With frequent leap they range the shallow ftreams,
Their filver coats reflect the dazzling beams.
Now let the fisherman his toils prepare,
And arm himfelf with every watery fnare;
His hooks, his lines, perufe with careful eye,
Encrease his tackle, and his rod re-tye.
When floating clouds their fpongy fleeces drain, 135
Troubling the ftreams with swift defcending rain;
And waters, tumbling down the mountain's fide,
Bear the loofe foil into the fwelling tide;
Then, foon as vernal gales begin to rife,
And drive the liquid burthen through the skies,
The fisher to the neighbouring current speeds,
Whofe rapid furface purls unknown to weeds:
Upon a rifing border of the brook
He fits him down, and ties the treacherous hook;
Now expectation chears his eager thought,
His bofom glows with treafures yet uncaught,
Before his eyes a banquet feems to stand,
Where every gueft applauds his skilful hand.
Far up the ftream the twifted hair he throws, Which down the murmuring current gently flows; 150 When, if or chance or hunger's powerful fway
Directs the roving trout this fatal way,
He greedily fucks-in the twining bait,
And tugs and nibbles the fallacious meat :
Now, happy fisherman, now twitch the line!
How thy rod bends! behold, the prize is thine!
Caft on the bank, he dies with gasping pains,
And trickling blood his filver mail diftains.
You must not every worm promifcuous use;
Judgement will tell the proper bait to chufe:
The worm that draws a long immoderate fize
The trout abhors, and the rank morfel flies;
And, if too small, the naked fraud 's in fight,-
And fear forbids, while hunger does invite.
Thofe baits will beft reward the fifher's pains,
Whofe polifh'd tails a fhining yellow stains:
Cleanfe them from filth, to give a tempting glofs,-
Cherish the fully'd reptile race with mofs;
Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil,
And from their bodies wipe their native foil.
But, when the fun difplays his glorious beams,
And fhallow rivers flow with filver ftreams,
Then the deceit the fcaly breed furvey,
Bafk in the fun, and look into the day:
You now a more delufive art must try,
And tempt their hunger with the curious fly..
To frame the little animal, provide
All the gay hues that wait on female pride :
Let nature guide thee; fometimes golden wire
The fhining bellies of the fly require;
The peacock's plumes thy tackle must not fail,
Nor the dear purchase of the fable's tail.
Each gaudy bird fome flender tribute brings,
And lends the growing infect proper wings :
Silks of all colours muft their aid impart,
And every fur promote the fisher's art.
So the gay lady, with expenfive care,
Lorrows the pride of land, of fea, and air;
B 4
Furs, pearls, and plumes, the glittering thing difplays,
Dazzles our eyes, and eafy hearts betrays.
Mark well the various feafons of the year,
How the fucceeding infect race appear;
In this revolving moon one colour reigns,
Which in the next the fickle trout difdains.
Oft' have I feen a skilful angler try
The various colours of the treacherous fly;
When he with fruitlefs pain hath skimm'd the brook,
And the coy fish rejects the skipping hook,
He shakes the boughs that on the margin grow,
Which o'er the ftream a waving foreft throw;
When if an infect fall (his certain guide),
He gently takes him from the whirling tide;
Examines well his form with curious eyes,
His gaudy veft, his wings, his horns, and fize;
Then round his hook the chofen fur he winds,
And on the back a fpeckled feather binds,
So just the colours fhine through every part,
That Nature feems again to live in Art.
Let not thy wary step advance too near,
While all thy hope hangs on a fingle hair;
The new-form'd infect on the water moves,
The fpeckled trout the curious fnare approves ;
Upon the curling furface let it glide,
With natural motion from thy hand supply'd,
Against the stream now gently let it play,
Now in the rapid eddy roll away.
The fcaly fhoals float by, and, feiz'd with fear,
Behold their fellows toft in thinner air;
But foon they leap, and catch the fwimming bait,
Plunge on the hook, and fhare an equal fate.
When a brisk gale against the current blows,
And all the watery plain in wrinkles flows,
Then let the fisherman his art repeat,
Where bubbling eddies favour the deceit.
If an enormous falmon chance to fpy
The wanton errors of the floating fly,
He lifts his filver gills above the flood,
And greedily fucks-in th' unfaithful food;
Then downward plunges with the fraudful prey,
And bears with joy the little spoil away :
Soon in fmart pain he feels the dire mistake,
Lashes the wave, and beats the foamy lake;
With fudden rage he now aloft appears,
And in his eye convulfive anguish bears;
And now again, impatient of the wound,
He rolls and wreathes his fhining body round;
Then headlong shoots beneath the dashing tide,
The trembling fins the boiling wave divide.
Now hope exalts the fisher's beating heart,
Now he turns pale, and fears his dubious art;
He views the tumbling fish with longing eyes,
While the line ftretches with th' unwieldy prize;
Each motion humours with his fteady hands,
And one flight hair the mighty bulk commands:
Till, tir'd at last, defpoil'd of all his ftrength,
game athwart the stream unfolds his length.
with pleasure, views the gafping prize
Gnash his sharp teeth, and roll his blood-shot eyes;
Then draws him to the shore, with artful care,
And lifts his noftrils in the fickening air :
Upon the burthen'd stream he floating lies,
Stretches his quivering fins, and gafping dies.
Would you preferve a numerous finny race?
Let your fierce dogs the ravenous otter chace
(Th' amphibious monfter ranges all the fhores,
Darts through the waves, and every haunt explores) : Or let the gin his roving steps betray,
And fave from hoftile jaws the fcaly prey.
I never wander where the bordering reeds
O'erlook the muddy ftream, whofe tangling weeds 260
Perplex the fisher; I nor chufe to bear
The thievifh nightly net, nor barbed fpear;
Nor drain I ponds, the golden carp to take,
Nor trowle for pikes, difpeoplers of the lake;
Around the ftecl no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living infect ftain my line.
Let me, lefs cruel, caft the feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin ftray,
And with the fur-wrought fly delude the prey.
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