Underling

“ There you must make the old man promise to listen in silence to all that you saw as you journeyed through the forest.'
'Only come, and you shall do all that you wish!' cried the fisherman, and he stretched out his arms and nodded his head, to show to the maiden how glad he was that she should do as she wished. But the knight shuddered as his eyes fell upon the fisherman. The nodding head, the white hair reminded him once again of the tall white man of the forest.
Shaking off his fears he lifted Undine in his arms and bore her across the stream. ”

“ But the fisherman looked at her with a smile. "What strange creatures we are," quoth he. "Even were it so, things would not be very different–at least not for thee, dear wife–than they are now. For many years past hast thou ever been further than the edge of the forest? And hast thou seen any human beings other than Undine and myself? The knight and this holy man are but recent visitors; and they will stay with us even if this become a forgotten island. ”

“ The quiet stroll by the stream or river bank, the constant communing with nature, the watching of bird and insect life, appeal with irresistible force and power to the angler. As the short winter days draw out, and [2] spring begins to assert her revivifying powers, the longing, intense as ever, comes over us, and we yearn for the river side. And the lessons that we learn from our love for it are not without value; patience and self-control come naturally to those who have the real angling instinct. ”

“ Many a fisherman has been so fortunate as to catch a view of a delicate maiden of the waters, while she was floating and singing upon the deep. He would then spread far the fame of her beauty; and to such wonderful females men are wont to give the name of Undines. But what need of saying more?—You, my dear husband, now actually behold an Undine before you.”
The knight would have persuaded himself that his lovely wife was under the influence of one of her odd whims, and that she was only amusing herself and him with her extravagant inventions. ”

“ The idea that Undine had been only a mere apparition of the forest, again gained ascendancy over him; indeed, amid the howling of the waves and the tempest, the cracking of the trees, and the complete transformation of a scene lately so calmly beautiful, he could almost have considered the whole peninsula with its cottage and its inhabitants as a mocking illusive vision; but from afar he still ever heard through the tumult the fisherman's anxious call for Undine, and the loud praying and singing of his aged wife. ”

“ There the merry little water-spirits play their games and gambol all the glad long days, until they leave their childhood far behind. [51]
'Pure and fair, more fair even than the race of mortals are the spirits of the water. Fishermen have chanced to see these water-nymphs or mermaidens, and they have spoken of their wondrous beauty. Mortals too have named these strange women Undines. Look upon me, Huldbrand, look long and well, for I, your wife, am an Undine!'
The knight gazed sadly upon his beautiful wife. ”

“ When at times his horse might chance to neigh to remind him of knightly deeds, or the coat of arms on his saddle and horsegear confront him with a frown, or his sword of a sudden fall from its nail on the wall, slipping from its scabbard as it fell: he would stay his uneasiness by murmuring to himself "Undine, certès, is no fisherman's daughter: she is sprung more likely from a princely house in some foreign land." But one matter irked him sore. It was when the old dame scolded Undine in his presence. ”

“ Embroidery of Thread upon Linen; design, in raised stitchery, the hunting of the unicorn. German, late 14th century. 261⁄2 inches by 131⁄2 inches.
This fine piece of needlework shows us a forest where a groom is holding three horses, on two of which the high-peaked saddles are well given; running towards him are two hunting dogs, collared. In the midst of the wood sits a virgin with her long hair falling down her back, and on her lap an unicorn is resting his fore-feet; behind this group is coming a man with a stick upon his shoulder, from which hangs, by its coupled hind-legs, a dead hare. ”

“ The Angling with a Menow, called in some places Pencks for a Trout, is a pleasant sport, and killeth the greatest Fish; he commeth boldly to the Bait, as if it were a Mastive Dog at a Beare: you may Angle with greater Tackles, and stronger, and be no prejudice to you in your Angling: a Line made of three silks and three hairs twisted for the uppermost part of the Line, and two silkes and two haires twisted for the bottome next your hook, with a Swivel nigh the middle of your Line, with an indifferent large hook. ”

“ The unicorn ran with all his might against the tree and stuck his horn so deep into the trunk that he could not get it out again, and so was taken.
"Now I have you," said the tailor, coming out from behind the tree, and, putting the rope round the unicorn's neck, he took the axe, set free the horn, and when all his party were assembled he led forth the animal and brought it to the King. ”

“ And then, hark, 'twas Undine's voice which rang through the uproar; 'twas Undine herself who, as the moon swam clear of the clouds, was seen standing on the heights above the valley. 'Twas she, in sooth, who rebuked and threatened the floods below; and the menacing column of water vanished, murmuring and muttering, and the streams flowed gently away in the moonlight. Like a white dove Undine flew down from the height; she laid hold on the knight and Bertalda, and bore them with her to a green and grassy spot on the hill. There she refreshed their weariness and dispelled their fears ”

“ One fifteenth-century writer gives a recipe for catching a unicorn. 'A maid is set where he hunteth and she openeth her lap, to whom the unicorn, as seeking rescue from the force of the hunter, yieldeth his head and leaveth all his fierceness, and resteth himself under her protection, sleepeth until he is taken and slain.' But although many were reported to be thus enticed to their destruction, only their horns, strange to say, ever reached Europe. ”

“ It was these very monstrous forms which urged him to cross the flood, as he bethought him that Undine might be among them, alone in her agony.
Now, as he grasped the stout branch of a pine and stood, supporting himself by it in the midst of the current, which only with all his force could he withstand; and while yet with unblenching courage he pressed further into the stream: he heard a soft voice which said to him, "Venture not, venture not; full crafty is that old man, the stream!" ”

“ I am determined to Angle with the ground Baits and set my Tackles to my Rod, and go to my pleasure: I begin at the uppermost part of the streame, carrying my Line with an upright hand, feeling the Plummet running on the ground some ten inches from the hook, plumming my Line according to the swiftnesse of the stream you Angle in; for one plummet will not serve for all streams; for the true Angling is that the plummet runneth on the ground. ”

“ The traditional rivalry of the lion and the unicorn, which is generally considered to date at earliest from the Union of England and Scotland, when the lion and the unicorn appeared as the supporters of the royal arms, is referred to, curiously enough, in Spenser’s Faery Queene, ii. 5.
In heraldry the unicorn was sometimes used as a device (see Heraldry, where two English families are enumerated who used the unicorn on their arms) , but more frequently as a supporter, and subsists to the present day as the left-hand supporter of the royal arms. ”

“ Receiving a very elegant new rod from London, and being told by one of the most skilful of your brother anglers, that it is so stiff,—and by another, that it is so pliant, that it is not possible for any man to throw a fly properly with it. ”

“ Angling, therefore, may be distinguished either into fishing by day, or, which some commend, but the cold and dews caused me to dis-relish that which impaired my health, by night; and these again are of two sorts, either upon the superficies of the water, or more or less under the surface thereof: of this sort is angling with the ground-line, with lead, but no float, for the Trout, or with lead and float for all sorts of fish, or near the surface of the water for Chub, Roach, &c. or with a troll for the Pike, or a minnow for the Trout ”

“ The wild girl, it is true, commonly laughed at the reproof, making no attempt to conceal the extravagance of her mirth; but it appeared to him like touching his own honour; and still he found it impossible to blame the aged wife of the fisherman, since Undine always deserved at least ten times as many reproofs as she received; so he continued to feel in his heart an affectionate tenderness for the ancient mistress of the house, and his whole life flowed on in the calm stream of contentment. ”

“ The Unicorn
he unicorn is represented by heraldic usage as having the head and body of a horse, with the tail of a lion, and the limbs and hoofs of a stag; a twisted horn grows out from the centre of its forehead. It is rarely [Pg 128] met with as a coat-of-arms. As a crest or supporter it is of more frequent occurrence. A unicorn’s head is a favourite bearing, either erased, or couped, at the shoulder, and always represented in profile. ”

“ To this, however, Undine would by no means consent. She declared that she would rather enter the wild forest itself with the beautiful stranger, than return to the cottage where she was so thwarted in her wishes, and from which the knight would soon or late go away. Then, throwing her arms round Huldbrand, she sang the following verse with the warbling sweetness of a bird: “A rill would leave its misty vale, And fortunes wild explore, Weary at length it reached the main, And sought its vale no more.” ”

“ When you angle at ground, keep your line as straight as possible, suffering none of it to lie in the water, because it hinders the nimble jerk of the rod; but if, as sometimes it will happen, that you cannot avoid but some little will lie in the water, yet keep it in the stream above your float, by no means below it. ”

“ With as much haste as possible they rolled the cask towards the cottage, for the western sky was overcast with heavy storm-clouds, and they might see in the twilight the waves of the lake lifting their foamy crests as if looking for the rain which must shortly come down. Undine helped the men all she might, and when the storm threatened to burst on their heads, she uttered a laughing reproof to the clouds. ”

“ And here I will give some cautions and directions, as for the natural fly, and so pass on to baits for angling at the ground.
1. When you angle with the artificial fly, you must either fish in a river not fully cleared from some rain lately fallen, that had discoloured it; or in a moorish river, discoloured by moss or bogs; or else in a dark cloudy day, when a gentle gale of wind moves the water; but if the wind be high, yet so as you may guide your tools with advantage, they will rise in the plain deeps, and then and there you will commonly kill the best fish ”

“ In drought, wet your rod a little before you begin to angle.
8. Lob-worms, dew-worms, and great garden worms, all one.
9. When you angle at ground, or with the natural fly, your line must not exceed the length of your rod. For the Trout at ground, it must be shorter, and in some cases, not half the length as in small brooks or woody rivers, either at ground, or with the natural fly.
10. When you have hooked a good fish, have an especial care to keep your rod bent, lest he run to the line, and break your hook, or his hold. ”

“ The fisherman and the knight had been accustomed at dinner, and also in the evening when the wind roared without, as it rarely failed to do towards night, to enjoy together a flask of wine. But now their whole stock, which the fisherman had from time to time brought with him from the city, was at last exhausted, and they were both quite out of humour at the circumstance. That day Undine laughed at them excessively, but they were not disposed to join in her jests with the same gaiety as usual. ”

“ I will shew, a little, my opinion of floating for scale fish in the River or Pond: The feed brings the Fish together, as the sheep to the Pen: There is nothing better in all your Anglings, for feed, then Bloud and Grains; I hold it better then Paste: then plumming your ground, Angling with fine Tackles, as single haire for halfe the Line next the hook, round and small plumed, according to your float: For the Bait, there is a small red worm, with a yellow tip on his taile, is very good ”

“ Being no climbist, as might be expected from an urchin born and bred in London streets, getting used to the rigging was unpleasant at first; but that was mastered in its turn, until nothing remained unlearned but the helm. The one aim, apparently, of every man forrard was to so fit me for the work I might be called upon to do, as that no excuse might be found for cruelty of any sort. ”

“ If you are asked whether you believe in the unicorn, undoubtedly you are within the letter of the truth in replying that you do; for there are several varieties of large animals which carry a single horn in the forehead.15 But, virtually, by such an answer you would countenance a falsehood or a doubtful legend, since you are well aware that, in the idea of an unicorn, your questioner included the whole traditionary character of the unicorn, as an antagonist and emulator of the lion, &c. ”

“ In other words, they thought the time had come when their young ones should turn out of the nest and find food for themselves. There were five little birds in that nice, warm nest, but it was much too small for them now that they were so well feathered; and as they quarrelled terribly about getting the best place, the weakest one was in danger of being tumbled over the side with the pushing and struggling that went on. ”

“ Now, when you stood at the baccarat table this evening, what made you think of the little Professor?"
"My dear chap," said Underhill, "you make me tired. There is such a thing as pressing a point too far. And, since you were good enough to call my attention to the fact that the cliff throws a shadow, I'm going to extinguish your Socratic questionings by walking in it. Buona sera!" ”