" will be among the 
 favourites of the Christmas books. There is a rattle and " go" all through it, and 
 its illustrations are charming in themselves, and very much above the average in 
 the way in which they are produced.' Guardian. 
 
 Author of * Mdle. Mori. 3 THE SECRET OF MADAME DE 
 
 Monluc. By the Author of 'The Atelier du Lys,' ' Mdle. Mori/ 
 Crown 8vo. $s. 
 ' An exquisite literary cameo.' World. 
 
 Manville Fenn. SYD BELTON : Or, The Boy who would not 
 go to Sea. By G. MANVILLE FENN, Author of * In the King's 
 Name,' etc. Illustrated by GORDON BROWNE. Crown Kvo. -$s. 6d. 
 
 * Who among the young story-reading public will not rejoice at the sight of the old 
 combination, so often proved admirable a story by Manville Fenn, illustrated 
 by Gordon Browne ? The story, too, is one of the good old sort, full of life and 
 vigour, breeziness and fun.' Joiwnal of Education. 
 
 Parr. DUMPS. By Mrs. PARR, Author of ' Adam and Eve,' 
 ' Dorothy Fox,' etc. Illustrated by W. PARKINSON. Crown Svo. 
 35. 6d. 
 
 ' One of the prettiest stories which even this clever writer has given the world for a 
 long time.' World. 
 
 Meade. OUT OF THE FASHION. By L. T. MEADE, Author 
 of 'A Girl of the People,' etc. With 6 Illustrations by W. PAGET. 
 Crown Sv0. 6s. 
 
 'One of those charmingly- written social tales, which this writer knows so well how to 
 write. It is delightful reading, and is well illustrated by W. Paget.' Glasgow 
 Herald. 
 
1 8 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 Meade. A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE. By L. T. MEADE, 
 Author of * Scamp and I, 'etc. Illustrated by R. BARNES. Crown 
 8v0. %s. 6d. 
 
 'An excellent story. Vivid portraiture of character, and broad and wholesome 
 lessons about life.' Spectator. 
 
 'One of Mrs. Meade's most fascinating books.' Daily News. 
 
 Meade. HEPSY GIPSY. By L. T. MEADE. Illustrated by 
 
 EVERARD HOPKINS. CrOWIl %VO, 2.S. 6d. 
 'Mrs. Meade has not often done better work than this.' Spectator. 
 
 Meade. THE HONOURABLE MISS : A Tale of a Country 
 Town. By L. T. MEADE, Author of ' Scamp and I,' A Girl of the 
 People,' etc. With Illustrations by EVERARD HOPKINS. Crown 
 Svo t 2 s ' ^d. 
 
 Adams. MY LAND OF BEULAH. By MRS. LEITH ADAMS. 
 With a Frontispiece by GORDON BROWNE. Crown 8vo, $s. 6d. 
 
 Leaders of Religion 
 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M. A. With Portrait, crown Svo, 2s. 6d. 
 
 A series of short biographies, free from party bias, of the 
 most prominent leaders of religious life and thought. 
 The following are ready 
 
 CARDINAL NEWMAN. By R. H. HUTTON. 
 
 2/6 
 
 ' Few who read this book will fail to be struck by the wonderful insight it displays 
 into the nature of the Cardinal's genius and the spirit of his life.' WILFRID 
 WARD, in the Tablet. 
 
 'Full of knowledge, excellent in method, and intelligent in criticism. We regard it 
 as wholly admirable.' Academy. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY. By J. H. OVERTON, M.A. 
 
 ' It is well done : the story is clearly told, proportion is duly observed, and there is 
 no lack either of discrimination or of sympathy.' Manchester Guardian. 
 
 BISHOP WILBERFORCE. By G. W. DANIEL, M.A. 
 CHARLES SIMEON. By H. C. G. MOULE, M.A. 
 CARDINAL MANNING. By A. W. HUTTON, M.A. 
 Other volumes will be announced in due course. 
 
2J6 
 
 MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 19 
 
 University Extension Series 
 
 A series of books on historical, literary, and scientific subjects, suitable 
 for extension students and home reading circles. Each volume will be 
 complete in itself, and the subjects will be treated by competent writers 
 in a broad and philosophic spirit. 
 
 Edited byj. E. SYMES, M.A., 
 Principal of University College, Nottingham. 
 
 Crown 8v0. 2s. 6d. 
 The following volumes are ready : 
 THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By H. DE 
 B. GIBBINS, M.A., late Scholar of Wadham College, Oxon., Cobden 
 Prizeman. Second Edition. With Maps and Plans. [Ready. 
 
 A compact and clear story of our industrial development. A study of this concise 
 but luminous book cannot fail to give the reader a clear insight into the principal 
 phenomena of our industrial history. The editor and publishers are to be congra- 
 tulated on this first volume of their venture, and we shall look with expectant 
 interest for the succeeding volumes of the series.' University Extension Journal. 
 
 A HISTORY OF ENGLISH POLITICAL ECONOMY. By 
 L. L. PRICE, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxon. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF POVERTY : An Inquiry into the Industrial 
 Conditions of the Poor. By J. A. HOBSON, M.A. 
 
 VICTORIAN POETS. By A. SHARP. 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. By J. E. SYMES, M.A. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY. By F. S. GRANGER, M.A., Lecturer in Philo- 
 sophy at University College, Nottingham. 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF PLANT LIFE: Lower Forms. By 
 G. MASSEE, Kew Gardens. With Illustrations. 
 
 AIR AND WATER. Professor V. B. LEWES, M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE AND HEALTH. By C. W. 
 KIMMINS, M.A. Camb. Illustrated. 
 
 THE MECHANICS OF DAILY LIFE. By V. P. SELLS, M.A. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 ENGLISH SOCIAL REFORMERS. H. DE B. GIBBINS, M.A. 
 
 ENGLISH TRADE AND FINANCE IN THE SEVEN- 
 TEENTH CENTURY. By W. A. S. HEWINS, B.A. 
 
2o MESSRS. METHUEN'S LIST 
 
 Social Questions of To-day 
 
 2/6 
 
 Edited by H. DE B. GIBBINS, M.A. 
 Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 A series of volumes upon those topics of social, economic, 
 and industrial interest that are at the present moment fore- 
 most in the public mind. Each volume of the series will be written 
 by an author who is an acknowledged authority upon the subject 
 with which he deals. 
 
 The following Volumes of the Series are ready : 
 
 TRADE UNIONISM NEW AND OLD. By G. HOWELL, 
 M.P., Author of * The Conflicts of Capital and Labour.' 
 
 THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT TO-DAY. By G. J. 
 HOLYOAKE, Author of * The History of Co-operation.' 
 
 MUTUAL THRIFT. By Rev. J. FROME WILKINSON, M.A., 
 Author of * The Friendly Society Movement. ' 
 
 PROBLEMS OF POVERTY : An Inquiry into the Industrial 
 Conditions of the Poor. By J. A. HOBSON, M.A. 
 
 THE COMMERCE OF NATIONS. By C. F. BASTABLE, 
 M.A., Professor of Economics at Trinity College, Dublin. 
 
 THE ALIEN INVASION. By W. H. WILKINS, B.A., Secretary 
 to the Society for Preventing the Immigration of Destitute Aliens. 
 
 THE RURAL EXODUS. By P. ANDERSON GRAHAM. 
 LAND NATIONALIZATION. By HAROLD Cox, B.A. 
 
 A SHORTER WORKING DAY. By H. DE B. GIBBINS 
 and R. A. HADFIELD, of the Ilecla Works, Sheffield. 
 
 BACK TO THE LAND, being an inquiry as to the possible 
 conditions under which those now unemployed can be provided with 
 rural work, with practical suggestions as to the means by which a 
 larger number of persons than at present can be maintained from the 
 land. By HAROLD E. MOORE, F.S.I., Author of * Hints on Land 
 Improvements.'