Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-08-13
The Morals Of Fishing.


to know his opinion of the morality OF fishing
The conclusion of his reply is so beautiful that VIC
forget the treason of the writer in admiration Of
his pictures. Mr.. Beecher says
"But aside from the pleasure which arises in
connection with seeking or taking ones prey, We
suspect that the collateral enjoyments amount Of
| ten, to greater sum than all the rest The early
rising, the freshness of those morning hours pre-
ceeding the sum- which few anti-piscatory critics
know anything about; that wonderous early morn
ing singing of birds, compared to which all after
day songs are mere CALCULATIONS for such is the
tumult and superabundance of sweet noise after
four O'Clock in summer, that one would think that
| III every dew-drop were a musical note, and that
the birds had drank them all. they could not have
been more multitudinous or delicious Then, there
| IS that Incompatible sense of freedom which one
has in remote fields, in forests, and along the
| streams. His heart, trained in life to play with
jets, like artificial fountain seems, as he wanders
along the streams, to resume its own liberty, and
like meadow brook, to wind and turn, amid
flowers and fringing shrubs, at its own unmolested
| pleasure.
Care and trouble in ordinary life, and especially
IN cities, disturb the fountains Of feeling as rub
bish fallen into the fountains of ruined cities in the
east chokes them, or splits and scatters their
streams through all secret channels.
One who believes God to have made the world,
and to have expressed his own tastes and thoughts
in the making, cannot express what feelings those
which speak music through his heart A little
plant growing in silent simplicity in some covert
spot or looking down upon him from out of a rift,
some rock uplitted high above his reach or climb
ing-what has it said to him, that he stops and
gazes as if he saw more than material forms p
What is that rush of feeling in his heart and that
strange opening up of thoughts, as if revelation
had been made to him? Who that has literal
eye, could see anything but solitary flower cast
ing linear shadow on the side of the gray rock
shadow that loves to quiyer, and nod, and dance,
to every step which the wind blown flower takes!
But this floral preacher up in that pulpit has
preached tears into my eyes, and told me more
than was ever able to tell again.
Indeed, in many and many tramp, the best
sporting done on my back. Flat under a tree
we lay, vast Brobdignag upon whom grasshOp
pers mounted and glossy crickets crept, harmless
with evident speculation Of what such phenOme-
non could pOrtend Along the streams creep as
piring ants searching with fiery zeal for one can
even tell what. The blue jay is in the tree above
you. The woodpecker screws round and round the
trunk, hammering at every place like auscult
doctor sounding patients lungs. Little birds fly
in and out gibbering to each other in sweet little
detached sentences, cohfdentially talking over
their family secrets, md expressing those delicate
sentiments which one never speaks above whisper.
in twilight When you rise, the birds iutter and
fly, and clouds of insects fly off from you like
sparks from fire when log rolls over. The
brook that gurged past the tree, feeding its roots
and taking its pay in summer shadows, varied eve
ry hour, receives portion of out jumping fry
Far off their coming shines. For before it had
even touched the water, that bold trout sprung
sparkling from the surface and sunk as soon, leav-
ing only few bubbles to float down. There, if
that trout has a right to his grasshOpper, have
not right to the trout I'll have him After
several throws find that it takes two to make a
bargain.
At length one must 90 home never turn from
the silence of the underbrush, or the solitude of
tue utluS, Ut luc VI Tue iOTcSIJ HltuOuI
certain sadness as if l were going away from
friends.
But to return to our correspondent will be be
pleased to say to all disputants who quote our ex-
ample, that we nerer fish except with a remote
culinary inspiration; that We never catch more |
than viii supply the reasonable wants of the family,
and that too often unfortunately, we stop short of
that. Inform them, if you please, that our skill |
in fishing is principally displayed upon paper and !
that our excursions usually turn out to be little |
fishing, good deal of wandering dreamily about,
yet more Of lying under trees, of being perehed
up in some notch of rock, or lying on the edge |
of ravines and trumpeting water falls. And, final
ly, that we gutless of shooting, and seldom
feel an impulse to explode powder, except when |
see respectable city stupidities killing singing
birds We sometimes feel an inclination then, to |
shoot the unmannery fowler. No gentleman /
would shoot singing bird And lastly, if our cor
respondents friends arH in spite Of his excellent
discussions, still go fishing only wish is that
after two seasons of fishing they may do what we
have not,-catch so many fish as would if sold at
a fair price pay the expense of their tackle. Pres
WItuess.