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FACTS AND FANCIES 
 
 OF 
 
 SALMON FISHING. 
 
Facts and Fancies of 
 Salmon Fishing 
 
 WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 By CLERICUS , ^<^-'*^*-<^ 
 
 Author of ^^ Rambles and Recollections of a Fly-Fisher^'' 
 
 U3 -ULlA^a^\-w> GiL^x^tZx^-t.-*^^ 
 
 >i * f\ 
 
 LONDON, TARIS, AND NEW YORK : 
 
 CAS SELL, PETTER, AND GALPIN, 
 
 1874. 
 
 f 
 
(13 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 **The Angler on the green- sward lies dispirited and 
 
 spent" . . - . . Frontispiece 
 
 "Then cheer after cheer came bounding across the sunlit 
 
 sea"- ..... 
 
 60 
 
 "I've got a Salmon at last" 
 
 118 
 
 Fir-tree pool ... - 
 
 126 
 
 A Funeral train - - - - - 
 
 137 
 
 Glandwr- ..... 
 
 - 155 
 
 *'A big \m this time and no mistake" - 
 
 . 178 
 
 UpDulas . . . - . 
 
 ■ 183 
 
 The Unwelcome Stranger and the fisherman 
 
 208 
 
 " Hurrah, Peter, I've got hold of him still" 
 
 . 241 
 
 mS^GSTS 
 
To THE Most Noble 
 
 THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY, 
 
 President 
 
 Of the Dovey Fishing Club, 
 
 as a small, though very sincere token of his 
 
 ESTEEM, 
 
 The FOLLOWING Pages are Dedicated 
 BY THE AUTPIOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Though the following pages have been published under the 
 title of "Facts and Fancies of Salmon- Fishing," the Author 
 begs to assure the reader, that the latter term has been intro- 
 duced solely in reference to the diversity of opinion inseparable 
 from a sport of this nature ; and not to anything that partakes 
 of a fictitious character. The "Facts" speak for themselves, 
 and are neither distorted nor unduly exaggerated, but related 
 simply as he remembers them to have happened. 
 
^^ 
 
 f^^ 
 
 
 M 
 
 "T, -.^mteTjfl 
 
 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OULD we were born without livers !" 
 said a young Artillery officer to 
 me, who had lately returned from 
 India, as little like his former self, as the sere 
 3^ellow fragment, the Autumnal blast strips from 
 the parent stem, is like the bright green leaf of 
 early Spring. 
 
 Alas, when this indispensable functionary (if 
 I may use such a term) of the human frame 
 requires to be roused into healthy activity, 
 no wonder life loses its wonted interest, and 
 gloomy presentiments of evil come crowding 
 upon the mind. 
 
lo Salmon Fishing, 
 
 The skilled herbalist will tell you, that there 
 is scarcely an ailment incidental to mortals, 
 without its appropriate antidote, in the wide 
 circle of his favourites in the vegetable world, 
 could it but be discovered. Be that as it 
 may, when languor and lassitude seize us, 
 apart from any indiscretion of eating and 
 drinking, I, for one at least, am at no loss 
 to account for the evil. Too sedentary a 
 life, indispensable at times under circum- 
 stances we cannot control, wdth too much 
 employment for the brain, has been invariably 
 followed, in my own case, by these fits, under 
 which, so long as they continue, so long, say 
 fellow-sufferers, must we not bid adieu to tran- 
 quillity and peace 1 
 
 To be able to battle successfully against the 
 foe in question, without the aid of the Physician, 
 and in a way too that is as innocent in itself, as 
 pleasant to the patient, is the principal reason 
 for my having for many years past exchanged 
 the trout for the salmon-rod. Far be it from 
 
Salmon Fishing, ii 
 
 me to say that, had I the good fortune to reside 
 near a trout stream, I should not still love to 
 ramble within reach of its welcome music ; but 
 when I do leave home for a month at a time, for 
 health and recreation's sake, give me a salmon- 
 rod to wield, and a noble river to wander by ; 
 and my former aches and pains, — where are 
 they, when a few days have skipped by ? 
 
 The transition from the trout to the salmon- 
 rod, I found anything than difficult. Wielding 
 the latter for the first time in the presence of a 
 friend, who had long since been a master of the 
 art ; how astonished was I to find that, instead 
 of scolding me for not doing this, and for my 
 awkwardness in that ; all he remarked was, 
 " Well, young fellow, if you commence like that, 
 you will very soon flog us out of the field, in 
 light casting at least." 
 
 Now, in throwing a light line of tolerable 
 length, a great deal of course depends upon the 
 rod you use. The one I commenced w^ith was 
 made according to my own fancy by Copham of 
 
12 Salmon Fishhig. 
 
 Taunton, long since deceased ; and what induced 
 me to part with it, I cannot conceive, except it 
 were a strange love of change in fishing-rods, as 
 well as in other things, which we cannot always 
 account for. It fell into the hands of my first 
 mentor in salmon-fishing, who v/ell knew what a 
 good rod was, and then became the property 
 of a gentleman who resided not far from 
 Machynlleth ; but where it is now, I know not. 
 As this rod did not exceed seventeen feet in 
 length, and was scarcely as stiff as I prefer now, 
 it puzzles me how my throwing could have called 
 forth encomiums from my friend, seeing that at 
 the time I was using a thick horsehair Wye line. 
 No one accustomed to an ordinary silk line now 
 would believe that such cables (I may call them) 
 could be cast with the smallest approach to 
 lightness. It is marvellous what a change has 
 taken place, not in lines only, but in the length 
 and weight of rods. 
 
 After having tried rod after rod for many 
 years, I have settled down into the conviction 
 
Salmon Fishing, 13 
 
 that nothing suits me so well now as a light, 
 stiff, seventeen-foot rod. I never could endure 
 a whippy one, since in my changes I got hold of 
 a rod that delighted me beyond measure the 
 first day I tried it, when all things were serene, 
 and the wind and weather favourable. Not so, 
 however, when I sallied forth again, and a brisk 
 wind was blowing dead in my teeth, and my 
 frantic attempts to get the line out forced the 
 very top to dip in the water. After so complete 
 a failure on that day, I determined never to try 
 such a tool again. 
 
 There is some difference of opinion, which is 
 the best material for a salmon-rod. For a four- 
 jointed one, I prefer an ash or hickory butt, 
 the two next pieces of greenheart, and the top 
 of lancewood and splitcane, I have lately 
 handled rods of blue mahoo wood, but though 
 pretty to the eye, and wonderfully light, they 
 appear to me to be deficient in power and stiff- 
 ness for windy weather. 
 
 How often have races, upon which thousands 
 
14 Salmon FisJiing. 
 
 of pounds depended, been decided against the 
 favourite, merely from his being a trifle over- 
 weighted ! If a horse be precluded by a pound 
 or two of additional weight from reaching the goal 
 first, shall not the salmon-fisher sufier in a long 
 day's work, in proportion to the weight he is 
 encumbered with ? One of the first foes that 
 startled me from handling a salmon-rod at all, 
 was the ponderous machine I frequently saw in 
 the hands of fishermen on the banks of the 
 Wye ! From nineteen to twenty feet long, and 
 proportionally heavy, what, with the enormous 
 reel, and rope-like horsehair line, no wonder I 
 was scared at the spectacle ! 
 
 Day after day, from nine in the morning, till 
 a late hour in the evening, I can go on quietly 
 wielding the rod I use now, without a pain in 
 the back following, or a stifi*ness in the wrist 
 It was made, with another exactly like it, 
 according to my own directions, by O'Handlen, 
 of Bristol, and suits me exactly. No doubt, one 
 with more breadth of shoulders, and a few inches 
 
Salmon Fishing. 15 
 
 taller, could continue fishing not the less com- 
 fortably with a nineteen-foot rod and heavier 
 tackle. I do not find however, that let the 
 fisherman be a Hercules, and his rod an oak 
 sapling, the length of line he can throw is so 
 superior, as to compensate for the extra encum- 
 brance of weight. 
 
 On all ordinary occasions, I am satisfied to 
 be able to throw straight and well a line 
 from fourteen to sixteen yards, and, when 
 necessity demands, some three or four extra 
 yards, measuring from the point of the rod. 
 Many, I know, will contend that, twenty or 
 twenty-five yards they make nothing of ; but 
 '^fancies,'' I fear, of the salmon-fishing fraternity, 
 sadly exceed the hard '^ facts I' if faithfully 
 recorded. In several instances when I have 
 been standing by, and watching acknowledged 
 masters of the art throwing what they thought 
 unusually long lines, woefully have they been 
 disappointed, I may almost say, mortified, when, 
 after requesting me to measure them, they found 
 
1 6 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 how far short they fell of their own estimate. 
 *' I could get out five and twenty yards of line," 
 said a young fellow to nie one day, who was 
 over six feet in height, and had a powerful 
 frame besides. ^' Yes" I replied, " you may get 
 them out, but when and where ? In the teeth 
 of the wind } Or under circumstances that 
 were not all in your favour ? If so, I should 
 very much like to witness the wondrous exhi- 
 bition." I am speaking, of course, of the 
 ordinary method of throwing a line, and not of 
 the under-cast, by which an adept can, with ap- 
 parent ease, send his fly to an enormous distance. 
 There is nothing, I believe, more trying to 
 the temper, than to find yourself by the side of 
 a good river, and suddenly brought to a stand- 
 still by the fracture of your rod. When I first 
 began, not seldom did I have to undergo this 
 trial. I had then a most unenviable knack of 
 smashing the top joint just above the brass 
 counterfoil. Generally without an attendant, 
 when the fish I had hooked was well-nigh spent. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 17 
 
 and the gaff ready for the fatal plunge, how 
 often have I forgotten in the excitement of the 
 moment, that no wood could stand a strain, 
 sharp and severe, beyond a certain angle, and, 
 though I generally secured the prize, it was at a 
 cost by no means pleasant or profitable. Ever 
 since the occurrence of these mishaps, I made 
 up my mind never to use a rod without a hollow 
 butt to hold a spare top, if needed ; nor should 
 I feel at ease now, were I not conscious that I 
 had a duplicate of the weakest joint, ready for 
 use, if required. 
 
 Very foolish indeed does a man look, and 
 very unhappy must he feel, when obliged to 
 retrace his steps for many a mile, as a friend of 
 mine did not long since, who broke his top-joint 
 after about the third or fourth throw, without 
 another at hand to replace it ! In the case in 
 question, several fish were killed in the very 
 water he had forestalled, some of which, no 
 doubt, would have fallen to his share, had not 
 this untoward accident befallen him. 
 
1 8 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 Once only have I had the misfortune of 
 breaking the butt of my rod close to the 
 ferule ; and a more ludicrous object I cannot 
 fancy than my unhappy self at that moment 
 Fortunately not a single human being was at 
 hand to witness the catastrophe. 
 
 Though several clever books have been 
 written on salmon-fishing, there are few in 
 which it is not depicted as an art, rather 
 more difficult to acquire, than I have found 
 it to be. It seems but yesterday that I was 
 fishing down a famous stream in the Dovey, 
 in the presence of a friend, who was, or fancied 
 himself to be, a great authority on the subject. 
 It is true, I did not stir a fish, but the fly 
 travelled as well, if not better than usual, and I am 
 afraid I was more inclined to throw the blame 
 upon the finny tribes' want of taste, than upon 
 my own lack of skill. When I came out of the 
 water, and rejoined him, the only remark that 
 fell from his lips was, " Very well fished," and after 
 a slight pause he added, " for a trout-fisher." 
 
Salmon Fishing, 19 
 
 My friend's remark has often recurred to me 
 since, and almost with the like result, as then,, 
 in my thoughts. — " For a trout-fisher." Where 
 lies the magic difference between the two > 
 Is it desirable that on the surface of the pel- 
 lucid stream that glides so smoothly on, the 
 fly of the trout-fisher should drop like " the 
 fall of the rose-leaf," lest it scare the watchful 
 eye of the speckled beauty below with too rude 
 an offer of the counterfeit ? But is not the 
 water often and often pellucid, too, and the 
 salmon's eye keen, though he may lie deeper 
 down — aye, keen enough to detect an unusual 
 disturbance on the surface that awakens his 
 suspicion, no matter how fair the fly the fisher- 
 man pins his faith to ? 
 
 But besides the light casting of the line, was 
 it the working of the fly also, that called forth 
 his remark ? Very little difference in that respect 
 can I detect now from what it was then. I cer- 
 tainly do vary it now, more perhaps according 
 to circumstances than then. But as fishermen 
 
20 Salmon FisJdng, 
 
 are wont to follow their "fancies," and rarely 
 work their flies alike, and yet on an average kill 
 a not very unequal number of fish, I am led to 
 think the manner of their doing so not very 
 material. 
 
 I believe it to be indispensable in working 
 the fly, that it should be kept moving the whole 
 while, without the slightest pause. Who has 
 not seen, over and over again, how a trout will 
 suddenly start back in affright, immediately 
 there is the slightest hitch in the spinning of 
 the minnow, natural or artificial ? The faster 
 in reason the latter travels, the faster will the 
 former keep pace with it, till he make his final 
 dash. This fact in respect to trout, — may it 
 not afford us a hint, at least, in working the 
 salmon-fly 1 
 
 There are several ways of doing this, as 
 remarked before; but which is the most suc- 
 cessful, it would be difficult, if not impossible, 
 to determine. 
 
 I have witnessed some fishermen make three 
 
Salmon Fishing. 2r 
 
 or four long sweeps only across the pool or 
 stream with (to me at least) a painful amount 
 of deliberation, and others so rapid in their 
 movement of the fly, as to be wearisome to 
 the eye of the spectator. 
 
 The ''via media'' in this, as in more impor- 
 tant matters, I beheve to be the best. Of 
 course, if I have a well-nigh dead sheet of 
 water to fish, I am all the more active in work- 
 ing the fly ; if a lively stream, the less so. In 
 water which is fished by others, as well as 
 myself, and more especially if close upon the 
 heels of a brother-angler, I generally endeavour 
 to work the fly in a manner distinct from his, 
 provided he has had no offer. 
 
 One of the resources I have generally found 
 pleasant, seldom irksome, when precluded from 
 fishing, and confined to one room in a lodging, 
 is fly-tying. Hours upon hours have I spent 
 in this undeniably innocuous occupation, to say 
 the least of it. Having tied my own trout- 
 flies for many years, I found it as easy, if not 
 
Salmon Fishing. 
 
 easier, to fabricate salmon-flies. And as for 
 the materials — give me a Gold Pheasant's skin, 
 plenty of floss-silk, mohair of difl*erent colours, 
 and hackles which you can easily dye yourself, 
 with some odds and ends besides, and I care 
 not for much else. Of course, if I can get hold 
 of a Jungle-cock's skin, and good Turkey tail- 
 feathers, &c., I am not backward in welcoming 
 the addition. As I intend my flies for my 
 own use, I take good care that they are quite 
 reliable. Scarcely ever do I trust a hook with- 
 out trying its temper with such a wrench in a 
 piece of soft wood, as no fish is likely to give. 
 And the loop at the head of the fly I make 
 as small as possible, not of twisted, but of the 
 stoutest round gut I have at hand. Though 
 bought flies usually have ostrich-harl wound 
 round their heads, which gives them a natty ap- 
 pearance, I have, perhaps, the questionable taste, 
 seldom, if ever, to imitate them, as the fly, I 
 fancy, travels through the water better without 
 it, and is not the less deadly in other respects. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 23 
 
 As the fond parent usually regards his own 
 little bantling with partial eyes, so is it not un- 
 natural for us to do the same, in regard to the flies 
 we fabricate ourselves. The best proof of their 
 goodness, however, lies in their killing powers. 
 
 Not long since I was seated by the wandow- 
 ledge in my den in the mountains, with two 
 or three flies before me, which I had just com- 
 pleted, when two fishing friends entered the 
 room. The younger of the two took up the 
 flies, and nodded to the other, as much as to 
 say, "Let's have your opinion about them?" 
 Now, though speaking at the time to an old 
 friend who was present, I could not help hear- 
 ing and seeing what passed. After turning 
 the hackles, as well as the materials of the 
 mixed wings I had taken such pains to select, 
 more than once, to my horror, the contrary 
 way, and looking very knowing all the while 
 the one appealed to whispered in the ear of 
 the other, though not too softly for me to 
 hear, "Beautiful flies, but they w^ant life." 
 
24 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 As I had no opportunity of trying them 
 then, the season being near its close, I made 
 a point of doing so in the following visit; and 
 so successful was I with two of these flies, 
 that the human judge was beaten out of the 
 field (or water, more properly) in his verdict, 
 when it came into conflict with that of my 
 finny friends, who mangled them to such an 
 extent, as to leave scarcely a vestige of the 
 old material on the hooks. 
 
 Let anyone move a salmon-fly, with mixed 
 wings, backward and forward in a tumbler of 
 water only, and whether the fibres be put on 
 singly, or in patches, he will see how beauti- 
 fully they keep expanding, and collapsing in 
 the most natural way possible. 
 
 I will give another instance, to show how 
 little the opinions of human beings, on the 
 subject of flies, coincide with the tastes of 
 friend Salmo-Salar himself The friend of 
 mine I lately alluded to, has in his large 
 heterogeneous collection a patriarchal-looking 
 
Salmo7i Fishing, 25 
 
 salmon-fly which, from its frequent and suc- 
 cessful encounters with heavy fish, has won 
 the distinguished title of "the old warrior." 
 It was made by him on a large sneck-bent 
 hook, and is withal as wicked a looking fly 
 as you could well fancy! Being out one day 
 with "the old warrior'* on, he stumbled upon 
 two or three Cockneys, who were in the habit 
 of visiting the river every spring. After an- 
 swering their inquiries about what sport he 
 had, &c., and hearing the result, which appeared 
 to take them a little aback, he was then asked 
 what fly he had killed his fish with } When 
 he exhibited with pardonable pride the well- 
 worn features of "the old warrior;" "What a 
 shocking-ugly fly!" was the only observation 
 that dropped from the lips of one of the more 
 demonstrative of the party. 
 
 "What a shocking-ugly fly!" Now I do 
 love beyond measure to gaze at a salmon-fly 
 tied by a London artist, and radiant with hues 
 of the most charming kind, and glittering with 
 
26 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 gold or silver tinsel ! As a mere work of art, 
 its beauty is admirable, and neatness faultless. 
 But for real hard work, and murderous powers, 
 give me, oh! give me the rugged ''old warrior" 
 a hundred-fold over, in preference to the above- 
 mentioned ballroom beauty. The ancient gentle- 
 man is now, I believe, laid up in lavender — a 
 valued relic of days of yore. "Requiescat in 
 pace!" 
 
 " Old warrior " rest ! now thy warfare is done, 
 No more shalt thou fight where the wild waters run ; 
 Thy feathers are faded, thy tinsel is torn, 
 And the edge of thy steel is blunted and worn. 
 Let others more youthful and bright as a beam 
 Of the sun overhead, flaunt by on the stream ; 
 Not one of the number, the bravest and best, 
 Shall rival thy trophies, then ' ' old warrior " rest ! 
 
 '' Had I to live my life over again," said an 
 old fisherman to me one day, '' instead of being 
 encumbered with such a stock of flies, about a 
 score of them at a time would quite satisfy me. 
 Now, I look through my book, and often feel 
 bewildered which to choose, and waste much 
 
Salmon Fishing, 
 
 time by the waterside m making a selection." 
 There is not a little to be said, I believe, in 
 favour of my friend's views ; and, no doubt, a 
 limited number of flies would leave less room 
 for delay in choosing one for immediate use. 
 Were this plan generally adopted however, a 
 a very fertile source of conversation, few fisher- 
 men are not fond of by the river side and 
 elsewhere, would be finally suppressed. 
 
 Who has not enjoyed again and again a 
 casual interview with a brother of the angle, 
 and a quiet chat, over the contents of one 
 another's fly-books } Much that appertains to 
 our amusement is, no doubt, fanciful ; yet strip 
 any sport of the airy flights of the imagination, 
 and what would it be } We will take deer-stalking 
 as an instance, though I know nothing about it 
 personally. Is the mere fact of the taking away 
 the life of the coveted prize, the only motive 
 that induces a man to undergo so much labour 
 and fatigue '^ Stripped of the collateral accom- 
 paniments, we believe, it would vary Httle from 
 
28 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 the common every-day practice each butcher is 
 constrained to follow, in the slaughter of sheep 
 and cattle. Whereas now, what, with the wild 
 scenery, the bracing air, the difficulties to be 
 surmounted, the inch by inch creeping and 
 crawling through all that stands in the way ; 
 the fancy of the most enthusiastic can scarcely 
 fail of finding enough food to gratify his taste, 
 and keep him on the tenter hooks of excitement, 
 till the fatal rifle has performed its work. 
 
 Were the mere killing of fish our prime 
 motive, half a dozen flies would probably do 
 as well as a hundred. But in the larger supply 
 lies a fund of matter for discussion not devoid 
 of deep interest to the salmon-fisher in general. 
 When men meet men together, the subjects 
 most congenial to them at the time invariably 
 have the precedence in their conversation. Of 
 poHtics and religion, how entire an absorption of 
 the thoughts does the subject involve ! How 
 powerfully is the play of the passions put in 
 motion by it ! Joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 29 
 
 anger and exultation, one after the other pre- 
 ponderates, as the discussion proceeds. 
 
 Now, in a room full of fishermen, though it 
 is marvellous to witness the eagerness of the 
 latter, it is all the more pleasant to find, that 
 the favourite topic seldom, if ever, degenerates 
 into strife. In itself, let flies and fly-fishing 
 be as insignificant a subject as possible, if it can 
 only amuse a number of educated men for hours 
 together, and leave them not the less in love 
 with their fellow-creatures than usual, the wise 
 ones of this world, who do not sympathise with 
 them, will hardly go out of their way to 
 denounce it. 
 
 Though we all have our '' fancies " in respect 
 to flies, nothing displeases my eye more, than 
 a glaring want of harmony in the colours that 
 compose them. Perhaps it is somewhat owing 
 to this, that I prefer very plain, to very gaudy 
 patterns. , A fanciful, though a very skilful fly- 
 tier of my acquaintance delights, I believe, to 
 run quite counter to others m the colour of 
 
30 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 his productions. Fishing within hail of his 
 cheery voice one morning, he told me he was 
 "going in for green bodies," having for a day 
 or two before been loud m his commendation 
 of claret ones. In this, as in many other fishing 
 "fancies,*' his adoption of uncommon colours 
 was more for the sake of extracting a little fun, 
 from the serious way his brother-fishermen were 
 wont to discuss the difference, than fromi the 
 fact of its being at all material. 
 
 One of our club-members, a gallant Admiral, 
 once expressed his horror to me, when he found 
 that the bushes overhanging the bank of a 
 famous stream had been cut rather lower than 
 he liked. His principal objection was, not that 
 they no longer screened the fisherman from the 
 sharp eyes of the salmon — a most important 
 consideration ; — No ! but that they no longer 
 were as large a congregational haunt as before 
 for swarms of natural flies that fell into the 
 water, to the delight of the salmon, ever on 
 the look out for them ! Now, being a very 
 
Salmon Fishing. 31 
 
 excellent fly-tier, it is surprising it never struck 
 him, that the favourites of his art, even the 
 choicest and best, were as little like the natural 
 winged beauties that frequent the streams, as 
 a Bull is like a Peacock-butterfly. And yet 
 how extraordinary, that he should entertain the 
 wild notion, that the salmon, like the trout, 
 indulges his appetite with food so little sub- 
 stantial as the insects in question ! We have 
 heard of old fish being hooked, and that not 
 seldom, with the March-brown, and sometimes 
 with a smaller trout-fly ; but no one, I imagine, 
 would think a fisherman far removed from an 
 absolute lunatic, who deliberately put on one, 
 or the other, in the hope of tempting a salmon 
 to rise at it. 
 
 What salmon do take the flies we ordinarily 
 use for, is a question often asked, but never 
 answered. My own impression is, that if hunger 
 be not the prominent motive that induces a 
 salmon to rush at a lively-looking object, no 
 matter how little it resemble his natural food, 
 
32 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 which he sees playing before his eyes in a most 
 tantalising manner, a vicious propensity to stop 
 the bold intruder, and thus cut short his im- 
 pudent antics, is not unfrequently the real 
 cause. 
 
 That salmon do prefer some flies to others 
 is obvious, seeing how frequently we "rise" them 
 with one, and fail to hook them, without 
 changing, and putting on another. Indeed, 
 this is so often the case, that one of our 
 celebrated fishermen, I believe, now deceased, 
 went so far as to declare that, " if you rise a 
 fish with the Lady of Mertoun, and he does 
 not touch her, give him a rest, and come over 
 him with the Toppy, and you have him to a 
 certainty, and vice versa!' If I find a fish 
 refuse two or three times the fly I have risen 
 him with, I almost invariably put on a smaller 
 and less showy one. My reason for doing so 
 is, that the disappointment at finding the fly 
 at close quarters somewhat different from what 
 his sanguine expectations led him to imagine. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 33 
 
 especially if repeated more than once, tends to 
 make the salmon suspicious of some cheat or 
 other; and that by substituting a smaller and 
 less glaring artifice, it may possibly disarm 
 him of his doubts. 
 
 In making flies I am very particular in one 
 respect, and that is, so arranging the wings, 
 be they mixed or not, as to prevent them from 
 playing with an uneven motion, the hook being 
 directly undermost, and never on one side. 
 Fanciful as the brotherhood is, in respect to 
 the colour, size, tinsel, and feathers of flies, I 
 began making them, not after any particular 
 pattern, but principally in accordance with what 
 the scanty materials at hand would permit, as 
 to colour and character in general. One of my 
 nondescripts, which the salmon seemed to fancy, 
 was exhibited by a friend of mine to a well- 
 known frequenter of the banks of the Dovey, 
 who not only sold flies to the strangers who 
 came there, but taught them how and where 
 to throw them. When his eyes fell upon the 
 
34 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 fly in question, and the emphatic pshaw that 
 dropped from his lips, told his opinion too 
 plainly to dispute it, my conceit about my 
 performance, must, if I had any, have received 
 a deadly thrust. Still pig-headed in this, I 
 fear, as in many of my other fishing "fancies," 
 I did not the less scruple to use the despised 
 nondescript afterwards. Let the motto of young 
 fly-tiers be the same, a liberal contributor to 
 the restoration of one of the finest parish 
 churches in England adopted, as his nom de 
 phime, viz., "Nil desperandum." For with this 
 very same fly, or at any rate one, I believe, 
 quite similar to it, I had the good fortune to 
 kill my first heavy salmon. 
 
 Fishing, a long w^hile ago, in the river Usk 
 with one, in whose society I had previously 
 spent many happy hours on the banks of rivers 
 and trout-streams, it was not without a feeling 
 of intense delight, that I heard him suddenly 
 exclaim, that he had just risen a salmon. I 
 must say, as it was rather early in the season 
 
Sabnon Fishing, 35 
 
 for a new fish, I had not the remotest idea of 
 any sport myself; but I was only too well- 
 pleased at the thought of witnessing better 
 luck on the part of another. 
 
 Again my friend tried, and again, but no ! I . 
 saw the fish most distinctly come at the fly,. 
 and then turn away, as though it were not at all 
 to his taste. The sun then came out strong and 
 bright, and to teaze the fish any more, was the 
 way to stop all chance of his rising him by and 
 bye, later on in the day. 
 
 After the lapse of some hours, we fished 
 down to the same spot, though on the opposite 
 side. My friend tried him more than once, with-- 
 out success, and when he left him, he said, " now 
 you may catch him, if you can." 
 
 It was pleasant, very pleasant to me, to be 
 quite sure there was a fish there, and I deter- 
 mined to stick to him, though my chance of 
 rising him, I considered a very remote one. 
 Commencing a little higher up, just conceive^ 
 ye youthful beginners, if you can, my sensations^ 
 
36 Salmon Fishing 
 
 when I threw over him, and up he came, head 
 and tail, and down, down the stream he dashed, 
 till he had run out at one burst, from forty to 
 fifty yards of Hne 
 
 No sooner had I hooked the fish, than I called 
 aloud to my companion ; and well it was I did 
 -SO ; for after a burst or two more, I quietly 
 coaxed the fish up to where he stood, and in 
 the twinkling of an eye, the gaff was in him, 
 and the fish lying on the shelving bank. He 
 was a noble fellow, i61bs in weight, and so 
 ^strong, that my friend was obliged to throw 
 himself upon him, to prevent him from wriggling 
 back into the river again. A fresh-run fish, such 
 as this, stretched upon the green sward beside 
 me, I could sit down and gaze at with intense 
 delight for some minutes 
 
 ** He gasps upon the shore, my boys, 
 
 His weight an English stone, 
 As beautiful a thing in death 
 As eye ere gazed upon." 
 
 The sensations of the angler after landing a 
 salmon like this for the first time are, I imagine. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 37 
 
 not very unlike those of a love-sick damsel, 
 when the magic words have just been whispered 
 in her ear, that savour of an early marriage 
 with the manly candidate for her hand ! No 
 more lovely an object is it possible for the 
 whole circle of creation to contain, than the 
 glorious silver-spangled beauty, he has had the 
 marvellous skill to capture ! Very jealous too 
 is he of the weight of the fish, which he will 
 not allow for a moment to be called a fraction 
 less, than the machine has proved him to be. 
 All this have I personally gone through, and 
 witnessed the like exhibition in many an angler 
 besides. 
 
 Not long since, I was quietly fishing in a 
 favourite river, and had just thrown back a 
 salmon which hardly came up to my ideas of a 
 clean fish, when all at once I heard below me a 
 succession of exclamations, which denoted that 
 something unusual had happened. It was not 
 long ere I found myself greeted by name, at; 
 the mouth of a young friend, who had for some 
 
Salmon Fishing, 
 
 time been flogging away without the smallest 
 symptom of success. 
 
 It seemed that, by some wondrous stretch 
 of the fickle goddess's favour, he had succeeded 
 at length in hooking a veritable salmon ; and 
 altogether his position, excitement, and nervous 
 handling of the fish, as though he feared every 
 moment he should lose the prize he had hold 
 of, was a picture quite equal to one of those 
 Mn.Briggs figured in, in the pages of Punch! 
 
 After watching him for some time with no 
 less amusement, than I should any other object 
 that was equally ludicrous, I saw if I did not 
 interfere, that he and the fish would very soon 
 part company. His line, from his letting the 
 fish have his own way, was not only un- 
 necessarily long, but scarcely strained enough 
 to master a minnow. Had the fish been of 
 any size, and in decent condition, he must have 
 lost him long before. " Wind up your line ; 
 haul him down ; there's a stake there, and 
 you'll lose him, as sure as fate ! What on earth 
 
Salmon Fishing, 39 
 
 are you afraid of? You don't pull an ounce ; 
 here, give me the rod a moment!" Such, or 
 something very like them, were the words I 
 rattled out in no very measured a tone, I fear. 
 When I handed back the rod to the owner, 
 the poor fish was as near beaten as possible; 
 but even then some time elapsed, and many a 
 cry of hope and despair dropped from his lips, 
 ere he had the inexpressible joy of landing 
 the prize. ''Whoop! whoop! whoop!" was the 
 exultant cry that echoed and re-echoed far 
 and near up and down the valley! and with 
 a grasp of my hand, as though it had been a 
 pump-handle, he exclaimed, "Excuse my feel- 
 ings, it is my first salmon!" 
 
 What an advantage is it to an embryo salmon- 
 fisher to know how to handle a trout-rod, and 
 kill fish with it! Had my young friend been 
 thus benefitted, he would not have made so 
 ludicrous an exhibition as the above. 
 
 It is astonishing how success, even in a small 
 way, emboldens the youthful. When next 
 
40 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 season friend Tyro re-visited the river, he had 
 hooked and landed four or five fish in one 
 day, though I beheve they were not fit to kill. 
 And in course of conversation with him, he 
 talked of salmon-fishing, as though he were 
 quite conversant with it in all its branches. 
 " Now I am a fisherman," he said, *' I mean to 
 spend £\o in new tackle." '^Now I am a fisher- 
 man." In what, I thought to myself, does your 
 rapid proficiency lie t Certainly in not a fraction 
 more, than the ability to get out your line, and 
 to land a few kelts ! 
 
 What hundreds are there v/ith scarcely more 
 experience than friend Tyro, who, every year, 
 are launched upon the rivers and lakes of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, and write doleful complaints 
 in the Fields Land and Water, and other like 
 excellent publications, of their utter want of 
 success. They seem altogether oblivious of the 
 fact, that in many a river where salmon are 
 known to abound in great numbers, the privi- 
 leged few who have the command of the water, 
 
Salmon Fishing. 41 
 
 and are fishermen, from long practice and keen 
 observation, fail frequently in their hopes of 
 sport. They often see fish after fish disportmg 
 theniselves on every side, and yet not one will 
 look at their flies. Whereas with the herd of 
 tourists, who look for sport, as though it were 
 within their easy grasp, how few of them are 
 fishermen ; how frequently do they foil each 
 other's attempts by crowding to the same 
 quarters ; and how little disposed are they to 
 credit, that salmon are as whimsical as women, 
 and as hard to capture with unskilful hands ! 
 
 *' O woman in thine hour of ease, 
 Uncertain, coy, and hard to please !" 
 
 D 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 HERE are few, I believe, who have 
 not at certain periods of their hves 
 been placed unexpectedly in circum- 
 stances, under which they feel in so complete 
 a "^Ir," as to know not what on earth to do! 
 Such was the case with me when I found my- 
 self on the deck of a steamer shortly bound 
 for Inverness, on a salmon-fishing excursion, 
 at nine o'clock at night. I had just travelled 
 many a wearisome mile by railway, and what 
 with hurrying here and there about London, 
 to do a great many things in the shortest 
 possible time, I felt, if not quite knocked up, 
 at any rate, not far from it. 
 
 On reaching the vessel, the first thing I did, 
 was to ask for the steward ; and just imagine 
 
Salmon Fishing. 43 
 
 my sensations, when in a very curt, if not un- 
 courteous manner, he informed me, that the whole 
 of the steamer had been engaged by a noble 
 Duke, to convey his servants, carriages, horses, 
 &c., to his castle in the Highlands, and that 
 there was no berth for me. Now, though tired 
 to death, and longing to be quiet, a sense of 
 wrong stirred me to let loose some rather "tall 
 talk" (as the Yankee would say). 
 
 It struck me at the time, and on reflection 
 since I have seen no cause to change my opinion, 
 that the owners of the steamer were (morally 
 speaking) amenable to severe censure for not 
 advertising to the public, that their vessel had 
 been engaged the next voyage for the exclusive 
 benefit of one party, and that no one else could 
 have a berth in her. The steward listened 
 leisurely enough to me while I laid down the 
 law, and threatened to denounce the improper, 
 if not illegal, conduct of the owners. He merely 
 remarked in reply, that it was no business of his, 
 and he could not help it. The captain had not 
 
44 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 yet come on board, or, of course, I should have 
 spoken to him on the subject. 
 
 The sense of the hardship to me, as one of 
 the pubhc, was strong enough to bestir my 
 bile, and I told the steward I intended to go 
 by the steamer, berth or no berth being at my 
 disposal. 
 
 After descending to the cabin to stow away 
 my rod-case and carpet bag, I returned to the 
 deck, and lay down at full length on the raised 
 part of it, to rest my tired limbs. I soon fell 
 into a deep sleep, with all sorts of strange things 
 flitting across my brain. One moment I was 
 in the train, excited beyond measure that, in- 
 stead of going straight ahead to Town, it seemed 
 to be whirling me in quite a contrary direction. 
 Then again I was fighting, not with my fists, 
 but with my tongue, against a lot of Jack-tars, 
 who threatened to pitch me overboard into the 
 sea. Then I began rubbing my side, conscious 
 that some one was taking undue liberties with 
 it. And this awoke me, but not without my 
 
Salmon Fishing. 45 
 
 receiving another poke, which made me flinch ; 
 and I heard immediately an attempt at a scream, 
 followed by "Lor, I do beheve it is a man!" I 
 then jumped up, to the extreme astonishment, 
 not only of the woman who had taken me for 
 a piece of dead lumber, but of several others 
 who were congregated on the deck. I found 
 that three hours had elapsed, and that the 
 mackintosh in which I was encased was drip- 
 ping with dew. A nice situation to be in at 
 twelve o'clock at night! 
 
 Whether it was owing to the three hour's 
 sleep, or to my old habit of speedily losing a 
 sense of wrong, I soon recovered my equanimity, 
 and it struck me that my trip to Scotland by 
 sea, more especially under existing circumstances, 
 might be anything than uninteresting or un- 
 eventful. 
 
 I then went down into the cabin, intending to 
 resume my broken slumbers, if possible, on the 
 floor. Before carrying out my intention, how- 
 ever, I made another attempt to scale the weak 
 
46 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 parts of the steward's crustiness, not by big 
 words, but by the opposite tack of a little soft 
 solder. When we got fairly launched into con- 
 versation, I felt sure I should gain my end ; and 
 there was no doubt at all about it, as soon as he 
 discovered that I was going to the Ness to fish, 
 at the invitation of a gentleman with whom he 
 said he had once lived as a helper in the stables. 
 
 Instead of lying on the hard, cold floor of the 
 cabin, I was installed forthwith in what I con- 
 sidered the best berth in it, viz., the one nearest 
 the door, so that I could command ad libittun 
 what ventilation I liked, when I felt in need of a 
 fresh influx of oxygen. 
 
 For a long while I heard overhead a vast deal 
 of talking, and here and there what sounded very 
 like an outbreak of oaths, and angry exclama- 
 tions, the too frequent resort, I fear, of excited 
 seamen, when their tempers are ruffled. By 
 degrees I dropped off into the welcome arms ot 
 Morpheus, and did not stir till the sun lit up the 
 cabin with the full blaze of its matutinal beams. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 47 
 
 Nothing tells you of the complete change 
 you have undergone from the familiar usages 
 of the domestic dressing-room ; the bath just 
 ready to receive you ; and the jug of hot water 
 steaming at hand ; than the first attempt to 
 dress and shave in the little hole in the cabin 
 of a ship, you have allotted to your share for 
 that purpose. If the steward happen to see 
 you with more than the smallest modicum of 
 water, he takes good care to call your attention 
 to the fact, that there is only a limited supply 
 of the precious fluid on board, and that .when 
 that is exhausted, you can get no more. The 
 most difficult task to accompHsh, when the 
 vessel is at all unsteady, is to escape cutting 
 off the end of your nose, or inflicting a deepish 
 gash on your chin, instead of denuding yourself 
 of your beard with the help of the razor. 
 Happy they who never shave at all, and are 
 thus exonerated from one of the greatest 
 nuisances of life. 
 
 The repulsion of feeling from the weight of 
 
48 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 the gloomy forebodings of the previous night, 
 to the sense of enjoyment which impressed me, 
 when I left the cabin, and stepped upon the 
 deck for the first time in the morning, was quite 
 marvellous. There was a moderate breeze that 
 filled the steamer's sails, and crisped and curled 
 the surface of the water, upon which innumer- 
 able vessels of every size and rig were dancing 
 merrily along. We had progressed some dis- 
 tance beyond the mouth of the Thames, and I 
 was charmed to find that, instead of being in 
 a tub of a boat, that every craft we came across 
 could easily catch and beat, we were able, not 
 only to hold our own, but to run by many a 
 bigger ship than ours. 
 
 Hungry and thirsty I descended into the 
 cabin, as soon as breakfast was announced ; but 
 of the many strange spectacles I have witnessed 
 in a tolerably long experience, the table with 
 the contents stretched upon it, struck me as one 
 of the strangest. Accustomed to what may be 
 called a frugal repast, the sight and smell of the 
 
Salmon Fishing. 49 
 
 reeking viands, poached eggs and fat bacon 
 greatly preponderating, almost took away my 
 breath, to say nothing of my appetite. The 
 table, be it not forgotten, was surrounded by 
 a vast concourse, consisting, with the exception 
 of two strangers and myself, of the Duke's 
 domestics. The first thing that struck me in 
 the demeanour of the latter, I need hardly add 
 favourably, was the simultaneous movement of 
 those at the head of the table to make room for 
 me. 
 
 First impressions, we are told, are usually the 
 most permanent. In this case I certainly had 
 a striking proof of it, for though I could hardly 
 say, as *' a stranger, they took me in," — no more 
 gentlemanly conduct (I speak advisedly) could 
 I have received from my own equals, or superiors 
 in rank, than I did from every one of these 
 servants with whom I was at all brought into 
 contact, during the whole of the voyage, by no 
 means a short one. 
 
 From the fact of my taking one cup of tea, 
 
so Salmon Fishing, 
 
 a bit of toast, and a boiled ^^^, and then beat- 
 ing a retreat to the deck, I left the impression, 
 I believe, behind me, that I was a poor, delicate, 
 over- worked gentleman, going to the Highlands 
 to try and recruit my shattered health. 
 
 One of the two strangers before spoken of, 
 turned out to be a well-educated young barrister, 
 bound for Scotland with his sketch-book, in 
 search of the picturesque ; and a most agreeable 
 companion did he prove. He, and the other 
 stranger who, I imagined, was a small London 
 shop-keeper, spoke in the most graphic way of 
 •the horrors they had just escaped from on 
 emerging from their hot, ill-ventilated, dirty 
 dormitory, in the forepart of the vessel. Having 
 succeeded so well with the steward in my own 
 case, I determined to try in the same quarter 
 what I could do for them. 
 
 When the steward asseverated over and over 
 again that there was not a single berth more at 
 his disposal, it suddenly struck me that a jolly, 
 healthy-looking fellow like him could hardly put 
 
Sahnon Fishing. 51 
 
 up with a berth less comfortable than the one I 
 had just occupied myself; and when I asked 
 him where he slept himself, he pointed out to 
 me a berth not a whit inferior to mine, except 
 that it was further from the door. It was rather 
 a trying moment ! I looked hard at the steward, 
 then at the very gentlemanly young barrister at 
 my side ; and I put it to the former, without 
 the smallest approach to circumlocution, if he 
 thought he could sleep as sound and soft as 
 usual, with the glaring fact patent before him^ 
 that one tenderly brought up, and all unaccus- 
 tomed to rough it, was lying on the floor beneath 
 him, to his evident discomfort, and perhaps 
 damage of health ? With a delicate hint, that 
 his self-denial would not fail to be rewarded at 
 the end of the voyage, and the addition of 
 a little more soft solder, the muscles of the 
 Scotch steward's countenance, I saw, began to 
 relax a little ; and the consequence was, that 
 he consented most good naturedly to yield up 
 his own berth to the barrister, and promised 
 
Salmon Fishing. 
 
 with coats and blankets to try and improvise 
 a bed on the floor of the cabin for the London 
 shop-keeper. 
 
 When we were within an hour or two of 
 dinner-time, I felt sure that not a morsel could 
 I swallow with the remotest chance of my 
 profiting by it, were I compelled to join the 
 party I had breakfasted with in the morning, 
 within the confines of the hot, close cabin. 
 The happy thought struck me that as the sea 
 was not rough, and the steamer tolerably steady, 
 my friend and I might escape the dire dilemma 
 by asking the steward to bring us our dinner 
 on deck. 
 
 Though in earlier days there was no greater 
 treat to me, if not "to paddle my own canoe," 
 at any rate to steer my own three-masted, sprit- 
 sail open yawl, when the wind was wild, and the 
 waves like heaving mountains, I had ever since 
 dreaded a short voyage in a steamer, to say 
 nothing of one of three days' duration. When 
 I look back however upon this expedition of 
 
Salmon Fishing. 53 
 
 mine, which I undertook with fear and tremblings 
 under the idea that it would prove not a little 
 beneficial to my health, with the exception of 
 the first few hours, I can recall nothing that was 
 not pleasant. We coasted so near the shore for 
 a large proportion of the voyage, that when off 
 Yarmouth I could distinguish well-nigh the 
 colour of the ladies' dresses, though I could not 
 hear their voices. In fact so near were we at 
 times to the shore, that I thought the captain a 
 wee bit rash in not keeping farther off. On the 
 second day did a very thick mist most unex- 
 pectedly spring up, as though by magic, just 
 ahead of us ; at the very spot too where I had 
 particularly noticed before a kind of promontory 
 which extended some way into the sea. The 
 captain joined me at the time, and on my 
 remarking to him that it struck me if we did 
 not go more to the right, we might come to 
 grief, he smiled and said, that I had mistaken 
 the mist for dry land. Very soon afterwards, 
 however, a sudden commotion seemed to bestir 
 
54 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 the crew ; the ship was steered several degrees to 
 the right of her old course, and I verily believe 
 that my timely caution, seconded by a little 
 more care and observation on the part of the 
 Captain, saved us from (God knows) what 
 predicament. . 
 
 Full of fears that, if the vessel rolled a bit, 
 I should be a martyr to that most horrible of 
 all horrid sensations — sea-sickness, I looked 
 round at my companion, and his sudden pallor 
 induced me to say to him, "Why, my friend, 
 what's the matter with you?" He then confessed 
 that he felt squeamish for the first time in his 
 life, though he was accustomed to the sea, by 
 his accompanying his brother constantly in 
 yachting excursions. Now, as he had quizzed 
 me before on the same subject, I felt not a little 
 proud of my immunity from the malady, when 
 so well-seasoned a fellow as he was attacked by 
 it, and in weather too that might be called very 
 moderate. 
 
 After our first experiment of breakfasting on 
 
Salmon Fishing. 55 
 
 deck, the change was so agreeable, that when- 
 ever the vessel was not too unsteady, we were 
 only happy to have our meals there. Seeing 
 how jolly we were, the other passengers requested 
 the steward to allow them to follow our example. 
 " A pretty thing indeed," he replied, " as though 
 I had not quite trouble enough already in 
 attending to your wants below." And then he 
 added " I don't at all wonder that the only two 
 gentlemen on board should demur dining and 
 breakfasting with company they are not ac- 
 customed to ; but for you to ask to do the 
 same, is not only unreasonable, but impossible." 
 
 Though I did not hear this conversation, the 
 steward, who was very communicative, told me 
 all about it, and his comments on it were very 
 amusing. 
 
 The coachman, who (I was going to say) was 
 an aristocrat amongst Jehus of his class, gave 
 me a fund of information. He had driven in the 
 Duke's family for a number of years, and no 
 one could have spoken more affectionately of a 
 
5 6 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 good parent, than he did of his employers. I 
 found in my conversation with him, and others, 
 that a system of complete order pervaded every 
 department of the household, and from the free 
 and unrestrained expression of their feelings, I 
 gathered that they were as contented with their 
 situation, as respectful towards their superiors. 
 
 This is not the first time I have been brought 
 into situations, and under circumstances, where 
 I could form my own opinion of the class which 
 it is the custom of many demonstrative persons 
 in Parliament and elsewhere to speak of in 
 terms of no measured condemnation. 
 
 In early years it was my good fortune to 
 work a parish in Shropshire, in which was one of 
 the residences of a noble Earl, whose death was 
 as untimely, as it was mournful. Though he 
 had the reputation of being a very keen profi- 
 cient in handling the borough interest which the 
 first reform-bill had scattered to the winds (he 
 was called the artful dodger) ; no man could 
 have discharsfed his domestic duties more satis- 
 
Salmon Fishing, 57 
 
 factorily, or treated his tenantry with a more 
 tender hand, or have seconded me more heartily 
 in promoting the welfare of the poor, temporal 
 and spiritual. Was there a cottage with ever so 
 uninviting an aspect, dingy and dirty within, and 
 distant no matter how far, with a bed-ridden 
 inmate, old or young ; if I did not confront the 
 countess there, with a kindly voice to cheer, or an 
 open purse to relieve the invalid, I was sure to 
 hear from the lips of the latter, how lately she had 
 been there, as a ministering angel ! And in my 
 constant visits to the school-room, did I as con- 
 stantly behold the ladies H — r 1 working as 
 
 patiently, as the master or mistress, in the hardest 
 of all hard work, teaching the young and ignorant. 
 Because many a spendthrift Peer has ruined 
 himself, and disgraced his order, is about as 
 sound an argument to rely upon, that the 
 whole class is rotten (morally speaking), as 
 to involve the commercial world in wholesale 
 condemnation, because not a few have turned 
 out the most arrant rogues and impostors. 
 
58 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 Let the " Upper Ten Thousand " generally 
 resemble those I have had the good fortune 
 to be acquainted with; and no better safe- 
 guard need they have for the continuance of 
 the high privilege it is theirs to inherit. 
 
 The third day of our voyage had now arrived, 
 and as we drew nearer and nearer to the place 
 of our destination, my " cacoethes " for the charm 
 of again wielding the rod, and watching the 
 fly, as it fell upon the sparkling stream, grew 
 in proportion. Opening my fly-book, and 
 in my mind's eye making a selection of the 
 beauties I longed to introduce to the fair 
 young grilse of the Ness, I had heard such 
 glowing accounts of, became now my frequent 
 employment. 
 
 Little aware on one occasion that the sharp 
 eyes of the Duke's valet were fixed upon the 
 contents, I was startled at hearing his voice ; 
 and not a little amused, when he began to 
 dilate on the salmon he had so often seen 
 disporting themselves in a splendid stream, 
 
Salmon Fishing, 59 
 
 not far from the castle. I said to him, that 
 it was almost worth while to be a Duke, to 
 have at his disposal so many opportunities of 
 enjoying one of the pleasantest of all pleasant 
 amusements on thisjside the grave. 
 
 "I am quite sure, Sir," he replied, "that if 
 you were to write to him, he would be only 
 too glad to give you a few days' fishing.'* 
 ''No," I said, "that would not do at all. From 
 the mere accident of my meeting you and your 
 fellow servants on board a steamer, and be- 
 coming good friends with you, would, I fear, 
 in the Duke's opinion, let him be as kind and 
 courteous a man, as, from what I have heard, 
 no doubt he is, be a very poor pretext indeed 
 for conferring upon me so great a favour, as 
 that of permitting me to fish, for a few days, 
 in one of his select rivers." 
 
 I merely mention this to shew what good 
 friends the Duke's domestics and I had be- 
 come towards the end of our voyage. I heard, 
 almost accidentally, that the railway had just 
 
6o Salmon Fishing. 
 
 been opened from Nairn to Inverness, and the 
 barrister and I were only too glad to take 
 advantage of it, instead of proceeding in the 
 steamer to where the other passengers were 
 bound, and then back to Inverness. 
 
 Many a hearty shake of the hand, and many 
 a cordial good-bye were exchanged on both 
 sides, ere we descended to the boat. 
 
 Then cheer after cheer came bounding 
 
 Across the sun-Ht sea, 
 While the kind, kind words, were sounding, 
 
 "Health and long life to thee !" 
 
 There is no one, whose patience is so often 
 proverbially put to the proof, as the angler's! 
 No sooner had the voyage, which I imdertook 
 at first with fear and trembling, though it turned 
 out quite the contrary in the end, come to a 
 close, and I found myself quietly ensconced 
 under the roof of a very comfortable hotel at 
 Inverness, than the landlord made his appear- 
 ance with a long face, and a longer yarn about 
 the fishing. 
 
 The principal drift of the latter was, that had 
 
H'^ 
 
 
 III 111 
 
 ill til: 
 
 
 
Salmon Fishing. 6i 
 
 I come a fortnight before, instead of the chance 
 of a few fish falling to my share now, I might 
 have killed eight or ten a day. ''Never was 
 known," he said, "such a throng of grilse, and 
 as the water was in their favour, most of them 
 must have travelled up by this time." 
 
 How is it that we unfortunates never do come 
 at the right time } 
 
 Not a little amusing are the graphic pictures 
 presented to our longing eyes, week after week, 
 in the columns of the papers, of the rivers and 
 lakes of Erin, " teeming with salmon," to the sad 
 disappointment of our over-sanguine brethren, 
 who had been tempted too greedily to swallow 
 the bait ! 
 
 From a well-nigh weekly contributor to one 
 of these papers, if the first paragraph of his 
 communication be a little likely to damp the 
 ardour of those who are ever on the look-out 
 for "good fishing quarters," he is sure to have 
 in store that little comfortable monosyllable 
 "still," to settle the matter to their entire 
 
62 ' Salmo7i Fishing. 
 
 satisfaction. "Owing to the very unsettled 
 state of the weather, sport has been bad. 
 Still Captain T. killed three salmon ; Major 
 M., five; the Rev. R. B., ^^sf^n', and Mr. F. 
 C, who had never killed a salmon before, two, 
 which gave fine sport." May the writer whom, 
 some years ago, I saw with my own eyes, 
 and admired as a fine specimen of a straight- 
 forward, manly Irishman, "still" continue to 
 write, and "still" do his best to stir up our 
 flagging hopes of good days to come. 
 
 As parsons, it would seem, from the in- 
 numerable circulars they receive by almost 
 every post, of investments that must inevitably 
 pay fabulous dividends, are regarded by specu- 
 lators as rather soft in money matters, so are 
 Piscators a credulous race in the eyes of the 
 world at large, and especially of hotel-keepers 
 who have a " nice stretch of water to offer them, 
 if they feel disposed to patronise them with 
 their welcome company." 
 
 Seated perhaps day after day in a close 
 
Salmon Fishing. 63 
 
 study, or with a never-idle pen in a dingy- 
 office, or grinding away at some avocation or 
 other, which the performers come to regard 
 with no very dissimilar sensations to those the 
 poor horse in the mill can hardly be free from ; 
 no wonder men such as these give heed to 
 invitations that woo them away to the green 
 shores of Erin, or the mountains and streams 
 of bonnie Scotland; or the charming scenery 
 of North Wales, with too silvery a voice ! 
 
 So superior, in my humble opinion, is salmon- 
 fishing to any other sport, even to a fast run, 
 say, with the Duke of Beaufort's foxhounds, 
 which I once thought nothing could exceed, 
 that I am not surprised, the public should be 
 at a loss to look for it, except at too high a 
 cost, as in the case of the Thurso, and a few 
 other favoured rivers. The veriest shadow of 
 a chance, then, of finding the highly-coveted 
 pleasure without difficulty, or too great a strain 
 upon the purse, is a pill few can help swallowing 
 apart from much prudent forethought. 
 
64 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 Fortunately for us, we do look for something 
 beside the naked fact of killing fish. Passion- 
 ately fond of the country, what more favourable 
 opportunities can we have of seeing nature in 
 every phase of attraction and beauty, than when 
 wandering rod in hand, by the side of a river that 
 runs on for miles upon miles, through diversities 
 of scenery, that must otherwise have remained 
 sealed to our eyes ? 
 
 Besides, we must not forget that, in salmon- 
 fishing, as in everything else, too great a glut of 
 sport on a few favourable occasions would sadly 
 unsettle us, when a failure or two followed subse- 
 quently. Our hands would soon tire of wielding 
 the rod, and watching hour after hour, though in 
 vain, for the silver-spangled spectre, that comes 
 like a meteor to dazzle and delight us. Our 
 patience too that had for a time no strain upon 
 it, when salmon after salmon rose without stint, 
 what would it be just afterwards, when tried and 
 tortured for hours, nay, days together, with no 
 success to reward us for our efforts. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 65 
 
 There is not a salmon-river I am acquainted 
 with, that does not sooner or later, when properly 
 fished, recompense the angler for his pains, 
 provided his appetite for the sport be not 
 immoderate. Of course, when one of the 
 brotherhood excels his friends in the number 
 of fish he kills in the same water, and at the 
 same time, there must be something in his favour, 
 be it the colour and fashion of his flies, his 
 manner of working them, or his knowledge 
 where to throw them. And it is not a little 
 amusing to hear fishermen frequently declare 
 that there is not a fish in the river, because they 
 had been unable to catch any ; forgetful that 
 others at the same time had been favoured with 
 more success. 
 
 It strikes me that a frequent cause of failure, 
 is a forgetfulness on the part of the angler, that a 
 salmon possesses very sharp eyes. 
 
 Down they dash into the first stream at hand, 
 and wade up to the very top of their stockings, 
 and wonder in such likely water, that the salmon 
 
66 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 take not the slightest notice of the killers they 
 are so good as to offer them. Instead of this, 
 had they cast a bit longer line from the edge of 
 the gravel, and only entered the water, when a 
 few yards more were needed, than they could 
 throw without wading, the superior distance from 
 where the fish lay, might have obscured them 
 from the notice of the latter, and a good rise been 
 the result. 
 
 A new river to a fisherman is as welcome a 
 boon, as a new novel to a lover of works of 
 fiction. The reader then may imagine my 
 sensations, when descending from the hill to wet 
 my line for the first time in the river Ness. The 
 earliest glimpse I caught of it gave me a most 
 delightful idea of its beauty, which a closer 
 inspection day after day subsequently failed to 
 obliterate. 
 
 W^hen first he saw the river ramble by, 
 
 V^hat fairer sight could charm the angler's eye ? 
 
 No wonder fancy in her flowery dream, 
 
 Should picture many a fight in pool and stream ; 
 
 Till light as air, his footsteps skimmed the field, 
 
 While his hand clutched the rod he longed to wield. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HROW it cannie, throw it cannie," 
 were words that unexpectedly 
 reached me from my attendant 
 
 C — m n, spoken in a strong Scotch dialect^ 
 
 after he had watched for a minute or two my first 
 essay at salmon-fishing in the river Ness. 
 
 Now being impressed with the notion, that I 
 was throwing by no means a short line, as light 
 as a link of gossamer, and straight as a shaft from 
 a bow, his warning seemed to me to be a bit 
 hypercritical. Still, thought I, there must be 
 some good reason for his words, or he would 
 scarcely adventure them in the face of the 
 admitted fact that, few like, at the time at least, 
 to be confronted with any fault, be it of fishing, 
 or anything else. 
 
68 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 For ten days or a fortnight I had the privilege 
 of fishing some of the best pools — by no means 
 a narrow extent of water — with no one to 
 compete with me, or disturb me in any way. I 
 was advised to take the above-mentioned guide 
 to unravel the mysteries of this new sheet, not of 
 letter-press, but of water, and point out the 
 favourite haunts of my finny friend, Salmo-Salar. 
 
 A stout, thick-set, good-looking fellow was he, 
 but very singular, I soon found out, in his religious 
 creed, and more so in his strong superstitious 
 fancies. The Sabbath in his eyes was strangely 
 distinct from the delightful day the best authority 
 on record has furnished us a true picture of, as 
 *• made for man." To do anything that promoted 
 his pleasure, no matter how harmless in itself, 
 was about as criminal a thing in his eyes, as for 
 a thief on ordinary days to scale the walls of a 
 dwelling-house, and rob, if not murder, the 
 sleeping inmates. I verily believe, that had he 
 seen me struggling for dear life in the deepest 
 pool in the river, he would have paused, ere he 
 
Salmon Fishing. 69 
 
 made any attempt to pull me out ; all oblivious 
 of the divine sanction most expressly given to 
 works of necessity and charity on the Lord's- 
 day. 
 
 Not far from Inverness is a hill, pretty and 
 picturesque to behold ; indeed so much so, as to 
 induce me to make some remarks in reference to 
 it, in his hearing. 
 
 "Ah, sir/' said he, "that's Tomna-hurich — the 
 hill of the fairies." "The hill of the fairies; did you 
 ever see a fairy T I asked, with a smile. " See 
 one," said he, "God forbid!" and he looked as 
 angry, as though I had defamed his father. 
 After a short pause, I could not forbear returning 
 to the subject, though with a graver face. 
 
 Very reluctant to say a syllable more than he 
 could help, I gleaned from him, that he was 
 as firm a believer in fairy-legends, as in the 
 written words of his own religious creed. In a 
 low tone of voice one or two instances fell from 
 him, how severely Archibald the smith, and 
 Donald the deer-stalker, had suffered for their 
 
70 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 temerity, in lingering a little to watch the mid- 
 night antics of these mysterious creatures, as they 
 were dancing in the moonlight. Very strange it 
 struck me, that this big, brawny type of manli- • 
 ness, with brains so sharp on other subjects, 
 should stray away wool-gathering on this ! 
 
 Not long after I commenced fishing, I hooked 
 and landed a sea-trout, from three to four pounds 
 weight ; well satisfied with the smallest of favours 
 the shy goddess was disposed to confer upon me. 
 
 The only remark I heard from C — m n, on 
 
 receiving this little spotted beauty from my 
 hands was, ^' Never fear, you'll have a fushe 
 soon." A fushe soon ! What description of 
 animal does the fellow call this, then, thought I } 
 
 It soon appeared, that for every other fresh- 
 water, finny creature, except a real Salmo-Salar, 
 he entertained a supreme contempt, to the 
 extent almost of denying that they were fish 
 at all. 
 
 Talk of the caprice of the fair sex ! What are 
 they compared with the whims of trout and 
 
Salmon Fishiitg. yi 
 
 salmon ? On this occasion not only did I see 
 the latter jumping out of the water in the 
 strangest possible manner, but some, within a few 
 feet of where I was wading, seemed bent upon 
 knocking me over with a stroke of their tails, 
 so close to me did they come. And yet all alive 
 as the river was with grilse and salmon, not one 
 would condescend to look even at my fly, to say 
 nothing of taking it. Instead of coming up head 
 and tail in a straight direction, the fish in 
 question, I observed, invariably threw themselves 
 sideways out of the water ; and when such was 
 
 the case, C — m n told me they were called 
 
 ''Plumpers,'' (in local phraseology, I pre- 
 sumed), and rarely, if ever gave the angler any 
 sport. 
 
 Since witnessing the strange antics of these 
 fish, many years have slipped away, and yet I 
 am as much puzzled as ever, when I see continu- 
 ally the same whims and fancies of the finny race 
 in question, and try to account for them. 
 
 It is a common notion with the fishing 
 
72 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 fraternity m general, that neither trout nor 
 salmon will rise well before rain. And yet 
 in several instances I have proved the opposite 
 of this to be the case ; that is, just immediately 
 before the expected rain-fall came, and during 
 its first appearance. 
 
 Once, from the mouth of the Dore that falls 
 into the Monnow about a mile below Pontrilas, 
 in Herefordshire, I commenced fishing with a 
 fly up the stream. The trout came, and came 
 well too ; but not satisfied with this, I changed 
 the fly, quite contrary to my custom, for a small 
 brass killdevil. The reason for my doing so, 
 was this. I had promised an old lady not far 
 off, the next time I came near her house, a 
 good dish of trout, which promise, I fancied, 
 from a faint smile that played about her mouth 
 for a moment, she received with slight symptoms 
 of incredulity. Remembering this, and seeing 
 evident signs of a speedy change of weather, 
 I felt all the more covetous of filling my basket 
 in the speediest way possible. And well was 
 
Salmon Fishing, 73 
 
 I recompensed for the change in question. 
 Though a few came short, and I missed them, 
 I had no notion of the number and size of the 
 trout, so many, many beauties began to accumu- 
 late in my basket. The rain commenced in 
 earnest, and yet for some Httle time, till the 
 Avater became quite discoloured, my butchery, 
 for I could call it by no better name, continued 
 unabated. 
 
 Reeking with wet from all sides, and smothered 
 well-nigh with the close atmosphere ; it was 
 quite a relief to desist from sport (so called), 
 and remove the burthen from my shoulders. 
 
 When I arrived at the old lady's house, I 
 asked the servant for a large dish. And a 
 large dish, as she thought, she brought! But 
 no, a much larger one, I told her, I wanted; 
 in fact, the largest she had in the house. 
 
 It was amusing to watch the countenance of 
 the domestic, when trout after trout, all dripping 
 with wet, and glorious to look at, dropped from 
 the basket. At length, after the last fish had 
 
74 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 been piled on the top, and I told her to take 
 them to the old lady within, her silent fit fairly- 
 broke down; and neither could she, or her 
 mistress, who then joined us, cease for a long 
 while descanting on the beauty of the fish, or 
 praising the liberality of the donor. 
 
 I could recount instances of the like greedi- 
 ness of salmon to take the fly, just before a 
 change of weather, and during the first hour 
 or two of the falling rain ; but such, I am well 
 aware, is not the case in general. 
 
 To revert, however, to the salmon in question ; 
 as rain fell on the following night to some 
 extent, may I not venture to conclude, that 
 instinct told them what they had to expect, 
 and that they either gambolled in play at the 
 prospect, or felt uneasy, they knew not why, 
 moved by sensations, not very dissimilar perhaps 
 to those of many of their human persecutors on 
 dry land, when suddenfits of langour or peevish- 
 ness, they cannot account for, take possession of 
 them } 
 
Salmon Fishing. 75 
 
 As a plentiful supply of rain is indispensable 
 to salmon, to swell the rivers they frequent in 
 their upward course, as well as to help them 
 down, when certain domestic duties have been 
 discharged, who knows but that the hand of 
 Providence has implanted in them a sure pre- 
 sentiment of the change at hand, and the strange 
 antics above-mentioned may be a method pecu- 
 liar to them of shewing their humble joys and 
 
 sorrows ? Not a little mortified was C — m n 
 
 at the close of the day, when all we had to 
 exhibit as the fruit of our labours, was the 
 solitary sea-trout he had shewn such a contempt 
 for! He felt, however, a little more composed, 
 when he was Informed by the landlord of the 
 hotel I was staying at, that a first-rate fisherman 
 had tried the same water the day before, with- 
 out even a wretched sea-trout to rew^ard his 
 pains. 
 
 When my companion saw how little notice the 
 fish were inclined to take of my flies, he pulled 
 out of his pocket some charming specimens 
 
76 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 of native skill, most beautifully tied, but far 
 too gaudy to tempt me to try them. The 
 glimpse I had of them confirmed me in a 
 previous suspicion, that most of the flies in my 
 book were too large ; and I determined to drag 
 myself from my bed the next morning two 
 hours earlier than usual to concoct a few smaller, 
 and as I hoped, more seductive to the fish. 
 
 ''What a delighful occupation," said a fair 
 friend who saw me not long since busily engaged 
 in fly-making, with a medley-of materials around, 
 pretty enough in her eyes, no doubt, but very 
 perplexing to me. 
 
 Not very *' delightful " did I find the "occu- 
 pation," at the early hour before mentioned! 
 Sometimes a sudden fit seizes me for two or 
 three days together to sit down for an hour 
 or two, and invent new patterns of flies, in 
 accordance with sundry fancies that flit across 
 me. And then, I admit that the occupation 
 is far from disagreeable. But to be forced 
 (morally speaking) to rise at so unseasonable 
 
Salmon Fishing, yy 
 
 a time, and deprive oneself of two good hours' 
 rest, to make flies in a dreary dormitory at an 
 hotel ; defend me, I say, from such delights ! 
 
 So lovely a river is the Ness, that I could go 
 on flogging its fair sides hour after hour, without 
 being surfeited with the hope, ever sanguine, but 
 scarcely ever realised, of a rising fish. A change 
 however for the better awaited me soon after I 
 commenced fishing on the second day. I had 
 scarcely wetted my line in the lower water, when 
 I distinctly saw in the most rapid part a gleam, 
 like a flash of lightning, and felt a slight tighten- 
 ing of the line at the same moment, but nothing 
 more. I had a small sober-looking fly on — a 
 favourite of mine, when the water is not too 
 high, and the sun bright, as distinct from the 
 
 shewy specimens C — m n displayed to me on 
 
 the previous day, as a shadow from a sunbeam. 
 I tried him again, but in vain ; so I left him 
 to his stubborn fit, determined to bag him, if 
 possible by and bye later on in the day. 
 
 The weather was anything than what you 
 
y^ Salmon Fishing. 
 
 would naturally expect in August ; for though 
 the sun shone at intervals, the wind was blowing 
 from the east, and was not only wretchedly cold, 
 but far too breezy to be agreeable. Every now 
 and then, too, such a storm of rain would dash 
 down, as to drive me for shelter to a plantation 
 at no great distance from the river side. 
 
 As the day wore on, and after landing one or 
 two fish, I suddenly espied the pool above fore- 
 stalled by a stranger ; and yet I could not help 
 fancying I had seen him before. The water 
 having been placed at my sole disposal, I was 
 somewhat curious to ascertain what reason the 
 intruder had for his trespass on my rights ? 
 Just before I joined him, the wind was blowing 
 hard from behind his back ; — not too hard 
 however to prevent my hearing a sudden crack 
 — the fatal knell, I was sure, of a departed fly. 
 Pausing for a moment to give him time to put 
 on another, I caught a glimpse of his face, and 
 saw immediately that the trespasser was no other 
 than my attendant of the previous day. Just as 
 
Salmon Fishing. 79 
 
 he was sending another fly to share, I felt sure, 
 the fate of the former, I called out to him in the 
 same curt, dogmatic words he had used to me, 
 
 *' Throw it cannie, C — m n, throw it cannie T* 
 
 And then, to his evident bewilderment, I fairly- 
 burst out into a roar of laughter. 
 
 Poor fellow ! if ever a dog, after killing a sheep, 
 and confronting the shepherd, looked cowed 
 and crest-fallen, no finer representative in human 
 form could he have had, than my late companion 
 when he heard the words, and recognised the 
 speaker. 
 
 Though (comparatively speaking) a Tyro in 
 salmon-fishing then, I was far too proud of 
 beating my would-be mentor (he told me, he had 
 had no sport) and pleased with the opportunity 
 of " turning the tables" on him, to inquire too 
 curiously, why he had ventured so rashly to 
 tempt my forbearance. No doubt, as the weather 
 was so unpropitious, he fully calculated on my 
 absence from the river ; little dreaming that my 
 appetite for sport, no matter what the weather, 
 
So Salmon Fishing, 
 
 was no less keen, than his greediness for 
 plunder. He certainly had the good taste to 
 wind up his line, and walk away, '' a sadder," 
 if not " a wiser man ;" and I believe I never 
 set eyes on him again. 
 
 Though one of our greatest bards has called 
 (or rather miscalled) angling a " solitary vice," 
 not the least of its advantages is, that it can be 
 right-pleasantly pursued in solitude, far more 
 than any other sport. 
 
 Except on the first day's trial of a new river, 
 I infinitely prefer fishing without even an 
 attendant. Should a heavy fish or two be 
 captured, there is ever at hand some gorse-bush 
 or other equally safe hiding-place, till a keeper 
 or countryman heave in sight, to help you in 
 your emergency. It is a great relief to me, at 
 least at times, to be quite alone, without the 
 restraint of having every movement watched, and 
 everything you do, or say, carefully treasured 
 up, to be doled out for the edification of the 
 next stranf]^er under tow. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 
 
 As the day was fast drawing to a close, it 
 struck me that I would on my way home try if 
 I could not become more intimate with the 
 finny friend who had cut my acquaintance so 
 unceremoniously in the morning. Almost in the 
 very same spot as before I saw him most dis- 
 tinctly dash at the fly, but without succeeding 
 in arresting it in the whirling stream. After 
 pausing for five minutes, perhaps, I rose him 
 again, though with the like mortifying result. 
 To give him time now to recover from his dis- 
 appointment, I began much higher up; but when 
 I was within five or six yards at least above the 
 spot I rose him in before, whether he had moved 
 higher, or his quick eye had detected the fly 
 from that distance, I know not ; up he came, 
 head and tail, and soon shewed that he was 
 hooked this time fast enough. Often and often 
 since, as I have watched the marvellous activity 
 of a hooked salmon, the creature that was 
 capering before me now I have rarely seen 
 exceeded in strength and activity in proportion 
 
82 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 to his weight. Without running out much line, 
 he tried to free himself at first from durance vile 
 by throwing himself three times out of the 
 water ; and then he fairly took, I was going to 
 say, to his heels, down the stream, till he came 
 to a large rocky projection, by the side of which 
 he paused for a moment or two, and then turned, 
 and came back again to his old quarters. A 
 fresh-run fish like this may fight in a frantic way 
 for a season, but if you press on him hard with 
 as short and tight a line as possible, he will be 
 sure to give in, far sooner, in my experience, 
 than a well-mended kelt (so called). Though I 
 had soon tamed the fish in question, being alone, 
 and no sand or gravel near to coax him on, very 
 fortunately a friend came up in the nick of time, 
 and gaffed him for me. He turned out to be a 
 grilse rather over eleven pounds ; the largest 
 two-year-old fish I had ever killed, or indeed 
 seen. 
 
 Being naturally rather incredulous, it was some 
 time before I could bring myself to believe that 
 
Salmon Fishing. 83 
 
 a smolt of so tender an age as sixteen months 
 could increase in dimensions to such an extent^ 
 within two years, as to weigh half a dozen 
 pounds, to say nothing of eleven or twelve. And 
 yet in this instance, from the shape of the fish^ 
 the size and consistency of his scales, and above 
 all by the comparatively soft fins, it was pointed 
 out to me by several Invernessites, that the last 
 beauty I had bagged m their river was a 
 veritable grilse of no greater age than two 
 years. 
 
 How few of us are ever quite satisfied, be 
 the present condition of things no matter how 
 pleasant.. The privilege I had in my power 
 of fishing some of the pools of such a river as the 
 Ness was valued so highly, that though I had 
 already enjoyed it for some days, an enthusiastic 
 lover of the craft said he would gladly give 
 me thirty pounds for the remainder of the time I 
 had at my disposal. I told him of course 
 that though it was utterly out of the question 
 for me to think of seUing what the generous 
 
34 Salmon Fishing 
 
 donor had gratuitously bestowed upon me as 
 a boon, it would have given me the greatest 
 pleasure to surrender my rod to him, if possible, 
 for a day or two. Nor was the willingness 
 on my part any great stretch of personal self- 
 denial. I have never, either with a gun, or a 
 rod, had the smallest inclination to be a butcher 
 in my sport. The mere fact of killing birds, 
 or fish, unaccompanied by collateral circum- 
 stances, would soon sicken me, as a child is 
 sickened by a surfeit of sweets. "A hot corner" 
 in shooting, for instance — the '^ ne plus ^dtra" 
 with so many ; — Oh, defend me from the 
 delights of such sport as this ! And the 
 turnips and stubbles tramped over in un- 
 broken ranks, each one who composes them 
 burning to beat his neighbour; — Oh, the jolly 
 days of yore, when often with one companion 
 and a brace of dogs I used to sally out armed 
 with the dear old muzzle loader, and walk, 
 •** ad libituml' hour after hour, well satisfied with 
 a bag of two or three brace of birds, and a hare. 
 
Salmon Fislmzg. 85 
 
 and snipe or two, — how they do rise up before 
 me in delightful contrast ! 
 
 In the case in question, though I was assured 
 when I arrived at Inverness that, had I come a 
 fortnight before, when the great throng of fish 
 was running up, I might have killed, instead of 
 one or two salmon a day, at least a dozen; it was 
 not on this account — the want of more sporty 
 that would have induced me to surrender my rod 
 for a day or two, but the limited space of water,, 
 and sameness of scenery, that met my eyes day 
 after day. 
 
 A ten miles' ramble up and down the banks of 
 a river in a mountainous country, such as I am 
 accustomed to; — Why, if mere butchery were the 
 prime motive, the favourite old rod would long 
 since have been hung up, a relic of the past; and 
 every fly flung aside, as food for the moth ! 
 
 When fish ascend the Ness in any number^ 
 it is surprising how noisy the gulls become. At 
 any rate I heard from the natives that such v/as 
 the case, when these clamorous creatures came 
 
S6 Salmon FisJdng. 
 
 darting around me on all sides in countless 
 flocks. I have no doubt this information was 
 correct, judging from their strange, fantastic 
 evolutions. Wheeling round and round, and 
 then descending suddenly like dwarfed sea- 
 eagles, though no farther than the surface of 
 the water, which they seemed disgusted at being 
 able to strike only with their beaks, not dive 
 into, they keep on all the while a cross-jabbering 
 kind of conversation with one another, somewhat 
 haply after the following fashion. 
 
 '•'Ah! there you are, my friend, as saucy a 
 young grilse as ever swam ; I only wish I 
 could get a peck at your fat sides! I'd soon 
 shew you how to behave yourself in the 
 presence of your betters! Just look, brother 
 gull, at that big fdilow rolling about there; 
 would'nt we walk into him, were he on shore for 
 a minute or two !" '' Confound you, you little 
 wretch," screamed a disappointed marauder, who 
 made an unsuccessful dash at a guileless sea- 
 trout, a little nearer the surface than was safe. 
 
Salmon Fisliing. 87 
 
 That the gulls talked in this fashion, few of 
 my readers, I fancy, are gullible enough to credit. 
 Still that they, and other birds too have their own 
 peculiar language, I feel confident from evidence 
 which, though it would hardly suit a court of 
 law, would be quite sufficient for a reasonable 
 naturalist. 
 
 See that sage-looking rook who seems so 
 jolly, when he sits swayed to and fro on the 
 leafy branch in a breezy day; while some 
 way off his friends are busily feeding. He caws 
 av/ay every now and then, as if holding converse 
 with himself, like solitary human beings are 
 wont to do; the other members of the flock 
 apparently taking not the smallest notice of 
 what he says. But only draw a bit nearer 
 to the latter, and see how the watchman swells 
 his throat, and rattles out his warning, which 
 instantaneously affects the black brotherhood, 
 and sends every bird away from his choice 
 feeding-ground. 
 
 See the blackbird too, as I, unfortunately for 
 
S8 Salmo7t Fishing. 
 
 my strawberries, cherries, and gooseberries, too 
 often do. When walking with my little single- 
 barrel under my arm, how he bustles off with his 
 "wish you may catch me" chuckle. But lounge 
 as close as possible to him without it, and he 
 scarcely condescends to bestow any notice upon 
 my movements, until I send a stone whizzing 
 after him, and away he goes laughing at me. 
 No sooner, however, does a cat come within 
 the premises, and if I saw the intruder with 
 my own eyes, I could not be surer his of 
 presence, than when the blackbird's "' tchuck ! 
 tchuck ! tchuck!" in a sotto voce note, is heard 
 continuously, till Grimalkin takes the hint, and 
 makes himself scarce again. 
 
 To return however to the clamour of the gulls 
 which one day especially annoyed me. I had 
 been fishing for some time rather listlessly, and 
 began to weary of watching these birds, when 
 I was startled, nay, wellnigh frightened at a 
 heavy splash, too close to my fly, not to feel 
 assured that my finny friend (I hoped to 
 
Sabnon FisJmig. 89 
 
 make him) meant mischief. I certainly did 
 hook, and have hold of him, but where, or in 
 what way, I could not for the life of me imagine. 
 He appeared to me to be the "coolest fish," I 
 had ever met with, never once putting himself 
 the least out of his way, so far as exertion went. 
 When I found what a sluggard I had to deal 
 with, I began putting on the strain (to use 
 my old friend's graphic phraseology). As well 
 pull at a house ! Not the smallest impression 
 did it make upon him. He had quietly betaken 
 himself to the centre of the stream, perhaps 
 about fifty yards, and not more than a few feet 
 would he turn one way or the other. I was too 
 great a novice then to know anything about 
 stoning him ; being as nervous as possible not to 
 lose w^hat I concluded must be a monster of a 
 salmon. While this little game was being 
 played, I heard a voice from the other side 
 almost yelling at me to do this and that, and 
 saw a man throwing about his arms in a most 
 excited manner. I could not quite distinguish 
 G 
 
go Sahno7i Fishing. 
 
 the words, but I fancy he called me what seemed 
 little short of a simpleton over and over again ; 
 till at last I shouted out to him, to mind his own 
 business, and not bother me. Ten minutes 
 passed away, and getting rather impatient I 
 tugged hard enough at the fish, to put a little 
 life into him. But no ! It was not till a few 
 more minutes had elapsed, that he most 
 deliberately moved about ten yards up the 
 stream, and nothing I could do afterwards had 
 any effect upon him, until to my horror the hook 
 came home. 
 
 The sensations we anglers have to submit to, 
 under such circumstances as these, are sadly 
 trying to the temper. Doubtless the fish was 
 hooked foul in no very sensitive part ; and being 
 of some size, and not perhaps of an excitable 
 temperament, thought it not worth his while 
 to exert himself much. The man who had 
 screeched at me from the other side I found 
 I had not done with yet. He was fishing with a 
 parr's tail for his bait, and kept whirling it about 
 
Salmon Fishing. 91 
 
 in a way that quite annoyed me. In fact, not 
 satisfied with sending it whizzing in every direc- 
 tion from the side he was standing by, he must 
 needs step into a boat at hand, and obtrude his 
 bait not unfrequently where I was casting my 
 fly. To my inexpressible delight, not far from 
 where he raised quite a commotion in the water, 
 as I thought most unnecessarily, not to say 
 uncourteously, up came a sportive young grilse, 
 which I managed to hook, certainly not foul this 
 time, as the salmon of late, but so firmly, as to 
 let me ^xsr^ him just enough latitude to rush 
 about under the fellow's nose, without the danger 
 of losing him. 
 
 Well ! talk of paying a man off, who had 
 made a desperate attempt to " do" you, and in a 
 way no gentleman would attempt ! I never saw 
 one so ludicrously wrathful, as my fellow-fisher- 
 man, when he caught sight of this bright little 
 beauty capering about, and the quiet smile that 
 was playing all the while on my countenance. 
 After repaying him for some time with, I fear, 
 
92 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 not " good for evil ;" I tried to land the fish on a 
 small flat part of the bank, that lay convenient 
 for the purpose. Not a bit of it. Three times 
 did I make the attempt, and three times was I 
 foiled. Emboldened by this apparent want of 
 skill on my part, again was his voice raised to 
 the roughest possible pitch of objurgation; while 
 he never desisted a moment from labouring away 
 with his rod, though had he hooked a fish then, 
 there must inevitably have been a foul between 
 us. To put a summary stopper upon his noisy 
 exhibition of ill-temper, the next time the grilse 
 came near enough, I made use of the gaff, which 
 I am always backward in doing, if I can avoid it, 
 and I soon had the satisfaction of gazing on the 
 charms of the lovely fish which lay extended on 
 the green sward. 
 
 Thanks, perhaps, to the healthy working of a 
 liver, not always disposed to behave well ; to the 
 pleasure derived from the sweet river-scenery; 
 and to the draughts of pure oxygen from the 
 breezy, bracing air, I felt in such thorough good 
 
Salmon Fishing, 93 
 
 temper, that nothing my Scotch unfriend (to coin 
 a new word) said or did, I was quite aware, could 
 have ruffled me for a moment. 
 
 " Better sport to you, and better manners, 
 when you meet a stranger for the future, as a 
 fellow-fisherman !" — were my only parting words 
 to him. 
 
 While walking on to the next stream I began 
 ruminating on this man's conduct. So unusual 
 a thing was it to meet with anything bordering 
 on incivility in my numerous fishing excursions, 
 that the late exhibition of it was as grating to 
 my feelings, as trying to shave the contrary way 
 would be to my skin. At length I fancied I hit 
 upon the reasonable solution of the mystery. 
 I remembered that my former attendant 
 
 C — m n had pressed upon my attention 
 
 some very pretty flies, with the seductive 
 addendum to induce me to purchase them, 
 "that none others would kill in that river so 
 well." Now, from some enquiries I was induced 
 to make, I began to suspect that the tier of 
 
94 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 these flies, and my wrathful, ill-conditioned 
 opposite neighbour, were identical. 
 
 " That an ignorant, self-sufficient sort of fellow, 
 like this Englishman, should have the face to 
 reject such flies as mine, in favour of his own 
 wretched abortions ;" — no wonder some such 
 thoughts as these, if they passed through his 
 mind, combined with his own want of success, 
 should " rile" him a bit, and make him demean 
 himself more like an untaught brute, than the 
 well-educated, civil (though not over-cordial) 
 Scotchmen I usually fell in with ! 
 
 There is so marked a difference in the man- 
 ners and demeanour of the Irish and Scotch 
 lower classes, that it cannot fail of striking the 
 stranger. " Is it sport your honour wants T 
 says Pat ; and straight ahead does he launch 
 into the most ludicrously extravagant pictures 
 of what is in store for you, if you only 
 ''persevare" in such a "strame," and take "a 
 broth of a boy" like himself to "pint out the 
 beauties ; Heaven bless them ! " 
 
Salmon Fishing, 95 
 
 If, in my frequent visits to Ireland, my sport 
 has been little to boast of, the pleasant days I 
 have spent there in the sole society very often 
 of the peasantry, always make me desirous to 
 renew my acquaintance with them. And though 
 I could never afford to pay them for their 
 services, except at a very moderate rate, I can- 
 not call .to mind an instance, when they did not 
 express themselves, not only perfectly satisfied, 
 but were, I may almost say, quite affectionate 
 in their parting salutations. " Long life to y'r 
 honour, and may all the saints in heaven bless 
 you !" These are pleasant words, and who can 
 listen to them without emotion t 
 
 Now I never found the Scotch peasant in the 
 smallest degree demonstrative. He will talk to 
 you, if you encourage him, and talk wonderfully 
 well, too. But to look for anything like jocu- 
 larity at his mouth, or an attempt at a witticism, 
 as well look for the sun at midnight. He has 
 also a keen eye to the main chance, rather more 
 so not unfrequently than is reasonable, as a 
 
96 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 few incidents like the following led me to infer. 
 Two or three years ago I accepted an invita- 
 tion from a friend, who had taken some shooting 
 near Alford, in Aberdeenshire, to visit him for a 
 fortnight, and try the river Don. I found myself 
 at the station at Aberdeen at a little before four 
 o'clock in the morning ; and on inquiry I found 
 that the train did not start for Alford till seven. 
 Seeing a truck almost full of luggage on the 
 way to the station, whence the train to Alford 
 would start, I flung my carpet-bag on the top of 
 it, and offered the porter sixpence. He looked 
 at me for a moment or two, and then at the six- 
 pence ; and all he kept exclaiming deliberately 
 for some time was, " Suxpence indeed, suxpence, 
 suxpence !" Well, I said, if you are not satisfied, 
 I will carry the bag myself But no ! he kept on 
 in the same cuckoo note, ^'Suxpence, suxpence;" 
 till seeing I was getting impatient, and about to 
 take the bag from the truck, to my unutterable 
 amusement, he called out, "Well, gie us your 
 suxpence," and off he went with the bag. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 97 
 
 The last day's fishing in the Ness was fast 
 drawing towards a close, and I felt, as I believe 
 most of us anglers do, very reluctant to say 
 good bye to a river on the banks of which I had 
 spent so many pleasant hours. If I cannot 
 relate how grilse after grilse was captured, to 
 the large extent, I was told, they might have 
 amounted, had I come a fortnight earlier ; I can 
 in all sincerity say, that I was quite satisfied 
 with the sport I had enjoyed ; and that the 
 lovely streams of this fine river have never since 
 lost their place in my memory. In fact, though 
 many may smile at the confession of one of the 
 "harmless lunatics" (we anglers are sometimes 
 called), for many and many a day I could not 
 divest myself of the idea that I was ever and anon 
 still listening to their sweet music ! No wonder a 
 true fisherman, like Stoddart, should exclaim ! — 
 
 " The streams of old Scotland for me ! 
 
 The joyous, the wilful, the wild ; 
 The waters of song, and of glee, 
 That ramble away to the sea. 
 
 With the step and the mirth of a child.'* 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 |N iligant fly, y'r honour, but divil a 
 fish will look at it in this strame;" 
 was the charming compliment the 
 little beauty I had selected for the especial 
 delectation of the Clady salmon, received at the 
 mouth of Dan O'Donnell ! " Indeed, indeed, 
 y'r honour, a fly with a red tail will 7iiver do !" 
 . In the face of all this discouragement, a heretic 
 in fishing, as well as in some more serious matters, 
 I had the hardihood to continue ; satisfied to 
 await a happier moment, when the mist would 
 fade away from his eyes, as I felt sure it would 
 ere long, and I should stand all the higher in 
 Dan's estimation for my " suparior jidgment !" 
 
Salmon Fishing. 99 
 
 To shew how Httle I regard the old stereotyped 
 patterns of flies, there are very few of the 
 hundreds I have fabricated that I could pro- 
 nounce twin brothers, or sisters. I remember 
 falling in with a stranger on the banks of the 
 Dovey, in North Wales, who was so abject a 
 slave to pattern-flies, that he would scarcely 
 credit the fact that the two fish I had lately 
 landed had been seduced to their ruin by one 
 of my own fancy. How I discovered this, was 
 from a most doleful complaint that fell from his 
 lips somewhat to the following eflect : — "Bother 
 it ! here have I been trying the Butcher, the 
 Parson, the Goldfinch, and all the rest of them, 
 and not a fin have I set eyes upon the whole 
 day. And yet with that nondescript affair of 
 yours you have managed to lick the whole lot 
 of them." 
 
 When he looked through my book, and broke 
 out into sundry quaint remarks, as fly after fly 
 caught his notice ; what with his broad Lanca- 
 shire dialect, and blunt expression of opinion, I 
 
100 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 could not help laughing, rather more perhaps 
 than good manners would justify. Meeting him 
 again and again afterwards, it was some time 
 before his pattern-worship began to grow cold ; 
 and the suspicion to dawn upon him, that the 
 colour and size of flies was of far more conse- 
 quence, than a servile imitation of any, so called, 
 killer, under the sun. 
 
 The Clady struck me as being more like a 
 trout-stream, than a salmon-river ; and any 
 stranger accustomed to the practice of the 
 ^^ gentle art" need scarcely have a guide to point 
 out the best water. Some time had slipped 
 away after Dan had condemned the fly with the 
 red tail, and not a syllable more about it dropped 
 from his lips. At length, after we had wandered 
 about a mile down the river, and came to a sharp 
 angle in the bank, under which the stream played 
 merrily, and a yard or two beyond on the other 
 side there was some inviting back-water ; " Now 
 or never for a fish," broke, as it were, instinctively 
 from me. No sooner had I spoken, than a gleam 
 
Salmon Fishing. lOl 
 
 of silver shone for a moment in the sunbeams, 
 and " whirr, — rr — rr," went the reel ! And say, 
 ye who have heard it, what music is more 
 welcome ? After fighting the fish for a few 
 minutes, I suspected from his manoeuvres, that 
 he was not much to boast of in point of size ; 
 though just as I had got him on a ledge of rock, 
 and told Dan to tail him, the stupid fellow not 
 only lost the fish, but very nearly fell in himself 
 head over heels. " I tell you what, my friend," I 
 said to him, " if you can't tail a fish better than 
 that, you must let me do it myself." 
 
 How many fish have I lost in a similar way \ 
 An excitable fellow, like Dan, is about the last 
 assistant I care to have, to tail or gaff a fish for 
 me. Indeed, so much accustomed am I do it 
 myself, that I rarely trust to anyone else now, 
 unless I am aware he can do it properly. Instead 
 of creeping towards him quietly, but quickly, 
 down bundled Dan in the face of the startled 
 fish ; and away dashed the latter down the 
 stream again, and broke loose ; while I was left 
 
102 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 to warble in a melancholy strain, — " The last 
 links are broken that bound me to thee." 
 
 Dan was a very decent fellow, though a bit 
 softer, than the Irish peasants in general. He 
 either had been just married, or was on the eve 
 of being so ; which I could not make out, as he 
 was very shy on the subject. Nothing, however, 
 I could say had the smallest influence in changing 
 his opinion, as far as prudential motives went in 
 matters matrimonial. And yet though a smarter 
 young fellow you would scarcely fall in with in 
 a long day's walk, what, after so early a mar- 
 riage (he was but a mere youth) was he likely 
 to become in the course of a very few years ? 
 It was the old, old story in Ireland ! — a boy 
 and girl marriage ; a cabin to exist in, often 
 without a chimney even for the escape of the 
 smoke from the turf fire ; — a bit of ground 
 scarcely big enough to grow potatoes in, in a 
 favourable season; and no farmer at hand to 
 give him employment ! In this case, it is true, 
 as Dan was a favourite, the guests at the hotel 
 
Salmon Fishing. 103 
 
 who were fishermen were only too glad to get 
 him ; but where were they when the fishing- 
 season was over ? 
 
 So often have I visited the Green Island, that 
 many a time and oft the natives amongst the 
 higher classes have applied to me for information 
 about their own country. And in my various 
 fishing excursions, I have been far from a careless 
 observer of the peasantry, a class I fell in with 
 most frequently. I believe, on the whole, a nicer 
 set of fellows no nation on earth need boast of ! 
 Though quick and irascible of temper, they have 
 kind, warm hearts. And no wonder the Iron 
 Duke found them such faithful followers, when 
 they fought under a flag that was endeared to 
 them, and a leader they loved. 
 
 How often when I first went to Ireland, and 
 thought myself a match for them in sundry little 
 playful sallies, have I found the tables turned 
 against me to my sad discomfiture at the time I 
 With all this however in their favour, it struck 
 me very generally, that none have I ever met 
 
104 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 with, so credulous, I was going to say gullible. 
 No matter how marvellous the story they hear 
 at the lips of one they have any respect for, 
 down it goes with as ready an access to their 
 convictions, as though it were a quotation from 
 Scripture. 
 
 In proportion to the faith in my prowess as 
 a fisherman, which I began to find was fast 
 getting the upper hand of Dan, in spite of 
 the red-tailed fly controversy, when he found 
 that of the three or four rods on the river 
 mine happened by good luck to be the only 
 successful one, did I become master of his ear, 
 let the story be ever so much of the Baron 
 Munchausen type, that I ventured to extem- 
 porise, as a trial of his credulity. 
 
 There is a politeness, I may almost call it 
 polish, about the Irish peasant in general, you 
 look for in vain elsewhere. Cheery, sanguine 
 fellows, no matter how unkind the fickle god- 
 dess is disposed to be to you, yoii seldom hear 
 a word of discouragement from them. "A big 
 
Salmon Fishing. 105 
 
 un, your honour, is shure to come soon ; and 
 a blessing on the darling;" or, ^'divil a fish 
 is there in the strame, or the iligant fly with 
 the tawpings would soon be into him ;" and 
 other such like sops to the disappointed fisher- 
 man are continually administered by them. 
 
 The distance from the hotel to Benbeg, where 
 the river falls into the sea, is about five English 
 miles. Two-thirds of the distance down, if I 
 remember aright, is the residence of the clergy- 
 man of the parish. When I inquired of Dan, 
 who lived there, I was surprisec' and delighted 
 to find that, had the worthy resident been the 
 most popular priest within the circle of Dan's 
 acquaintance, he could not have spoken more 
 highly of him, than he did of this Protestant 
 Parson ! So much was he beloved by all, no 
 matter what their creed, that no sooner were his 
 crops on the Glebe-land fit, than the peasants 
 flocked together indiscriminately, first to cut, 
 and then carry the grass and corn crops,. 
 
 and dig the potatoes. It was customary 
 H 
 
io6 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 afterwards for the recipient of these kindnesses 
 to have a large gathering of the volunteers 
 at the close of the day, when they and their 
 families were regaled with the best cheer the 
 parsonage contained. 
 
 Oh, the blessed state of things, if elsewhere, 
 beside this little secluded spot, the like Christian 
 spirit prevailed ! 
 
 Once or twice I fell in with the Parson himself, 
 who was not only a fisherman, but one, I heard, 
 whom few could beat with the rod. A peculiar 
 fancy of his (few of the fraternity are without 
 them) was that a certain fly in his book was 
 irresistible, when others (I understood him) failed 
 to get an offer. The speciality of this fly was, 
 that the body was made of the hair of one of 
 his fair daughter's heads, — of a rich dark brown 
 hue, and glossy withal. The father's fondness 
 for his child, I saw at a glance, went a long way 
 in so impressing him with faith in the virtues of 
 the fly, as to fall very little short of their being 
 miraculous. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 107 
 
 This reminds me of the fancy of another 
 Piscator, I have frequently met elsewhere, some- 
 what of the same kind. He had a particular 
 type of fly he never failed to throw at all times, 
 made of course of different sizes, according to 
 shifting circumstances. But though he thought 
 this fly unequalled, the very essence of the 
 success he looked for from it, lay in the imphcit 
 faith of the fisherman himself. " Use it," he 
 would say, " but it must be with implicit faith ; 
 and you are sure to be rewarded sooner or 
 later." 
 
 I only wish I could imitate my friend in his 
 faith (or fancy, I was about to say) ! 
 
 Though, generally speaking, not fond of 
 change, when I first fix upon a fly at the 
 commencement of a day's fishing ; no sooner do 
 I begin to feel dissatisfied, than I cannot help 
 associating my want of success with some defect 
 in the fly I am using. And often and often 
 when trying one after another, all to no purpose, 
 I have returned to the first discarded one, and 
 
loS Salmon Fishing. 
 
 not seldom with success. Now, had I somewhat 
 more of my friend's faith, I should be saved a 
 world of trouble, and continue, as he does, 
 on the even tenor of my way, satisfied that, 
 though late, the object of my hopes will be sure 
 to come at last, to compensate me for my patient 
 waiting. 
 
 Some hours had now glided on, and I began 
 to fear Dan would be spared the sight of another 
 fish hooked by the red-tailed fly. I lay reclining 
 on the bank chatting with him about the good 
 Parson, when all at once I fancied I saw a move- 
 ment in the stream some yards below, that 
 induced me to jump up rod-in-hand, rather to 
 Dan's amazement, he being ignorant of the cause 
 of my sudden excitement. Though the sun 
 shone rather more than was pleasant, the stream 
 was deep, and the bank high, and I threw as 
 long and light a line as I could, without shewing 
 myself more than possible. After three or four 
 attempts, and just as I was beginning to think 
 the movement in the water I had espied was all 
 
Salmon Fishing, 109 
 
 moonshine, in drawing back the Hne from the 
 near side, I felt a slight resistance, and not 
 dreaming it was from a fish, but some inequality 
 in the bank the hook was fast in, I gave a 
 sudden pull, enough to smash any other than 
 my tough little rod into " smithereens," as Dan 
 would say. It was well for me, that not only did 
 the rod stand the strain, but the tackle too ; for 
 the fish, though not large, was one of the right 
 sort I dearly love to get hold of, and fight to the 
 death. As the mouth of the river could not be 
 more than a mile below, this fish had in all 
 probability come in with the previous tide. 
 
 " By the powers, y'r honour '11 bate him now," 
 was the first exclamation that broke from the 
 lips of Dan, who seemed as efi*ervescent as a 
 bottle of champagne, with the cork just out, 
 when he fancied the first lull in the fight was 
 proof positive he was done. Several minutes 
 more however did it take, ere the tired fish was 
 well-nigh spent; and even then, had he not 
 been well-hooked, I must have lost him ; for 
 
no Salmon Fishing, 
 
 instead of gaffing him from below, all the good 
 Dan did, was to scrape the salmon's back, and 
 send him flying down the stream again, as 
 though he had only been just hooked. 
 
 Though mightily annoyed (what fisherman 
 would not be ?), so ludicrous a figure did the 
 discomfited Dan cut, that, had I attempted to 
 scold him, his quick eye would very soon have 
 discovered that with such a merry face, I could 
 not mean it, and he immediately joined me in a 
 fit of laughter. 
 
 " Shure y'r honour wont be trusting me again 
 with the stale'^' (meaning the gaff,) said Dan. 
 So handy was the nook in the bank below, that 
 I soon coaxed the fish into it, and tailed him 
 myself, which I always prefer doing, if possible, 
 without using the gaff. 
 
 " Thaf s a rale beauty," said Dan, when I was 
 taking the fly out of the salmon's mouth, " and 
 fit for the Ouane's table." Notwithstanding my 
 companion's warm eulogy, the colour and size 
 of the fish disappointed me not a little. At 
 
Salmon Fishing, 1 1 1 
 
 that season of the year, and so close to the sea, 
 I should have looked for anything than the 
 yellowish cast of colour he presented to my 
 eyes. Nor did any of the fish I landed from 
 this river afterwards appear to me to differ much 
 in this respect. They certainly were in good 
 condition, and when cut and eaten had the rich 
 colour and flavour, salmon in season usually 
 have. Whence then this yellowish tint } 
 
 I know full well from experience, that trout 
 differ greatly in colour ; having killed them in a 
 little stream in the Black Mountains in Brecon- 
 shire, of a beautiful golden colour ; and in a 
 stream on Dartmoor, not far from the French 
 prison, well-nigh as black as my hat. Though 
 the fancies we entertain about salmon in general 
 are by no means few, the facts, I suspect, are 
 scanty in the extreme. 
 
 The fish I had just landed was barely ten 
 pounds, and as he fell sadly short of the weight, 
 and destitute of the colour, I dearly love to look 
 upon, when extended upon the green sward, I 
 
112 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 could hardly say of him, in the words of a 
 famous angler, — 
 
 ** The princely fish is gasping slow, 
 His brilliant colours come and go, 
 All beautifully blended." 
 
 The whole of Dan's experience of fish and 
 fishing, it seemed, was confined to the Clady, 
 and he accordingly looked a bit disappointed, 
 when I said little, if anything in unison with the 
 praises he was so busy in bestowing, not only on 
 the fish just killed, but the rod, the line, and in 
 fact the whole of my fishing paraphernalia. 
 " The finest rod in all Ireland,'* was the remark 
 I not only heard from him, but a host of young 
 fellows besides I fell in with on the banks of the 
 river. Be it so, I thought within myself; if it 
 pleases you, it cannot matter to me, though 
 amused at your simplicity. 
 
 I merely mention these trifles incidentally, to 
 shew what cheery, good-hearted fellows I ever 
 found the Irish peasants to be. An unresei-ved 
 chat with them, accompanied by a few little acts 
 
Salmon Fishing. 113 
 
 of kindness ; and their hearts are yours at once. 
 
 Rain having fallen heavily in the night, it was 
 useless to attempt fishing on the following day. 
 This gave me an opportunity of making a few 
 flies, smaller and somewhat different from any 
 in my book. While busy in my work, as serious 
 as a judge, and intent as he upon its due per- 
 formance, in rushed Sally, the only domestic at 
 the hotel I ever saw; "Here's a lord, and two 
 English gintlemen with him, just come to the 
 hotel." And off dashed Sally again in the 
 wildest possible state of excitement. 
 
 Towards the close of the day, having had a 
 pretty good surfeit of fly-making, I thought, by 
 way of a change, I would just stroll down the 
 road that was parallel with the river ; and whom 
 should I espy in the distance coming towards 
 me, but three strangers with rods in their hands, 
 and two or three attendants behind loaded with 
 landing-nets and baskets. 
 
 When we met in the road, there seemed a 
 disposition in the youngest of the party to stop, 
 
114 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 and have a word or two with me. " I fear," I 
 said at once to him, " you found the river sadly 
 too high for fishing ; in fact, so hopeless did I 
 think it, that I have only just turned out for a 
 mouthful of fresh air." " Oh," he replied, " I 
 came here this morning, and having heard a 
 good deal about the fishing, and finding it rather 
 slow at the hotel, I thought I would just try my 
 hand, and see if I could not hook a salmon or 
 two." We then parted, but not before one of 
 the attendants I knew lingered a little behind, 
 with a very merry twinkle in his eyes. '^ Well, 
 Pat," I said, " what sport has his Lordship had 
 (for I concluded it was he).-* " Sport, y'r honour," 
 said he ; ''Bless the gintleman's innocence ! why, 
 every time he threw his fly into the strame, I 
 verily belave, he expected a fish would come!" 
 And away went Pat, laughing heartily, I much 
 feared, at the stranger's expense. 
 
 This young English nobleman was by no 
 means an unfavourable specimen of his class. 
 High up the social ladder in birth and position, 
 
Salmon Fishing. 115 
 
 with money to spend "ad libitum"; and the 
 world at his feet, with the inexhaustible dose of 
 adulation it is never backward in proffering to 
 one so highly favoured ; no one could be more 
 gentlemanly in his bearing, or less pretentious 
 (to use a familiar word now). Though con- 
 strained to decline joining him in a social rubber, 
 he often requested me to do, he was one I could 
 not forbear liking, from the first time I accosted 
 him in the road, to the last word I exchanged 
 with him when I left Gweedore. 
 
 Day after day the trio went out with their 
 rods to flog the sides of the patient Clady to 
 their hearts' content, though I did not see, 
 or hear, with much success. One memorable 
 morning, it had been determined by them to 
 rise at day-break, and fish the river down inch 
 by inch, to try and give Clericus a lesson that 
 they could kill a salmon in it, as well as he. 
 The first intimation I had of this stern deter- 
 mination of theirs was to find myself disturbed 
 out of my sleep at three o'clock by one of the 
 
1 1 6 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 party rushing into my dormitory by mistake, as 
 he told me afterwards. 
 
 When I sallied forth about ten in the morn- 
 ing, I had quite forgotten all about it ; and I 
 commenced fishing, satisfied that let the sport 
 be what it may, there was quite sufficient 
 besides to repay me for the many hours' ramble 
 I knew to be at hand. 
 
 How often have I been saddled by others 
 with an unwonted supply of patience, and 
 well-nigh commiserated for having to walk hour 
 after hour down the banks of a river, often with 
 little, and not seldom with no sport at all, to 
 reward me for my pains. 
 
 Is the angler's mind then of all others so 
 abject a slave to the more prominent object, 
 say, of sport, the hand is so busied with at 
 times, as to have no room besides for anything 
 beyond, no matter how lovely to the eye, or 
 pleasant to the thoughts } As keen a salmon- 
 fisher as ever handled a rod, were it not for its 
 collateral accompaniments, very soon should I, 
 
Salmon Fishing, 117 
 
 for one at leasts sink down into an utter 
 disregard of the many pleasures it furnishes 
 me with now. 
 
 Patience, indeed ! Why, for a whole week 
 together have I gone on each day from morn- 
 ing to evening searching the same pools and 
 streams with the fly, without seeing a single fin 
 even, to say nothing of killing a fish ! And yet 
 with all this I cannot take any credit to myself 
 for an especial stock of patience. 
 
 If peculiar beauties bedeck the landscape, 
 where can we behold them in rarer or richer 
 abundance, than where the rivers roll on, now 
 laughing, as it were, merrily over the rocky 
 ledges ; now rushing and roaring madly, like 
 the mountain-torrent ; and now winding slowly 
 and gracefully through the meads, where the 
 cattle love to congregate in flocks and herds. 
 
 Entranced by countless charms scenes such 
 as these continually present to the eyes of 
 the fisherman, how often have I been rudely 
 disturbed in the delightful reverie by an unex- 
 
1 1 8 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 pected commotion in the stream before me ; 
 a sharp and sudden strain of the Hne, and then, 
 Oh ! then, such a struggle for the mastery, as 
 called forth all my efforts to prevent the calamity 
 (no trifle I can assure you), of coming off second 
 best, instead of conqueror, in the fight. 
 
 If entranced by no such scenery as this, 
 though the banks of the Clady are not destitute 
 of charms of a different kind, I was rambling 
 on, lost in thought, when all at once at a 
 distance in the road above, I heard my name 
 heralded aloud, and whom should I espy, but 
 his Lordship, in a most excited state, holding 
 up, what appeared to me a white trout of very 
 moderate dimensions. "I've got a salmon at 
 last !" I could just distinguish to be the drift of 
 his Lordship's exultant cry ; — " I've got a salmon 
 at last !" And loudly and heartily did I respond 
 in a congratulatory tone on his wondrous 
 ,success. Away went his Lordship ; and away 
 walked I, marvelling at the former's excitement 
 from so humble a source ! 
 
> 
 
Salmon Fishing. ii9. 
 
 *' Oh ! the joys of angling, Oh ! the joys of 
 angling!" — 
 
 The spolia opima of the Trio, who had left 
 their beds not very long after they had occupied 
 them, despite their extended labours hour after 
 hour, consisted solely of the white trout above- 
 mentioned, and a few small brown ones. 
 
 As their intention was to avenge themselves 
 upon unfortunate me, by exciting my enVy at 
 the grand display of the sport they had been 
 revelling in, I must confess my amusement at 
 their discomfiture far exceeded the sincerity of 
 my condolence which, to a certain extent I 
 could not but outwardly express. 
 
 The fact is, that in going down the river, in 
 the very first decent pool below the hotel, I saw 
 a fish quietly sailing on the surface, with his 
 back occasionally visible. And though I threw 
 over him once or twice without effect, the sun far 
 too bright, and not a cloud at hand, I was 
 constrained sorely against my will to leave him 
 alone till my return in the evening. When the 
 
I20 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 time came, I felt pretty sure that the three 
 fishermen would hardly pass by this inviting bit 
 of water, without well trying it, and that in all 
 probability one of them would either kill the 
 fish, or frighten him into fits, so that he would 
 not rise again. I began at the top of the pool, 
 and fished down to the very bottom twice, 
 without an offer of any kind. I thought it 
 was all up, but, as a last resource, I put on 
 the fly with the red tail, Dan's ancient horror, 
 and up at once came the salmon, and I hooked 
 him. I believe, I never felt better pleased than 
 at that moment, often and often as the words, 
 "IVe got you," have burst from my lips, on 
 finding the strain of a fish. It was a forlorn 
 hope, that only remained to buoy up my fast 
 sinking spirits, lest a blank day should befall me 
 — the attempt in this last pool. It struck me 
 that the fish I had hold of was a large one 
 for the Clady ; yet I had no idea of the hard 
 work he cut out for me in trying to land him. 
 He dashed about in the small pool as madly as 
 
Salmon Fishmg. 121 
 
 any fish of much heavier weight I had ever 
 handled. And when I thought him a bit 
 beaten, and brought him near enough to gaff, 
 away, and away he continually went, capering in 
 the air, as if he cared for me as little as any rush 
 that grew by the river's side. 
 
 As ''all things come to an end" in fighting 
 salmon, as in other matters, more or less 
 material, after scraping him once or twice, and 
 putting fresh life into him, at length I got 
 the gaff well under him, and out I dragged 
 him " nolens volens!' 
 
 I can well call to mind even now the sensa- 
 tions of delight that shot through my frame, 
 when the fish lay extended upon the green 
 sward. I not only, I believe, richly deserved 
 him ; but I knew what a hero of the day I 
 should be in the eyes of the hotel-people, when 
 I exhibited this salmon by the side of the white 
 trout his lordship had captured. 
 
 The hotel at Gweedore is one of the most 
 comfortable T have ever sojourned in; — a 
 
122 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 complete snuggery in fact, — built by a very 
 considerate nobleman, to induce tourists and 
 others to come there from a distance ; not only 
 is it comfortable ; but the charges are extremely 
 moderate. At least such was the case about 
 ten years ago when I was there, and doubtless 
 it is not different now. The only fault I could 
 find, if it be one, was the limited number of 
 bedrooms. Most fortunately for me when I 
 arrived there, a small room with one bedstead 
 in it was placed at my disposal. 
 
 Permit me to advise my brethren of the 
 angle, should they betake themselves to the 
 Green Island, or indeed to Scotland, always, if 
 possible, to follow my example ; or they may 
 have cause to rue it, as a friend of mine who 
 joined me at Gweedore did. His dormitory was 
 a more roomy one than mine, but it contained 
 two bedsteads. "Ah, my friend," I said to 
 to him, when he compared his room with mine, 
 rather to the disparagement of the latter, take 
 care some fine night you dont find the second 
 
Salmon Fishing. 123 
 
 bed occupied by an oily stranger, with a nose 
 like a trumpet, and quite as sonorous 1" " Dont 
 trouble yourself about me," he said ; " I feel 
 pretty safe in this remote spot from any such 
 intrusion." 
 
 A day or two after this, good reader, you 
 should have seen my friend's face, when he came 
 down to join me at the breakfast-table ! It 
 appeared, that two Presbyterian Parsons had 
 come to the hotel, and as every bed there was 
 engaged, except the one in his room, the land- 
 lord was compelled to offer them the use of it 
 rather than improvise one on sofas. These two 
 strangers came into the room after my friend 
 had retired to rest, and he knew nothing of the 
 contemplated intrusion, till the door opened, 
 and in they walked. The first evil my poor 
 friend had to submit to, was the spectacle he 
 could hardly escape of the disrobement of the 
 Parsons, before they tumbled in. But the 
 second, very trying to a piscator tired to death 
 with the long walk of the previous day, was the 
 
124 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 nasal music that grated horribly upon his ear, 
 which one of the new guests seemed determined 
 to regale him with. As soon as he could escape 
 in the morning, he rushed out of bed, lest the 
 solitary washing-stand should be monopolised, 
 and he have to wait a most unwilling spectator 
 of their ablutions. Fortunately they only 
 stayed one night, or my bachelor . friend, would, 
 I believe, have bolted instantaneously, rather 
 than face such a trial again. As I was on the 
 eve of leaving the hotel, he was only too glad 
 to occupy my room, oblivious of his former 
 disparagement of it. 
 
 Though I had for some time ceased to avail 
 myself of the services of Dan ; it was most 
 amusing to watch him, when my friend, to 
 whom I had recommended him, put into his 
 hand a golden sovereign. So great was his joy 
 as he turned it over and over again, that every 
 one he met of his own class he could not for- 
 bear exhibiting it to. Before I wished him good 
 bye, I asked him if he cared to have his name 
 
Salmon Fishing. 125 
 
 inserted in the Visitor's book; and when I 
 repeated some doggerells I had scribbled, of 
 which the following was the first couplet, his 
 joy and thanks were excessive. — 
 
 If you want a handy man, 
 
 Be sure you choose O'Donnell Dan. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 HE Dovey which divides Merioneth- 
 shire from Montgomeryshire is not 
 only one of the easiest, but the 
 prettiest of rivers I have ever fished in. So 
 numerous are the streams and pools, that 
 almost any amount of rods need never be at 
 a loss for full employment, without danger of 
 interfering one with another. That part of the 
 river for some miles above the stone-bridge, 
 is called the Upper water ; that below, the 
 Lower; and of the latter there is not a more 
 picturesque bit of scenery, than the " Fir-tree 
 Pool," of which the accompanying sketch gives 
 the stranger a very correct idea. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 127 
 
 The first glimpse I caught of this river I shall 
 not forget. Engaged in a pedestrian tour with 
 a friend, we slept at Machynlleth, intending on 
 the following day to try the Dovey with our 
 trout rods. In those days there was a lovely 
 stream of water called Dyer's run a short 
 distance above the present Tram-bridge, which 
 so enraptured me, that I fairly capered on the 
 bank with delight, when I came to it (I was 
 comparatively speaking but a youth then). So 
 capricious is the Dovey, that you can scarcely 
 count upon the streams continuing the same two 
 years together. All that now remains of Dyer's 
 run, is a bit of turbulent water, scarcely big 
 enough to hold a salmon even for a short time. 
 
 On the day in question, I had passed up 
 beyond Craiggy Bwlth stream — a glorious one 
 then, — on the bank-side, and reached the long 
 deep pool of Glandwr. When I came nearly to 
 the top of the latter, just under the thorn-bush, 
 such a splash stirred the water, that I instantly 
 changed my stretcher for a larger and more 
 
128 Salmon Wishing, 
 
 showy fly, thinking in the height of my innocence 
 I might be fortunate enough to tempt Salmo- 
 Salar to try the taste of it. But no ! Friend 
 Salmo was not going to be entrapped by such 
 a greenhorn in the art. Still strolling on, I saw 
 Dolgeogh for the first time, and a more lovely 
 trout-stream I thought then, and still think now, 
 there could not be. It was no easy matter with 
 so small an affair as my little Copham trout-rod 
 to lodge the flies within an easy distance of the 
 opposite bank, where I saw at a glance the 
 big trout would be sure to lodge. After landing 
 and throwing back two or three small fry, I 
 came to the little pool (if it can be so called), 
 where many and many a salmon have I 
 slaughtered since. No sooner had the flies 
 dropped on the surface, than up came a fish 
 at the stretcher, and I struck, and had him firm 
 enough. Though he fought well for a few 
 seconds, I very soon coaxed him on the gravel, 
 when I found he was a trout rather under a 
 pound and a half, and for so late a period, hand- 
 
Salmon Fishing. 129 
 
 some, and in good condition. This I thought no 
 bad beginning, and I was glad to cheer my friend 
 with the sight of the first speckled beauty I 
 bagged. I kept on walking up the river, every 
 now and then discovering new attractions, and 
 delighted beyond measure with all I saw. 
 
 It was in ^^ little Swellmil' I believe, that I 
 succeeded in killing my first sewin. This used 
 to rank so high in the estimation of fishermen, 
 that there was often a race to get to it first. 
 Still bent on adding to my store another trout 
 or two like the last, I was startled on a sudden 
 by a sharp pull at my line, that betokened 
 something I had not been accustomed to. 
 ''Well, if you are a trout," I said to myself, 
 "you are the strangest one I have had hold 
 of yet ; though I'll very soon make you shew 
 yourself." A most determined fish I found the 
 one in question to be, and to judge from his 
 strength and endurance, at least double the 
 size of the trout already captured. When I 
 thought I had tamed him, more than once did 
 
130 Salmon Fishijig. 
 
 he dash off again, as fresh as ever, determined 
 not to give in. When the brave little fish was 
 obliged to succumb at last, I saw at once he was 
 not a trout, nor could he have been a grayling ; 
 and after I had weighed him, and pondered over 
 the matter, I put him down as a small salmon, 
 though he was not much more than a pound 
 weight ; I soon found out afterwards that he 
 was a sewin, so called, or strictly speaking a 
 grilse of the bull-trout — Salmo-Eriox. We 
 persevered with our rods till we came to 
 Cemmes, and then walked on to Mallwyd, 
 which by the road must be at least ten miles 
 from Machynlleth. 
 
 Though reluctant to leave off fishing, I was 
 by no means so to remove the load from my 
 shoulders. Such a medley did the bag contain, 
 that to one interested in the genus Salmonidse, 
 it would have been a welcome study. Each 
 species, I believe, was represented ; and very 
 lovely did they look when one after the other 
 tumbled into a large dish, some beautifully 
 
Salmon Fishing. 131 
 
 spotted, some glittering like silver, and some, I 
 am free to confess, still finger-marked. A 
 Scotchman who was staying at the hotel (I think 
 I see him now) hardly deigned a remark in 
 unison with the exclamations that fell from my 
 companion and myself of unfeigned delight, as 
 we handled and admired some of these beautiful 
 fish. At length in a curt sententious sort of way 
 he exclaimed, to our intense amusement, " I am 
 come here for higher game !" 
 
 "Higher game." Very glad was he soon 
 afterwards to receive from me a few likely- 
 looking " blues',' to try and capture some of 
 the fish he had lately looked down upon with 
 such supreme contempt. 
 
 The greatest pleasure of our new acquain- 
 tance seemed to be, not in handling a rod, but 
 in exhibiting a large material-book, filled to the 
 overflow with every description of feather, and 
 all sorts of dubbing, from which I fully ex- 
 pected a small contribution to my slender stock. 
 But no, not a fibre of the former, nor a fraction 
 
132 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 of the latter had he the heart to part with. He 
 would expatiate in glowing terms on the lovely- 
 tints, and rare excellencies of his beloved store ; 
 aye, as long as you cared to listen to him ; but 
 not a hint would he take (I could not help 
 dropping one or two) that a few odds and ends 
 would be satisfactory to some one else. 
 
 Long after my return home was the Dovey 
 uppermost in my thoughts, and I was not 
 satisfied till I had renewed my visit to its 
 attractive banks. For many years since (how 
 time does gallop on !) the same inclination leads 
 me to spend hours upon hours in my old haunts ; 
 often with little, but never with so little, sport, 
 as to drive me thence altogether. 
 
 So inviting a looking river, and withal so 
 accessible, can scarcely fail of attracting fresh 
 and fresh relays of brethren of the angle year 
 after year. Very few however, beside the old 
 habitues care to come again after a few failures. 
 They get hold of the best possible guide ; per- 
 severe day after day; in fact omit nothing within 
 
Salmon Fishing, 133 
 
 their reach to insure success ; and when obliged 
 to return evening after evening with no " spolia 
 opima" to send off to their expectant friends at 
 home, as an evidence of their prowess, they 
 become cowed and crest-fallen, and leave the 
 river, determined never to try it again. Scores of 
 such disappointed ones can I recall to mind. 
 And yet when I think of their tackle, and want 
 of skill to use it, coupled with their own helpless- 
 ness in being compelled to confide in their hired 
 companion for the most likely " shop" in every 
 catch, to find Salmo Salar at home in, I must 
 confess I am not much surprised at their failure 
 in general. 
 
 To learn a river well, requires time, study, 
 and experience, and to fish it properly, tact and 
 skill. The best guide it is possible to secure 
 will, no doubt, for his own credit, take the 
 stranger in tow to the most likely parts of the 
 pools and streams he is acquainted with. But 
 to a real fisherman in rivers as changeable as the 
 Dovey, it is not enough to keep always in 
 
134 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 the old beaten track. He is seldom without 
 sufficient discernment to detect as the water 
 rises and falls, that there are many nooks and 
 corners where a fish may be got, few beside him 
 care to try. Besides, without being a slave to 
 pattern-flies, he may be able to select one in 
 preference to another, that will prove more 
 successful, when he calls to mind the colour, 
 size, and general character of those, he has 
 already killed the most fish with. 
 
 In nine cases out of ten, I have observed, 
 that he who is perpetually prating of the 
 fabulous length of line he can throw, and of the 
 particular flies he uses with such wondrous 
 success, is in reality a very indifferent performer 
 when thrown into daily competition with those 
 who have little to say about themselves, though 
 by no means little to show in the way of fish. 
 
 There is something in this favourite pastime 
 of ours that seems, I fear, to call forth a stronger 
 disposition to exaggerate, than usually prevails 
 in other sports. If it be not so, how does it so 
 
Salmofi Fishing. 135 
 
 frequently happen, that the fish which have 
 escaped are invariably the finest and best? — 
 *' Well, my boy, what sport ?" " Oh, horrors of 
 all horrors ! Such a monster have I just lost that 
 would have made your hair stand on end, had 
 you beheld him !" Who has not heard, if not 
 these very words, at any rate, the substance 
 of them over and over again ? Perhaps it was 
 this habit of giving too loose a rein to the 
 imagination, that led the scurrilous old farmer, 
 when appealed to for his opinion by two men he 
 heard hotly engaged in discussing their past 
 shooting and fishing exploits, to exclaim, — 
 " All shooters is liars, but all fishers is 
 nation liars ! ! " 
 
 From spending so many hours on the banks 
 of the same river year after year, not a few 
 incidents have I witnessed, in the majority of 
 cases of a most amusing nature, but in some 
 quite the reverse. On one of the occasions few 
 and far between (we are solitary birds), when 
 my friend and I were strolling together down 
 
136 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 the side of the Dovey, we began whiHng away 
 our want of sport by sundry sallies and wit- 
 ticisms at each other's expense. The day was 
 a right lovely Autumn one, with the sunshine 
 and shade succeeding each other not too rapidly 
 to make us regret the loss of the one, in the too 
 premature return of the other. The bright 
 leaves richly burnished with the prevaiHng colour 
 that, thanks to a kind Providence, never palls 
 upon the sight, were beginning to lose their late 
 prime attraction. Still the colour that succeeded 
 could hardly fail of captivating the eye, when 
 glistening in the sunbeams at one time hke gold, 
 or softened and subdued at another by the 
 shadows of each passing cloud. On the day 
 alluded to, when in the very midst of our merri- 
 ment, without a word or thought perhaps beyond 
 the present pleasant moment ; we suddenly espied 
 in the distance a long, dark line silently wending 
 its way over the uplands, and down the declivi- 
 ties, through the vales, and across the plains, 
 till it was arrested by the banks of the river. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 137 
 
 We soon discovered that what looked Hke a 
 dark line in the distance, was in reality a funeral 
 train of considerable extent and varied character. 
 Some on horseback, some in carts, a few in car- 
 riages of a better description, and a large pro- 
 portion on foot, who evidently in the aggregate 
 must have amounted to some hundreds of 
 mourners of different degree, and age, and sex. 
 
 Curious to see how they would cross the 
 river, we seated ourselves on a grassy knoll 
 not far off, and were soon satisfied that the 
 process would not be a difficult one. First 
 the horsemen, two abreast, crossed over, then 
 the smaller vehicles ; and last of all the 
 pedestrians were conveyed to the other side 
 in some wagons that accompanied the pro- 
 cession. Had not our eyes beheld hundreds 
 of human beings engaged in performing the 
 journey, the absence of all noise, and singular 
 silence that prevailed, would scarcely have 
 indicated anything of unusual occurrence. 
 
 Many a costly funeral have I been requested 
 K 
 
T38 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 to attend, with crowds of carnages, and much 
 pomp and parade lavished in honour of the 
 hfeless clay; but never before had I witnessed 
 so much silent respect, and outward decorum, 
 as on the occasion in question. Nor was the 
 departed, I believe, one much, if at all, above 
 his fellows around in wealth and station. 
 
 But there is, I have observed, amongst the 
 Welsh, a simultaneous movement, when death 
 descends upon a household, which soon expands 
 from sympathy into a public exhibition of 
 respect and sorrow, even to their personal 
 attendance at the last solemn rites on the 
 brink of the grave. 
 
 Was it possible that two spectators like our- 
 selves could look on, and not be impressed, 
 either at the sight of the solemn spectacle, or 
 with a more favourable leaning towards the 
 people who were engaged heart and hand in 
 such good Christian employment? 
 
 That the same kindly feeling is not confined 
 to any class of sufferers, never was there a 
 
Salmon Fishing. 139 
 
 more conclusive evidence in the same neigh- 
 bourhood, than on a late occasion, when the 
 day came round for the interment of the eldest 
 daughter of a nobleman, who had been sum- 
 moned hence at an age, when her virtues were 
 fast ripening, to the delight of her own family, 
 and respect of all who knew her. 
 
 Long before the hour appointed for her 
 funeral, sv/arms of people were to be seen 
 descending the sides of the mountains, and 
 thronging the lanes and roads that led to the 
 town, within which the burial ground was 
 situated. 
 
 It was an early spring day; the sun shone, 
 but only at intervals. What struck me, how- 
 ever, the most, was a marked absence of the 
 sights and sounds inseparable from the presence 
 of the sons of labour when engaged in their 
 usual avocations. The wagon and team were 
 absent from the roads, the whistle of the plough- 
 boy was wanting ; even the cattle, from being 
 left unmolested to depasture in the meadows, 
 
140 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 ceased their lowing. It struck me in fact as 
 if the approaching Sabbath had overstepped 
 its usual routine by some days, so exceptional 
 v/as the quiet that reigned around. 
 
 As I intended to follow the remains of the 
 departed to their last resting-place, I went 
 rather early to the town ; and no sooner had 
 I reached it, than I saw not a few, like myself, 
 bent upon the same errand, but everyone I 
 met was a mourner. All had that dejected 
 look and sobered expression, that is above the 
 reach of artifice ; all evidently felt as though 
 a dear friend, or deeply-loved relative had been 
 suddenly taken from their midst. Not a window 
 in the humblest hovel, that had not a shutter 
 closed, or blind drawn; not a shop that was 
 not fast shut, and what struck me more than 
 I care to describe, was the demeanour of the 
 children in the streets, on whose faces not a 
 single sunny smile lingered, but on the contrary 
 traces of sorrow, if not actual tears. As the 
 coffin emerged from the park gates, not carried 
 
Salmon Fishing, 141 
 
 in a costly hearse, but on the shoulders of some 
 of the oldest of the tenants, and hundreds upon 
 hundreds accompanied it to the church doors ; — 
 how consolatory, thought I, must all this be to 
 the bereft parents ! — this almost unheard of 
 tribute of a whole town^s sympathy ! 
 
 THE WELSH FUNERAL. 
 
 Let nature smile around him, 
 
 And beckon him away 
 To where the river gambols 
 
 In its familiar way. 
 
 The breeze is blowing kindly, 
 
 The rod rests on the wall; ' 
 
 Why lingers yet the angler, 
 So heedless of it all? 
 
 Silent and sad he listens. 
 
 As booming up the vale 
 The muffled bell comes tolling 
 
 Its last dark, dismal tale. 
 
 Why should the cruel tyrant 
 
 Make that fair girl his prey? 
 Would that another victim. 
 
 Less loved, he'd torn away! 
 
 Hushed is the din of labour. 
 
 No mirthful voice is heard; 
 The only sound of gladness 
 
 Comes from th' unconscious bird. 
 
142 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 See, how the streets are swarming 
 Towards the churchyard gate, 
 
 With endless crowds of mourners 
 Of every age and state ! 
 
 Let gold and gorgeous splendour 
 Be lavished on the dead, 
 
 And all that art can proffer, 
 Bedeck her earthen bed ! 
 
 What tribute to their darling 
 More soothing could there be. 
 
 To the reft parents' feelings, 
 Than a town's sympathy? 
 
 Not seldom has the angler. 
 When under Fancy's spell, 
 
 And wandering down the valley. 
 Still heard the muffled bell. 
 
 And as the river hastened 
 Down to the distant sea, 
 
 Ha thought of time fast running 
 Into eternity. 
 
 And faces once famihar 
 Smiled on him as of yore 
 
 Of angling friends departed 
 Hence to a happier shore. 
 
 But foremost were the features 
 Of the fair girl whose pride, 
 
 Was to be thus loved on earth. 
 Thus mourned for when she died. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 143 
 
 No thorough-bred Englishman can bear to be 
 beaten, be the fight what it may. The very 
 idea of such a thing is gall and wormwood to 
 him. May this noble spirit survive the new- 
 fangled notions of the present day, still fresh and 
 foremost in the heart of young England, as I 
 feel confident it will, and let war — that detest- 
 able evil — be forced upon our country, no matter 
 who the foe, there need be no fear of the result. 
 
 Many a gallant son of Mars have I met on 
 the banks of the Dovey, engaged, not with 
 Frenchman, as of old, or Russian, as of late; 
 but with a very noble foe nevertheless — Salmo- 
 Salar ! 
 
 In one instance a gallant captain, of my 
 acquaintance, had gone out to try and get 
 hold of a good fish in a short time, as he was 
 obliged to return home in a few hours. A 
 manly, cheery fellow; it was quite a pleasure 
 to exchange a word or two with him. I well 
 remember one peculiarity about him, as a 
 fisherman, and that was the enormous size of 
 
1 44 Salmon Fis/mig, 
 
 his flies. Bigger than many humming birds, 
 how he managed to cast them comfortably to 
 himself through the air, considering the great 
 resistance, I could not conceive. That he did 
 do so, and with a certain amount of success, 
 is undeniable. 
 
 On the morning in question, he went to the 
 river-side, full of hope, and fished on and on, till 
 the limit he had given himself, was almost 
 reached. 
 
 To his great delight, at last up came a large 
 fish, and he felt already half-way towards his 
 being his own, so fairly was he hooked, and 
 so confident was he in his tackle. But no ! 
 quietly, my friend, Salmo is a widely-different 
 creature from a slimy chub, or sulky pike. He 
 has a way and will of his own, be your hook 
 ever so large, and your line a cable. The fish 
 shewed himself two or three times; and, as it 
 may be imagined, the tempting spectacle made 
 the impatient angler all the more eager to land 
 him. At length when his hopes were on the 
 
Salmon Fishing. 145 
 
 happy eve of being realized, the fish rushed 
 back to some deepish water a few yards off, and 
 on a sudden the Hne became stationary, though 
 still on the same strain. Just at this time a 
 friend came up, and called out to him that there 
 was a stake there, with a gorse-bush round it, 
 and that doubtless the fish was fast on it. 
 Without the smallest hesitation in dashed the 
 excited captain, and was up to his neck in water 
 in a moment. "Oh! Oh! Oh!" exclaimed he 
 in an agonized voice, with his face contorted 
 into the most rueful expression of abject misery! 
 The water (it was in the month of February) 
 was frightfully cold, and its wicked embrace 
 seemed as though a dozen sharp knives were 
 piercing his body at once. The ujDshot was, 
 that he lost the fish, was chilled almost to death 
 with the cold, and had to hasten back to be 
 in time for the train, with scarcely a spare 
 moment to strip off his dripping clothes. His 
 feelings I will leave to the reader to imagine, 
 when he was left in the cool hour of reflection in 
 
146 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 the corner of a railway carnage, to warble to 
 himself the sentimental words of the song — 
 
 *' Thou art gone from my sight, like a beautiful dream !" 
 
 To lose a fish you cannot help feeling you 
 have a certain right to, after a fight abounding 
 in incidents, and terminating within a fraction of 
 success in your favour, is a real trial of temper 
 which few who have not experienced it can at 
 all understand. 
 
 Often and often have I battled with Salmo- 
 Salar for more than an hour at a time m fair 
 fight, without any fouling of line or fly, and 
 come off second best in the end ; so that I could 
 well sympathise with the discomfited soldier. 
 
 Of one of these struggles, more prolonged 
 even than usual, I still retain a most vivid 
 recollection. And though mortified beyond 
 measure after having been so cruelly baffled, 
 admiration of the brave fish that gave me such 
 a beating suggested the following lines : — 
 
Salmon Fishing, 147- 
 
 *'IT IS NOT ALL GOLD THAT GLISTENS." 
 
 Beneath the sheher of a rock, that had for ages stood, 
 And battled bravely with the stream, in spite of storm or flood,. 
 A salmon lurked in secret ; aye, a noble fish was he, 
 Bespangled o'er with silver, and just *' fresh-run" from the sea. 
 
 When lo ! with flashing eyes of fire, while watching for his prey, 
 A strange, though beauteous object he sees before him play ; 
 Now here, now there the tiny thing, radiant in every hue. 
 Turns proudly to display its charms of gold, and green, and blue. 
 
 With painted wings expanded, oh ! how gracefully it glides 
 In many and many a circling sweep before the salmon's eyes ! 
 No waltzing ballroom-beauty in the height of all her glee, 
 Than that gay and gorgeous creature could more attractive be. 
 
 Beware, beware, thou noble fish! oh, turn thine eyes away, 
 Or the lovely-looking insect will lure thee all astray ! 
 Beneath those gorgeous colours, that so very tempting look, 
 , Alas, alas, for thee, poor fish ! there lurks a deadly hook. 
 
 Go, whistle to the wild, wild wind; forbid the breeze to blow; 
 Or speak to yon rushing river, and tell it not to flow ! 
 Each, each would heed the mandate, and as readily obey, 
 Well-nigh as soon as you could stop the wilful on their way. 
 
 What means this strange commotion? See! there, there the 
 
 salmon springs, 
 As buoyant from the water, as though borne on eagle's wings, 
 Down, down again he dashes into the swift-whirling stream. 
 His scales of glistening silver, like lightning-flashes gleam ! 
 
148 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 Not far from where the torrent in its wild, tumultuous shock, 
 Is broken into eddies by the grey, old granite rock, 
 There stands the stealthy fisherman — an arch deceiver he, 
 Who scorns not to subdue the brave by art and subtlety. 
 
 To stop the salmon in his flight, or check him in his speed, 
 The toughest rod, he knows full well, would shiver like a reed ; 
 He can but follow down the stream with just sufficient strain, 
 To weigh upon the strong one's strength, till he turn back again. 
 
 Away, away the salmon tears, as fast as he can race, 
 To try with all his might and main to reach a safer place 
 In the still waters of the pool, round which the alders grow. 
 And tangled roots of trees and rocks lie scattered thick below. 
 
 The shelter of that tranquil pool — alas ! 'twas all in vain ; 
 The tightened line and galling barb — they forced him back again; 
 But, oh! how changed from what he was, when first with 
 
 fatal spring, 
 He bounded through the torrent at that bright and dazzling thing! 
 
 Nearer and nearer to the bank drags he his weary way. 
 
 His fins, they sweep all listlessly, his tail, it scarce will play; 
 
 When, lo ! upon his startled sight the gaff gleams poised 
 
 on high ! 
 One desp'rate plunge ! it is enough, the salmon shall not die. 
 
 The angler on the greensward lies, dispirited and spent ; 
 
 His whirring reel is silent now, his rod is all-unbent. 
 
 But the brave fish that fought so well — the brave fish, where 
 
 is he? 
 Rejoicing in the stream once more, victorious and free. 
 
Sabnon Fishing. 149 
 
 " Good heavens, what a swell !" 
 were words that dropped from me, as glibly as 
 the most polished of phrases, when sauntering 
 up the river, I suddenly caught sight of an 
 angler hard at work with his rod, not far ahead. 
 "What a swell!" Were Johnson to peep out 
 of his grave, with the gift of hearing unimpaired, 
 what would he think of the multitude of words 
 and phrases in common parlance at the present 
 day ; most, if not all of them coined, either to 
 suit an occasion, or carry out an idea, irre- 
 spective often of grammatical construction, as 
 well as common sense ; and yet used in general 
 by men of every description ? Indebted, I know 
 not to whom, for the term ^^ swelll' the genus 
 it embraces is a very comprehensive one. Swells 
 military and naval ; swells clerical and unclerical ; 
 swells of the bar, and the counter ; swells of the 
 town, and swells of the country; swells old 
 and young, male and female! And yet before 
 the above-mentioned object caught my sight, 
 I had no idea there existed fishing-swells. The 
 
150 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 specimen in question had on a wideawake of 
 the most jaunty style, but so much out of 
 the perpendicular, that in a gusty day his head 
 must very soon have been reheved of it. The 
 jacket, however, was the greatest attraction to 
 any one curious in such matters. In spite of 
 the sultry heat, and often burning sunbeams 
 of an August day, it was one of a deHcate 
 plum-coloured velvet, or, strictly speaking, 
 velveteen, cut evidently for appearance, cer- 
 tainly not comfort's sake ; and the dark-shining 
 waterproofs that covered his lower extremities 
 made him look very neat and attractive, no 
 doubt, in a lady's eyes ; but as unlike a fisher- 
 m.an, as a stickleback is a salmon. On one 
 side of him stood a lady, I took for granted 
 to be his wife, from the singular interest she 
 seemed to shew in all his proceedings. Hard by 
 also was stationed a biggish " button-boy," with 
 an enormous landing-net in his hand waiting to 
 assist his master in a way he was, I imagined, all 
 unaccustomed to, though I ventured a prophecy 
 
Salmon Fishing, 151 
 
 to myself his aid would not be required. Although 
 no great master of the art of throwing a line 
 myself, I have a very inquiring eye as to the 
 skill of others in this respect. Such an exhi- 
 bition did I never witness before. The length 
 of his line (I speak within compass) did not 
 exceed ten yards; and yet the labour, not 
 with his arms only, but apparently his whole 
 body, to get it out, was excessive. The most 
 surprising part of the spectacle however was 
 the variety of attitudes he kept throwing him- 
 self into. Perhaps he was shewing off before 
 his admiring young wife, how accomplished an 
 artist he was; and how incomparably superior 
 to the common herd of pretenders. Oh, thought 
 I, if you could but hook a wicked cock-fish of 
 some weight ! What would I not give to witness 
 the fight .^ Speedily, however, did I descend 
 to the conclusion that, to wait for such a sight, 
 would be tantamount to waiting till the days 
 diminished in length, and the summer died away 
 altogether. As long as decency would permit, 
 
152 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 I lingered within sight of the amusing picture 
 before me ; and when I moved on, the friendly- 
 wind made me acquainted with a few words my 
 appearance called forth from "Swell" and his 
 pretty wife. "Who's that, Harry dear, with a 
 fishing-rod ?" said the lady to Velvet-jacket. 
 "Oh, that fellow with the seedy coat and 
 hideous tile! he's one of those Parsons who, I 
 am told, know where every fish in the river lies, 
 and catch lots, confound them !" "Seedy coat, 
 and hideous tile!" Quite enough, you will 
 allow, good reader, to make me " skedaddle " 
 (as a precocious grandson of mine, under three 
 years of age, had the impudence to say to his 
 aunt, the other day), lest I should have to listen 
 to some more such like delicate compliments. 
 
 The remarks of Velvet-jacket recalled to my 
 mind a subject that rarely troubles me much, 
 when fairly launched on a fishing excursion, 
 viz : — my usual costume. That it certainly is 
 not ornamental, I have been reminded more 
 than once by my plain-spoken companion. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 153 
 
 Indeed no little amusement in our evening chat 
 after the incidents of the day have we extracted 
 from sundry remarks of a brother-fisherman 
 on the same subject, I am bound to say far from 
 complimentary to my outward appearance ; 
 though I ought perhaps to feel flattered at 
 any observations, favourable or not, at the 
 lips of one who, from the singular neatness of 
 his own " get up," I cannot but infer, must have 
 studied the subject too critically, to speak 
 otherwise than "ex cathedra," as he is wont. 
 It is not so much the cut of the coat and nether 
 garments friend critic condemns, as their nn" 
 clerical colour. 
 
 Now just fancy a fisherman equipped, accord- 
 ing to critic's ideas, in a black coat and white tie, 
 with a wideawake of approved shape ! Would 
 the sun shine less hot and bright than usual .'^ 
 Or the eyes of the salmon see him the less 
 distinctly.^ Or the wind and rain penetrate to 
 his discomfort with more difficulty 1 For these, 
 I must contend, are the most important consider- 
 
154 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 ations, be the angler parson or not. With me, I 
 am free to confess, a walk through one's parish, 
 or in a crowded thoroughfare in a town, would 
 not be adventured in a dress all unsuited to that 
 usually worn by men of the same avocation. 
 But on the banks of a river where one rarely 
 meets a soul, save a rustic, or brother fisherman, 
 a clerical costume would not be a whit less 
 ludicrous, than the worthy critic's broad 
 shoulders and well-proportioned legs — the one 
 encased in a " swallow-tail," the other in black 
 silk "tights!" What says Blakey on the 
 subject } 
 
 *' Dress not in colours bright or gay, 
 
 Nor be in gaudy raiment seen, 
 But let your garments still betray, 
 A modest dark or sober gray." 
 
 It was not many yards below the pool, where 
 I witnessed the amusing manoeuvres of Velvet- 
 jacket, that I once had a desperate though 
 successful fight with a large salmon, of which, 
 perhaps, the following lines may furnish the 
 reader with a faint notion : — 
 
Salmon Fishing. 155 
 
 SUCCESS. 
 
 The glory of the day had gone, and yet there lingered still 
 A gleam of golden sunshine on grand old Glandwr's hill ; 
 While here and there the stream above, shone pictured to 
 
 the eye, 
 Like silvered patchwork, as it swept in circling eddies by. 
 
 On the " Red Bank" stood the angler, and paused a little there. 
 So lovely looked the river, and the landscape, oh, so fair! 
 Again the rod is raised aloft, the line flies straight ahead, 
 And drops upon the water as light as a silken thread. 
 
 Was it a ray of sunlight, a bright, but transient beam, 
 That sparkled for an instant 'neath the surface of the stream? 
 A sudden tight'ning of the line, a momentary shock, 
 *'I have thee now," cries the angler, "as firm as any rock." 
 
 Swift as a flash of lightning, or an arrow from a bow. 
 Flies the startled salmon from his lair full sixty yards below; 
 Aye, sixty yards without a check, and then, O glorious sight ! 
 He bounded from the water, like a wild bird in its flight. 
 
 How still and tranquil is the scene, save when the wild 
 
 bee's wing 
 Goes buzzing homeward, or the lark trills forth his evening hymn; 
 Or where the river dances on in merriment and glee, 
 Till drowned for ever in the roar of the far-distant sea. 
 
 Deep down beneath the broken bank the salmon shows no sign. 
 The chain still holds him captive, save the quiv'ring of the 
 
 line, 
 As coil after coil keeps tight'ning around the circling wheel. 
 And fainter falls upon the ear, **the music of the reel." 
 
156 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 **What ails thee now," cries the angler, as whistling through 
 
 the air 
 Stone after stone falls from his hand, "I'll stir thee from 
 
 thy lair," 
 Or grating 'gainst the rugged rock, or some old sunken tree, 
 The strongest gut that ere was cast, must snap, and set 
 
 thee free." 
 
 Ah, ah ! ah, ah ! he's off again, again begins the fray. 
 
 If fortune smile upon the brave, the salmon wins the day; 
 
 So fleet of fin, and resolute, he rushes to and fro, 
 
 Now he stems the foaming torrent, now dashes down below. 
 
 Swift as the river races on, time races swifter far, 
 And yet the salmon shews no sign of falt'ring in the war. 
 But battles on, aye, as bravely, for freedom and dear life. 
 As when he seized the fatal fly, and first began the strife. 
 
 The angler gazes round him, and, not without dismay, 
 
 Sees shadow after shadow shut out the light of day ; 
 
 **By heav'ns," he cries, "I'll drag thee down, unless the 
 
 line give way. 
 Or the rod prove a traitor, and thus terminate the fray." 
 
 One struggle more the brave fish makes, alas, 'tis all in vain. 
 The shelter of the old loved lair he'll never reach again; 
 Caught in the centre of the stream, he loses all control. 
 And like a ball of silver, down, down begins to roll. 
 
 Below the "Red Bank's" deepest pool Dolgeogh's ford 
 
 flows by. 
 That runs like a reckless mill-race, whene're the river's high ; 
 Unless he reach the other side, the angler knows full well. 
 To all his hopes of victory he'd better say farewell ! 
 
Salmon Fishing. 157 
 
 See, how he struggles through the stream, he scarcely can 
 
 command 
 His footing for an instant, like a drunkard on diy land ; 
 Now here, now there he flounders on ; hurrah ! the worst 
 
 is past ; 
 He's reached the still back-water, now stands on diy land 
 
 at last. 
 
 With shortened line, and tightened reel, thy foe, brave fish 
 
 draws nigh, 
 Where panting still, and powerless, he sees thee prostrate lie; 
 Then stealthy, as a wild cat, with the gaff clutched in his hand. 
 He drives it quiv'ring through thy side, and drags thee on 
 
 the land. 
 
 The owl hoots from his leafy haunt, the curlew overhead 
 Whistles in softened cadence a requiem for the dead! 
 In after years the angler, again, and again, will tell 
 Of his long and famous struggle with the fish that fought 
 so well. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 O a fisherman accustomed as I have 
 been for years to frequent the 
 banks of rivers open to the anghng 
 fraternity at large, it is only natural to suppose, 
 that many laughable scenes, and comic-actors 
 in them, could hardly fail of cropping up. I 
 am afraid I must plead guilty, too, to the 
 charge of a rather mischievous propensity, few 
 of us are quite free from, of putting myself 
 in the way of witnessing the discomfiture of 
 others, we are not disposed to take a fancy to, 
 from their brusque manners, or bumptious airs. 
 On my return home, not very long ago, with 
 that pleasant sensation of satisfaction, that steals 
 over us when success has crowned our efforts, 
 whether in fishing, or anything else, I was 
 
Salmon Fishing, 159 
 
 suddenly arrested by a voice that, I believed, 
 was addressed to me, though I could not dis- 
 tinguish the words. When I pulled up, and 
 looked whence the voice proceeded, I recognised 
 a fisherman, I must honestly confess, I had 
 taken no fancy to. He was one of a party 
 of four who, season after season, haunted the 
 banks of the river, and were as covetous of 
 plunder, as little pleasant to others, in their 
 daily search after it. In fact, they seemed to 
 have conspired among themselves to monopolise 
 a large part of the river that contained some 
 of its best pools and streams. It was of no 
 use to attempt to break through the monopoly; 
 for no sooner did a stranger make his appear- 
 ance, than one of the party immediately 
 descended to the lowest piece of water, and 
 thus the luckless adventurer found himself foiled 
 not only here, but upwards also, by some 
 understanding best known to the plotters in 
 question. Not easily daunted myself, I deter- 
 mined more than once to do my best to get 
 
i6o Salmon Fishing. 
 
 possession of a pool or two, I had been 
 accustomed to fish with much pleasure before 
 the monopoly commenced. The only time, 
 however, I succeeded, was by crossing the river 
 at a high water which, no one not thoroughly 
 acquainted with it, could do without danger of 
 a thorough wetting, if not something worse. 
 
 Here then before me was one of that well- 
 behaved quartette. He was hard at work far 
 below his accustomed haunts, and accordingly 
 in blissful ignorance that the water he was 
 flogging with such hearty goodwill was not two 
 feet deep, and as little likely to hold a salmon 
 as a crocodile. 
 
 " What sport have you had T' he screamed 
 out to me in a pettish, unpleasant tone of 
 voice, that told me at once how little at ease 
 the speaker was. " What sport have you had r 
 Very deliberately did I begin to unsling my 
 bag from my shoulders, and take out two fish 
 which, in spite of the earhness of the season, 
 few would not have pronounced most creditable 
 
Salmon F is J dug. i6i 
 
 specimens of Spring Salmon ; and laid them 
 down side by side on the grass near him. I 
 then commenced describing the fight I had 
 enjoyed with the biggest of the two, and the 
 pools I had killed them in, suspecting all the 
 time that he had pertinaciously flogged the 
 same to no purpose. " Yes," I said, in course 
 of my reply to his remarks, " they are very 
 nice fish, but not so large by any means as 
 three others I landed and turned back again, 
 from my suspicion that they were kelts ; though 
 I have often seen worse specimens exposed for 
 sale. But let me ask, what sport have you 
 had V " Sport," said he, in a perplexed sort 
 of passionate tone ; — *' Not a touch all day." 
 
 " Not a touch !" Now, though my risible pro- 
 pensities were almost at fever-heat, I managed 
 to forbear breaking out into a roar; condoled 
 with him, I am afraid, with a sad want of 
 sincerity; and went on my way with the new 
 phrase ringing still in my ears, " Not a touch." 
 
 In the days of the old Monnow Cap Club, 
 
1 62 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 I happened to stumble suddenly on a very 
 aged piscator seated on the ground, and most 
 intently watching his float, with an evident 
 disinclination to take his eyes off it even, when 
 he answered my salutation to him. The spot 
 selected by him was close to the conflux of 
 the Worm and Dore, where, it was said, some 
 good Perch usually resorted. I spoke kindly 
 to the old man, and wished him good sport, 
 without at all reminding him that the water 
 was preserved, and open only to members of 
 the Club. Late in the evening I strolled home 
 by the same place, with a basket pretty full 
 of heavy fish which I had killed with a May-fly 
 in the deep water above. In the very spot sat 
 the same old man, as intent as ever on his float. 
 ^ Well, old boy," I said to him, " I hope you 
 have had good sport." " Not a nib all day," was 
 the curt answer that came from him. And yet 
 from morning to night was his mind sufficiently 
 diverted, to keep him from regarding the hours 
 upon hours he sat silent and solitary, as heavy 
 
Salmon Fishing, 163 
 
 on hand, or slow in their departure. " Not a 
 nib !" — How much more graphic, thought I, than 
 " not a touch." From the garb and appearance 
 of the speaker, I put him down for a pauper 
 from the workhouse hard by ; and a reverence, 
 in the room of a partiahty for our favourite 
 pastime, seemed to spring up instantaneously, 
 and fasten upon me, when I looked at the time- 
 worn angler before me, and saw at a glance 
 that, though his patience must have been sorely 
 taxed, with not a fraction of a nibble even to 
 cheer him up, he was well contented still to 
 occupy his grassy seat in hopes of a change for 
 the better, until darkness drove him away. 
 
 THE POOR, OLD ANGLER. 
 
 On a grassy seat, 
 
 Where the two streams meet, 
 
 Clad hi a thread -bare coat, 
 There sat an old man, 
 His face, Oh, so wan ! 
 
 Watching a tiny float. 
 
164 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 What mattered the strife, 
 Or the caves of life? 
 
 They could not reach him there ; 
 While music he heard 
 From each hedge-row bird, 
 
 And wild flowers bloomed so fair. 
 
 When the sun's last ray- 
 Had just died away, 
 
 And clouds came gath'ring round, 
 I passed by the place, 
 And still could just trace 
 
 The Angler on the ground. 
 
 Let noble bards scold 
 At Isaac of old ; 
 
 Long live the gentle art, 
 That through a [whole day 
 In the month of May, 
 
 Can gladd'n a pauper's heart J 
 
 To start salmon-rod in hand, in a glorious 
 October morning, with the river in good order, 
 the wind in the north-west, and with that 
 elasticity of mind the sanguine hope of good 
 sport, not seldom gives birth to ; — what to a 
 lover of nature, as well as fishing, can be more 
 enjoyable ? 
 
 How often, under such circumstances, have 
 I been serenaded by the merry voices of a 
 
Salmon Fishing. 165 
 
 pack of harriers, that sound, I fancy, more 
 musical in a mountainous country, than they 
 do in one more level ; and my thoughts carried 
 me back to times, when horses and dogs I used 
 to consider, if not quite equal, at any rate, very 
 little inferior to my own species. Though many 
 years have passed, since I have had much to 
 do with the former, I have not forgotten how 
 frequently I have been indebted to their extra- 
 ordinary tact and cleverness in extricating their 
 rider from dangers in the hunting-field, and 
 dark lanes, and short cuts in districts I knew 
 nothing of. Once on the back of a horse I 
 had hard work to manage, either by coaxing, 
 or less kind persuasives, I was enjoying a little 
 ^^ schooling!' as they called it in Ireland; or 
 ^'larking'' at Oxford; when off he rushed 
 with the bit between his teeth, in spite of my 
 frantic efforts to hold him. The first fence he 
 came to he cleared more like a deer with his 
 legs tucked under him, than in the usual manner. 
 To be carried thus " nolens volens," is scarcely 
 
1 66 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 the amusement any other than a fool-hardy 
 fellow would like; and I began to repent 
 accepting the offer of a mount I caught at 
 so eagerly. Though tolerably forward with 
 hounds, I never could bring myself to believe 
 that I was a good rider ; but on this occasion, 
 let the horse rush on as madly as he may, 
 and as straight as a line, I seemed to be part 
 and parcel of him, so firm was I in the saddle. 
 After the first few fences, when I found I was 
 landed all right on the ether side, I felt a 
 kind of pleasurable emotion ; so much so indeed, 
 as to induce me to take liberties with the run- 
 away, which I think astonished him. I was 
 armed with a pair of old-fashioned spurs which, 
 my friend who lent me the horse, persuaded 
 me to put on, saying at the same time, "he 
 is a queer-tempered brute, and you may stand 
 in need of them." 
 
 I found, after I had gone flying through the 
 country for some time, as fast as the horse 
 could tear, that he began to flag, and yield a 
 
Salmon Fishing, 167 
 
 little to the bit. "Now, my friend," I said, 
 "it's my turn;" and I sent the spurs into 
 his sides most cruelly, as I thought afterwards. 
 Not at all disposed to take the punishment 
 quietly, down went his head, as far as he could 
 stretch it, and up his back, v/hile all the time, 
 instead of the usual even gallop, he went bound- 
 ing along in a way as little comfortable to my 
 feelings, as it was conducive to the facility of 
 keeping my seat. The next fence he came to, 
 instead of rising, he dashed right through it, 
 and fortunately it gave way ; and as there was 
 no ditch the other side, he and I did not come 
 to grief 
 
 The field we got into now was a very long 
 one, but not an atom did he seem beaten, either 
 in speed, or temper. When we were nearing 
 the fence, it was one that gave me no concern ; 
 but what was my astonishment, I may almost 
 say, disgust, when within about ten yards of it, 
 he stopped, or rather tried to stop most abruptly; 
 but the pace he was going at made him slide 
 
1 68 Salmon FisJiing. 
 
 within a yard or two of it, ere he came to a 
 stand-still. This I could not submit to, and 
 in went the spurs, and on his flank blow after 
 blow of the cane whip-handle descended, as 
 hard and long as I could wield it, though all 
 to no purpose. 
 
 The horse not only stood stock-still, but he 
 appeared to me to tremble like a leaf. What 
 was I to do } To punish him any more, was 
 beyond me, I could not do it ; when just imagine 
 my surprise, as a voice which I instantly re- 
 cognised reached me from a lane near at hand, 
 to this effect : — " You had a lucky escape there ! 
 Crane over the fence if you can, and see what 
 you have escaped !" I did as he told me, and 
 what was my horror, when I saw at a glance 
 that the sagacity of the poor horse, I had so 
 ruthlessly whipped and spurred a minute before, 
 had saved me in all probability from a dreadful 
 death. On the other side of the hedge was 
 a large bog-pit, soft and deep enough, not 
 only to ingulf the horse and his rider, but I 
 
Salmon Fishing. 169 
 
 may say within limits a dozen of us besides ! 
 
 If horses are sagacious, I believe dogs are 
 more so. I shall never forget a Skye-terrier, 
 called Ben, I had for some years; a more 
 vigilant house-dog there could not have been, 
 or splendid garden-guard. 
 
 Living within a mile of a large city, for some 
 time before Ben's arrival, I was subjected to 
 depredations of fruit and flowers to a most 
 alarming extent. The thieves, I felt sure, 
 were chiefly boys, from the tracks of their 
 feet, and the needless injury they did to the: 
 trees. 
 
 Now Ben had a strange antipathy to boys ; 
 of the ragged "genus" Cbpecially; having been 
 no doubt hitherto tormented by them. 
 
 One day I was seated in my study, and all 
 
 at once I heard the most piteous cries it is 
 
 possible to conceive from some one in deep 
 
 distress. I rushed out immediately to ascertain 
 
 the reason of this, and what should I see not far 
 
 from the garden gates, but a ragged urchin 
 M 
 
I/O Salmon Fishing. 
 
 crying out bitterly with Ben at his tail, his teeth 
 fast fixed — not in his flesh, but his nether gar- 
 ments, and holding him as firm as a rock ? 
 
 It appeared that the terrified boy had been at 
 his old tricks ; that the gardener had given 
 chase, but could not catch him ; and that Ben, 
 hearing the commotion, was just in time, as 
 the thief escaped from the gate, to rush down 
 the road and pin him. So comical was the 
 spectacle, that I roared with laughter, Ben all 
 the time looking as grave and dignified as a 
 judge. 
 
 Very seldom was I troubled with garden- 
 thieves after this. 
 
 Nor was Ben less brave than sagacious, as 
 the following incident will verify. One day 
 when the groom was exercising a horse of mine 
 on the Down not far off, accompanied by Ben, 
 he saw coming towards him a dog he knew 
 had the reputation of being not only a quarrel- 
 some, ill-conditioned brute, but the best fighter 
 111 the neighbourhood. " Now," said the groom. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 171 
 
 "Mr. Ben, you will have your match." Being 
 fond of the dog, however, as all of us were, 
 he put the horse into a gallop, hoping that 
 Ben would follow, and escape a good thrash- 
 ing. But no! To run away from one of his 
 species, did not suit Ben's notions at all, though 
 the stranger was larger than he by one half. 
 Expecting the dog was behind him he just 
 looked round, and great was his concern to see 
 the two locked together in a deadly embrace. 
 When he came up to them, he was compelled 
 to be an unwilling spectator of the fight, as 
 he could not leave the horse, and was thus 
 powerless to interfere. For a time he felt sure 
 Ben would get the worst of it ; but what was 
 his surprise, when after a short but very sharp 
 tussle, he saw the big one sheer off cowed and 
 crest-fallen. Though I detest dog-fights and 
 everything of the kind, I must confess when I 
 heard the story from the lips of the groom, I 
 felt prouder than ever of gallant old Ben. 
 
 Alas, how short a time do dogs live ! We 
 
1/2 Salmon FisJiing, 
 
 were all seated at the luncheon - table on a 
 memorable day m winter, when one of the 
 party who always took him his dinner, came 
 back with the plate of food untouched. 
 
 The faithful old fellow was found stretched 
 at his full length, cold and stiff. Not one of 
 our party cared to speak. Something in the 
 shape of a big tear came rolling down my 
 cheek, and I beat a retreat at once, I am not 
 ashamed to say, to have a good cry. 
 
 When fishing in North Wales, how often have 
 I paused for minutes together to watch with 
 delight the movements of the Welsh sheep-dogs 
 on the mountains close by ! 
 
 They are a tiresome, noisy race in general, 
 and where they abound I seldom go unarmed 
 with a stone or two. They will rush at you, 
 as though you were a noxious wild beast, with a 
 horrid din, and a most ugly display of sharp, 
 white teeth ; but just chuck a stone or two into 
 their midst, and away they scamper too cowed 
 to molest you any more. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 173 
 
 In spite of most of them being arrant cowards, 
 their sense (I speak advisedly) and intelligence 
 are truly admirable. 
 
 No matter how distant, like white dots 
 on the mountains, let the master speak a 
 word or two, or wave his hand, and not a 
 straggler of the whole flock is not brought 
 back to the desired spot by these fleet and 
 clever messengers. 
 
 But besides their cleverness with sheep, they 
 are not the less 'cute in other matters, as the 
 following fact will testify. 
 
 Not many months ago I was wandering up the 
 Dovey, without much encouragement in the way 
 of sport. Stream after stream, pool after pool, 
 had I tried with all the skill I was master of, but 
 in vain. Not a fish would condescend to reward 
 my patience with the welcome sight of his 
 silvery presence. At length I reached what is 
 called the lower Twimming-pool, and just above 
 the widest part, where the back water whirls 
 round in a most inviting way, I saw, or fancied I 
 
174 Salmon Fishin^ 
 
 "ii' 
 
 saw a white gleam for an instant. Unfortu- 
 nately the best spot for the fly to light on, 
 was under the branches of an alder, which I 
 avoided well-enough the first throw. But to my 
 disgust when I made a second attempt, the wind, 
 then very gusty, sent the fly into the midst 
 of the troublesome branches. "Good bye to my 
 chance of a fish there," said I ; as I pulled hard 
 to disentangle the fly without avail. Being 
 an old favourite, I determined to cross the river, 
 which I knew I could do some distance down, 
 and recover it. 
 
 When I came to the tree, I removed the bag 
 from my shoulders, and threw it down on the 
 bank. It was sometime before I could reach the 
 bough, in which the fly was fixed ; and perhaps 
 ten minutes at least did it take, ere I began 
 to descend. Just as I turned round to take 
 the first step downward, and looked below, what 
 should I see, but a large sheep-dog making off 
 very deliberately with the bag in his mouth ! 
 I knew that it contained, not only my luncheon, 
 
Salmon Fishing, 175 
 
 but odds and ends besides, which I could ill 
 afford to lose. No sooner did he hear me 
 shouting at him in no measured tones, than 
 he stopped at once, and looked round on all 
 sides, still holding the bag in his mouth. After 
 his survey, and seeing nothing near he cared 
 for, he resumed his walk. As it was getting 
 rather a serious affair to me, I not only screamed 
 much louder than before, but began violently 
 shaking the branches of the tree. He then 
 looked up for the first time, and caught sight 
 of me. Down went the bag at once, and off 
 scampered he, looking back every now and 
 then, in a very knowing manner, as much as 
 to say, "a minute or two more, my boy, and 
 you would have lost your bag." 
 
 When I came to examine the bag, I found 
 he had unfastened one of the two buttons 
 that held down the flap ; and as it was wet 
 all round the button-hole, it was evident it 
 must have taken some time to do this. At 
 the top of the bag was a piece of cake wrapped 
 
1/6 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 up in paper ; this he regaled himself with ; 
 but fortunately the bread and cheese lay at 
 the very bottom, and between that and the 
 cake, a flask of whisky and a few other things. 
 Now, finding that the only spoil he could 
 conveniently take, was the piece of cake, and, 
 no doubt smelling the cheese, if he could not 
 further open the bag, the happy thought, I 
 suspect, struck him, that he would carry it off 
 to a safe distance, lest the owner should come 
 and disturb him, and tear it apart with his teeth, 
 and then enjoy the contents at his leisure. 
 
 Most freely did I forgive the dog the robbery 
 of the cake, for the ingenuity he had displayed. 
 He evidently belonged to the canine swell-mob 
 of thieves, and possessed no common share of 
 craftiness. For a long time he kept watching 
 me from a grassy knoll about three fields off, 
 and when a rise in the land behind me shut him 
 out from my sight altogether, I went away 
 speculating on the nice question, as to how far 
 instinct (so called) can prevail in the case of a 
 
Salmon FisJiing. 177 
 
 dog, to authorise the natural doubt, whether it 
 does not amount to absolute reason itself ? If 
 the dog in question shewed such undoubted 
 evidence of sense and reflection which, from his 
 whole manoeuvres, I must contend he did, how 
 far distant from the combination of the two 
 could reason stand aloof ? 
 
 Such a respect have I for dogs in general, in 
 spite of cantankerous curs, that when I see 
 errand-boys — an ill-mannered, unruly set — 
 throwing stones at them, how do my fingers 
 itch to castigate them with a few strokes of such 
 a cane, as in *' barbarous times'' {?) in my school- 
 boy days, I used to tremble at the sight of, when 
 in the hands of our peppery old pedagogue. 
 
 Of fishermens' " fancies," perhaps, there is not 
 one more frequent than that of measuring the 
 size of salmon by the length of time they 
 take in landing them. A most memorable 
 instance of this I was a personal eye-witness 
 of not very long ago. 
 
 Having strolled down to the river later than 
 
178 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 usual, the first thing I caught sight of, was a 
 friend's rod bent in that unmistakeable way 
 that told me he was ''fast of a fishl' to use 
 the favourite phrase of an old frequenter of the 
 Dovey, in the Ffridd Pool. Before I had quite 
 come up to him he exclaimed aloud to me in a 
 very exultant tone, " a big un this time, and no 
 mistake!" For some minutes did I linger by 
 the spot in hopes of seeing "the big un" landed; 
 but not a bit nearer seemed such a result, though 
 the fish kept moving up and down the pool, and 
 ought, I thought, to have shewn symptoms of 
 caving in. This was about eleven ; and I soon 
 walked away to the pools above, in the hope of 
 getting hold of a " big un " too. Between two 
 and three o'clock in the afternoon I returned to 
 the same pool ; and lo, there was my friend 
 with his rod still bent as before. "What a 
 lucky fellow that is," said I to myself, " to hook 
 another in the same pool, after disturbing it so 
 much with the first fish." To my unutterable 
 surprise however, I found him hard at work still 
 
Salmon Fishing, 179 
 
 with the same fish he had hooked three or four 
 hours before. So exhausted did he look, 
 having lost his mid-day dinner, that I rushed 
 back to my abode hard-by, and brought down 
 some sherry and bread and cheese. Confident 
 in his estimate of the enormous size of the 
 fish, not a moment would he allow his attendant 
 or me to relieve him of his rod, for fear of 
 mistakes ; and it was only by fits and starts I 
 managed to give him a sip of sherry, and a bit 
 of the solids. I waited looking on in wonder 
 for at least half-an-hour ; and though I longed 
 to take his rod, and put his tackle to the proof 
 by double its present strain, I did not venture 
 the proposal to such a master of the art. 
 
 Again was I constrained to take my departure 
 thence, sick to death of watching the same 
 game played over and over again ; — the salmon 
 quietly sailing down to the lowest limit of the 
 pool, and then as quietly wending his way back. 
 
 Between five and six o'clock I drew near 
 again to the scene of the late fight (as I 
 
l8o Salmon Fishing, 
 
 thought) to behold the monster, that had not 
 only deprived my friend of his dinner, but well- 
 nigh of all the strength and vitality he had left 
 in his body. Several spectators ^were now 
 gathered round him, not to see the giant-fish 
 stretched on dry land, but, to my extreme 
 astonishment, to look on, as I had previously, at 
 the up and down movement of the same fish in 
 his own element. 
 
 Such a trial of patience, temper, and physical 
 endurance, few of the fishing fraternity, I imagine 
 have ever sustained, and most careful was I not 
 to breathe a syllable in my friend's ear, save of 
 hope and encouragement. I kept the whole 
 time a very vigilant look-out ; when all at once 
 I caught a faint glimpse of the salmon, though 
 quite sufficient to satisfy me, he was by no 
 means a large fish after all. So convinced, 
 however, was the excited angler to the con- 
 trary, that a mere hint of my suspicion only 
 called forth one of his "wideawake" looks 
 which clearly indicated the familiar question — 
 
Salmon Fishing. i8i 
 
 ^'Do you see anything green in my optics?'* 
 It was now six o'clock, and the climax not 
 far off. Every now and then, "there he is," 
 shouted out several bystanders, as the salmon's 
 white belly became apparent. The face of the 
 fisherman himself was a study ! The anxious, 
 care-worn, cast-down expression, that patience 
 well-nigh exhausted, and mental vigour almost 
 worn-out, had left there, was now scattered to 
 the winds ; and in its place succeeded the quiet 
 smile of gratified self-satisfaction. 
 
 "Now for the gaff," cried aloud a dozen 
 voices ; and such a rush to the river's brink 
 there never was, or, such a Babel of tongues ! 
 Down the bank which adjoined the road madly 
 rushed fresh and fresh spectators from every 
 carriage and cart that drove by. After several 
 plunges, and as many failures, at last the ruth- 
 less steel was firmly implanted in the salmon's 
 side, and out he was dragged into the midst 
 of the crowd which for a moment seemed 
 swayed by a simultaneous spell of silent awe, 
 
1 82 Sahnon Fishinz. 
 
 in expectation of feasting their eyes on the 
 monster-fish ! 
 
 Alas! how swift and sudden the revulsion 
 of feeling ! When brought to the test of the 
 weighing machine, the fish, after a seven-hours^ 
 fight, did not exceed sixteen pounds in weight ; 
 one half less, I believe, than the sanguine angler 
 had so fondly anticipated ! 
 
 Take warning from this, ye brethren of the 
 angle, who condescend to cast your eyes over 
 these pages, never to measure the size of the 
 salmon you hook, by the lapse of time you are 
 engaged in the fight ! 
 
 Towards the close of a struggle with a salmon, 
 save me from a crowd of spectators! Most 
 sorely was my temper tried on one occasion 
 when I hooked a fish in the little river Dulas, 
 
 On the day in question having some hours 
 at my disposal, the Dovey being far too high, 
 to while away the time pleasantly, I determined 
 to stroll up the Dulas, and try one or two 
 catches it was at all practicable to fish. 
 
Sahnon Fishing. 
 
 i8i 
 
 The first time I caught sight of this charming 
 little river, so delighted was I, that though 
 I had trudged many wearisome miles, the 
 additional ones down its banks seemed rather 
 
 to revive me from my fatigue, than to add to 
 its weight. Hardly a stream or a pool that was 
 not in my eyes a perfect little picture itself, 
 with the grey, moss-covered boulders, and the 
 foliage of overhanging trees and ferns of various 
 kinds thick-strewed on every side. 
 
1 84 Sabiioii Fishing. 
 
 Would that I had not thrown away those 
 hours of early life, when my kind-hearted old 
 drawing master used to pat me most affection- 
 ately on the head, as "his favourite pupil!" 
 ^' That boy will be a painter some day or other," 
 he would exclaim ! Not a ramble in a new 
 country, and within sight of my favourite river- 
 scenery, that does not bring back these words, 
 only the more to make me regret my past folly 
 of not persevering with the pencil. 
 
 My stroll in question, I must confess, was 
 more for the sake of gratifying the eye, 
 than with any hope of hooking a salmon. 
 
 One of the few likely pools, once, twice, 
 thrice, did the fly travel over, and not a nook 
 or cranny that it did not play round and about 
 for a moment, to try and captivate some 
 lurking beauty or other that lay in ambush 
 beneath. No ! as sweet a bit of water as ever 
 angler's eye gazed upon, and yet nothing 
 have I ever risen in it, save a sewin or two. 
 
 " Now then for the run by the mill ; if I don't 
 
Salmon Fishing. 185 
 
 succeed there ; good bye to my chance to day.'* 
 To fish this narrow gut, for it is nothing else, 
 is not easy. Trees overhang it ; thick bushes 
 fringe it ; and, if you shorten your Hne too 
 much, salmo's sharp eye will be sure to catch 
 sight of you. ''What a nuisance !" I called out, 
 when in making the second cast, a tough blade 
 of grass on the other side caught the fly, and 
 held it in durance vile. " Well done, little rod," 
 said I, as I dragged the fly thence, and it bent 
 almost double, and then returned to its shape 
 again, as straight, and, as I thought, as sound 
 as ever. Just as the fly in the next cast had 
 worked round opposite the rock, swift as a flash 
 of light up came a fish, and before I could look 
 round, snap went the top-joint above the ferule ; 
 — the result, no doubt, of the sudden wrench 
 from the blade of grass before mentioned. 
 
 Most ludicrous must the situation I was in 
 now have seemed to any one who witnessed it ! 
 The rod bereft of the top-joint which kept 
 
 bobbing about on the line, now half-sunk, and 
 
 N 
 
T S6 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 then dragged entirely under the surface, looked 
 not unlike a stiff stick, so unyielding was it, 
 while the salmon kept capering about in the 
 stream below. I had no idea whatever I should 
 kill the fish, though determined not to lose him, 
 if I could possibly help it. Fortunately he 
 dashed about within a very hmited compass of 
 water, and was evidently playing the game the 
 most Hkely to wear himself out, without the aid 
 of much strain upon the line. I began to see 
 now that I had a chance of success, and very 
 soon did he exhibit symptoms that he was fast 
 destroying himself. 
 
 At the crisis of the fight, when I hoped soon 
 to be the victor, and when I had shortened the 
 line, and was stealthily creeping along the steep, 
 shelving bank, and getting the rod (by no means 
 an easy task) round one or two biggish trees 
 that stood in my way, I heard the rumbling 
 of wheels, and the din of many voices. Very 
 soon was all this explained ; for just as I had 
 succeeded in pulling the fish down to the tail 
 
Salmon Fishing. 187 
 
 of the stream, about thirty stalwart quarrymen 
 jumped out of the trucks, dashed down the 
 bank, and surrounded me. At first Httle was 
 said by them. They stared now at me, and 
 now at the broken rod ; then one of the more 
 demonstrative came so close to the water, that 
 the tired fish caught sight of him, and flew back 
 to the place where I first hooked him. To 
 remonstrate except in Welsh, which was beyond 
 me, I well knew to be of no use. Patient as the 
 pauper I have hitherto described, who sat watch- 
 ing his float all the day long, I managed to curb 
 all outward shew of feeling, and went on quietly 
 winding up the line, and gradually coaxing the 
 salmon down the stream again. The quarryman 
 seeing me thus unmoved came closer and closer 
 to where I was standing, and evidently meant 
 (in ignorant good-nature perhaps) to bear a 
 hand by seizing hold of the line, and dragging 
 poor salmo ashore. Flesh and blood could 
 stand it no longer ; and I fairly roared at him, 
 whether he understood me or not, to keep his 
 
Salmon Fishing. 
 
 hands off ; and more than that to get out of 
 the way, and mind his own business. For a 
 moment the man looked as if he meant to 
 launch out an oath or two, if not, take hold of 
 my rod, and tear it from me ; but something he 
 caught sight of in the expression of my face, 
 changed his intention, and he retired a yard 
 or two behind. When I tried more than once 
 to tail the fish, and failed, there was a suppressed 
 kind of guttural sound from many an open 
 mouth, that smacked very much of vexation 
 and regret. At length when I got a firm hold 
 of the fish by the tail and threw him headlong 
 on the bank, there was such a simultaneous rush 
 to see the vanquished salmon, that I had hard 
 work to move in the living throng, and harder 
 still to take the hook out of his mouth. 
 
 Catching sight of a boy that lived in one of 
 the three cottages above, I sent him for a large 
 knife and a basket. All the while the quarry- 
 men were watching me as closely, as a cat 
 does a mouse ; and when the boy came back 
 
Salmon Fishing. 189 
 
 with the knife, and I cut the fish into three 
 pieces to be distributed in the cottages at hand, 
 the astonishment at my proceedings burst out 
 into a continuous buzz of excited conversation, 
 and not a Httle merriment, I am afraid, at my 
 expense. 
 
 To one of an excitable temperament salmon- 
 fishing is not seldom attended with considerable 
 danger. A well-known Dean in the West of 
 England once told me, that when he fished 
 certain rivers in Scotland, he thought it prudent 
 to have a rope round his waist, with the other 
 end of it in the hands of his attendant, lest, 
 when engaged in a fight, his ardour might carry 
 him further than he cared to go. I never had 
 the pleasure of watching this dignitary of the 
 church at work with his rod, but to judge 
 from his resolute bearing, and fearless ex- 
 pression of thought, no matter in whose presence, 
 it would be a rich treat to see him engaged with 
 a strong, active fish. 
 
 Far different would such a spectacle be at the 
 
1 90 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 hands of a Right Reverend Prelate in the same 
 part of the country, who, after the wear and 
 tear of his body and brains, during months 
 of hard work in his diocese, is wont to betake 
 himself occasionally to the banks of rivers, to 
 handle a rod, and revel in the scenery so 
 attractive to him there. During a whole fort- 
 night's fishing in the Usk, with too often little 
 sport, I understood him once to remark, that 
 he beguiled much of the leisure time by re- 
 clining on the banks, and luxuriating in the 
 pages of his favourite Horace. 
 
 A widely-different affair would the handling 
 of a hooked fish be in his hands, to those of 
 the Dean above-mentioned. To the latter 
 would the fight, without doubt, at the time, 
 be as though he were engaged heart and 
 soul in a matter that enlisted all his sympathies 
 and physical energies. Fiery as an impetuous 
 soldier in the face of the foe ; fearless of all 
 consequences, if he can but win the victory ; 
 such can I well fancy the Dean to be, when 
 
Salmon Fishing. 191 
 
 hotly engaged with a large salmon in a 
 dangerous river. 
 
 Very quietly, on the contrary, and composedly, 
 would the higher dignitary comport himself 
 under similar circumstances. No ostensible 
 exhibition of feeling on his placid countenance ! 
 No undue haste evinced in his deliberate move- 
 ments ! Strong as the other in his determination 
 to win the day, and stubborn not to yield an 
 inch more than he can help, be the salmon ever 
 so impatient ; — who knows but that the latter's 
 method is not attended with the most success 
 in salmon-fishing, as well as in more important 
 matters. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OME years ago I was enjoying a 
 da}/s fishing in the Wye, a few 
 miles above Glasbury, where the 
 rocks were so smooth and sHppery, that no 
 matter what the soles of your brogues, whether 
 felt, or leather thick-studded with nails, it was 
 almost impossible to keep your footing. Twice 
 had I to submit to the laughter of my com- 
 panions, by a sudden immersion in the 
 treacherous water ! But this was not all ! 
 The first time I slipped up, my wetting was, 
 comparatively speaking, of a trifling nature. 
 But the second time such a ducking did I get, 
 that I was compelled to betake myself for aid 
 
Salmon Fishing. 193 
 
 to my worthy hosf s wardrobe. When I re- 
 joined the party at the riverside, I was received, 
 I well remember, in a manner that rather upset 
 my dignity. 
 
 As usual, my companion was convulsed with 
 laughter. My host, I saw, was not the less 
 amused, though he did not roar like the former. 
 And the keeper tried, though in vain, to keep 
 his countenance. It appeared, that in the hurry 
 of the moment, in putting on the borrowed 
 garments, I entirely lost sight of the great 
 disparity in height and size of the owner and 
 myself. Accordingly when I hastened back to 
 resume my fishing, I must have cut so comical 
 a figure, that it was impossible for the most 
 reluctant to forbear from laughing. 
 
 At the top of the water I was fishing, a most 
 melancholy event had lately happened to a 
 brother-angler which made me shudder, when 
 it struck me that, laughable as it may be to a 
 thoughtless companion, to see another suddenly 
 overtaken by an accident such as this, it may 
 
194 Salmon FisJnng, 
 
 have been nearer to a fatal termination than 
 he imagined. 
 
 It seems that the poor fellow in question had 
 not long since taken the fishery, and was doubt- 
 less looking forward with much delight to the 
 opportunities it would give him of enjoying 
 ''ad libittim'' his favourite amusement. In 
 fact, if my memory does not mislead me, it 
 was his first day's appearance with his salmon- 
 rod on the banks of the river. 
 
 I remember well, when the place was pointed 
 out to me, it struck me that no water could 
 be more treacherous, none more likely to entrap 
 an unwary fisherman. Down for some distance 
 swept a smooth current, every inch of which an 
 experienced eye could see at a glance was good 
 holding-ground for a fish. Right across it, and 
 opposite the bend in the bank below was a 
 white line of ruffled water, and just within this 
 on the lower side a deep abyss — so deep indeed, 
 that woe betide the luckless wretch, who was 
 dragged down within its cruel clutches ; — I say 
 
Salmon Fishing. 195 
 
 purposely dragged down, for it was here this 
 noble young fellow (he was, I heard, much 
 beloved) was doomed to die, in the very flower 
 of life, and flush of high spirits ! 
 
 It is supposed that in wading down he over- 
 stepped the ledge, and so great was the suction, 
 that he sank at once, without even rising to the 
 surface, as drowning men almost invariably do. 
 
 "DUM CAPIMUS CAPIMUR." 
 
 If you searched each sunny homestead 
 
 In all our favoured land, 
 You'd scarcely find a happier youth. 
 
 Than he with rod in hand, 
 Who went down to the river Wye, 
 For the first time his skill to try. 
 
 Before him stretches far ahead, 
 
 Just dimpled by the breeze, 
 And sheltered from the sun's bright beams 
 
 By overhanging trees, 
 A noble pool, few could excel 
 In all that anglers love so well. 
 
 Aha ! aha ! he cried aloud, 
 
 And laughed right merrily ; 
 Salmo beware ! I tell thee plain, 
 
 'Tis no child's play with me ; 
 For with this silver-bodied fly, 
 Thou'rt doomed this very day to die. 
 
196 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 Then onward sweeps the silken line, 
 
 And, like a flake of snow, 
 The dainty fly drops on the stream, 
 
 And circles down below, 
 Its charms the better to display 
 To any fish that under lay. 
 
 How silently the stream steals on, 
 Save where some giant rock 
 
 Whirls back the water from its course 
 With such a sudden shock. 
 
 That thick around it falls the spray. 
 
 Like mist in a November day. 
 
 " There, there he is !" the angler cries, 
 While, gazing with delight. 
 
 He sees a salmon spring aloft, 
 Then on the surface light 
 
 With such a sharp and sudden sound. 
 
 As stirs the slumbering echoes round. 
 
 With lengthened line he strives to reach 
 
 Within the magic space, 
 W^here lingering circles still betray 
 
 The salmon's lurking-place ; 
 At length he makes the longed-for cast, 
 He little thinks, it is his last ! 
 
 Heedless of dangers underneath, 
 
 He walks as on dry land. 
 Till stumbling o'er a treach'rous stone. 
 
 His rod flies from his hand. 
 And swiftly, as a flash of light. 
 He seems to vanish out of sight. 
 
Salmon Fishing. 197 
 
 Beneath that cruel ledge of rocks, 
 
 Full many a fathom deep, 
 The seething whirlpool drags hini down 
 
 To death's last lonesome sleep ; 
 A few air-bubbles upward rise, 
 The only token where he lies. 
 
 The birds are singing as before 
 
 On every bush and tree, 
 The sun shines just as warm and bright, 
 
 But where, Oh ! where is he. 
 Who went down to the river Wye, 
 For the first time his skill to try ? 
 
 Many a mishap have I had in the Dovey, 
 principally, I fear, though not always, owing 
 to my foolhardiness in trying to ford the river 
 at a high water, when nothing more serious 
 than a good ducking was the result. 
 
 One day, and that a bitter cold one in 
 February, I was higher up the river with my 
 rod than usual, and walking at least four miles 
 an hour, to try and retain a small modicum 
 of caloric in my shivering body. My thoughts 
 were very busy at the time, but far away from 
 the scene, or the subject of salmon-fishing. 
 
198 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 At the termination of a line of railing next 
 the river lay a large bough of a tree, with 
 two forks so placed, as to prevent the passage 
 of sheep or cattle that wanted to get to the 
 other side. Dashing along at a great pace, 
 I stepped on the fork nearest to me, with the 
 intention of hopping quickly over the other. 
 When lo, all at once I found myself hurled 
 through the air, and flung into the river which 
 was racing rapidly by. So confounded was I 
 by this sudden immersion, that I could hardly 
 realize the fact, till the icy water encircled me, 
 within a few inches of the left side of my face. 
 It seemed that the fork of the bough I had 
 put my foot on brought the other, which was 
 much higher up in the air, back with so sudden 
 a rebound, as to send me reeling into the water. 
 Though the position I was in was by no 
 means devoid of danger, my first and chief 
 concern was for the fate of the rod, I had 
 wielded so long. When it flew from my 
 hand, the thought came across me, that it was 
 
Salmon Fisliing, 1 99 
 
 all over with it, and I should never set eyes 
 on it again ; but great was my joy, when 
 it was brought round in the eddy within a 
 foot of me, and though in reaching forward 
 to grasp it I went under the surface, I did 
 succeed in catching hold of it, and held it 
 firm enough. I then attempted to climb the 
 bank. Once, twice, thrice, did the rolling 
 pebbles beneath force me off my footing. I 
 was within an ace of being swept down by the 
 swift, strong stream, and when I succeeded 
 better the fourth time, the most trying of all 
 my struggles, was to lift my legs, while I was 
 dragging myself up by clutching the bank 
 above. It seemed as though a hundred weight 
 had been suddenly added to my nether ex- 
 tremities, from the quantity of water in the 
 wading-stockings. 
 
 No sooner did I succeed in standing once 
 more on " ten^a firmal' than a sudden pain 
 seized me in the right knee, so severe as to 
 make me cry out lustily. 
 
200 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 A nice situation for a poor wretch to be in, 
 four good miles from home, dripping-wet from 
 head to foot, and benumbed with cold! 
 
 It took me an age to get my wading- 
 stockings off, and wring my jacket, in order 
 to make a start homeward. Every step I took 
 for some distance were my ears serenaded with 
 the musical treat from the wet shppers, and 
 well-saturated woollen socks; and most weari- 
 some work it was to drag myself along with 
 one leg well-nigh disabled, and the additional 
 weight of my wet clothes. 
 
 Not a friend by the riven side did I catch 
 sight of, without giving him a wide berth; 
 when whom should I stumble upon, within a 
 mile of my abode, but my '' fidtis Achates:' 
 the very last I cared to meet, knowing of old 
 how little sympathy I should meet with at 
 his lips, when he caught sight of my draggle- 
 tail, downcast, unfortunate self 
 
 "What, young fellow, you could'nt catch 
 'em with a fly then in a fair way, and must 
 
Salmon Fishmg. 201 
 
 needs try to come the otter-dodge over 'em. 
 A ghastly smile, and a grunt, was the only 
 reply I could afford. 
 
 Good reader, did you ever suffer from a 
 severe attack of rheumatism ? Well did I 
 experience what it is on the night following 
 my immersion. Scarcely one wink of steady 
 sleep could I get, and when I did just dose a 
 bit, I began struggling again in water deeper 
 and colder e;ven than before, with the delight- 
 ful sensation besides that some monster-salmon 
 had fast hold of my knee, and was paying 
 me off for worrying his fraternity so persist- 
 ently year after year. 
 
 My first attack of rheumatism left me after 
 a three months' affection for my right knee, 
 as I thought, finally. But no ! In the sub- 
 sequent autumn I was in close pursuit of a 
 cormorant gun-in-hand ; and thinking of nothing 
 but the slaughter of the voracious plunderer, 
 I jumped from a high fence on the bank next 
 
 the river, which gave way immediately, and I 
 O 
 
202 Sahnon Fishing. 
 
 found myself up to my middle in water. No 
 sooner did I crawl out, than the pain fastened 
 again on the same knee, though the water 
 was not particularly cold, and for some time 
 afterwards I felt it at intervals. 
 
 A year or two have elapsed since then, and 
 devoutly do I pray, that this unwelcome 
 visitor will keep at a respectable distance for 
 the future. 
 
 The nearest approach to a final stop being 
 put to my wielding a rod ever again, was in 
 the Green Island on the banks of the Erne. 
 
 The ''Boots'' of the hotel I was staying at 
 at Ballyshannon, hearing I was making inquiries 
 for an attendant, to point out the " throws^' as 
 they call the catches there, came and offered 
 me his services. So tickled was I with the 
 idea of a shoe-black knowing anything about 
 salmon-fishing, that I fairly laughed in his face. 
 Nothing abashed the youthful Pat (he was 
 about sixteen) stuck to his point, and began 
 shewing off his knowledge by enumerating 
 
Salmon Fishing, 203 
 
 one after the other the names of all the 
 '^ throzvs" in the river. 
 
 Seeing he was a good-tempered, loquacious 
 young fellow, I gladdened his heart by ac- 
 cepting his services. And well was I repaid 
 for so doing ; for a more amusing companion 
 there could not be. 
 
 It appeared that not long since young Pat 
 had escorted an English lord on the same 
 errand as myself, and many a hearty laugh 
 did we enjoy at the cost, I must confess, of 
 the absent nobleman. He knew but little of 
 fishing, and was diminutive in size ; accord- 
 ingly Pat, when speaking of him and his 
 doings, invariably designated him as the "wee 
 little lord." 
 
 In the thick of our merriment we came to 
 a "throw" which I was informed bore the 
 distinguished name of "the bank of Ireland," 
 and to this day do I shudder, when I call to 
 mind this (to me) most memorable "throw." 
 I was walking up the right side of the river, 
 
204 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 and laughing immoderately at the quaint stories 
 about the " wee little lord," when all at once I 
 stumbled, and had not the active youth suddenly 
 caught hold of the tails of my jacket, down 
 through a deep fissure in the bank, well-nigh 
 screened from view by the rank grass, should 
 I have helplessly fallen into water so deep and 
 rock-bound that, with the wading -stockings 
 on, would have left me no loop-hole of escape 
 from a sudden and miserable death. 
 
 "Thank God!" I exclaimed with all the 
 heartfelt emotion so merciful a deliverance 
 awakened within me. 
 
 In addition to the danger of a good ducking, 
 if not something far more serious, there is 
 another of a totally different kind many of 
 my friends have had occasionally to encounter, 
 laughable enough to any other than the unfor- 
 tunate one concerned. 
 
 I remember at an after-dinner gathering of 
 some brother fishermen, when the usual topics 
 had been discussed, and the din of many 
 
Salmo7i Fishing. 2fo5 
 
 voices subsided, my attention was absorbed 
 by the narrative of one of the party, as 
 sensational as amusing, in which he was the 
 principal performer. 
 
 It seemed, that the weather and water 
 being most favourable, he sallied out with his 
 salmon-rod one likely day in August in hopes 
 of rising a fish or two. He, like the rest of 
 us, has a fondness for some few pools and 
 streams in preference to any of the others. 
 The stream under the Scar, usually called 
 the " CHff-stream," a great favourite with all 
 of us, I believe he first threw off in. He 
 tried two or three flies, some of the prettiest 
 in his book, all to no purpose; though no 
 one could handle a rod better, or cast a 
 lighter line. Salmo refused to stir ! He then 
 went on lower down, till he came to the 
 second pile of stones, off which are a few 
 yards of broken water, underneath which, in 
 the swirl near the bank, when the water is 
 high, you would look for a white gleam, 
 
2o6 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 the pleasant prelude of a coming fight. 
 
 Again was the angler baffled, and moved 
 away till he stood beside one of the prettiest 
 pieces of water in the whole river, — the Cottage 
 Pool! "The Cottage Pool;" no longer so in 
 reality now! 
 
 Alas, for the picturesque little dwelling-place, 
 embosomed in trees, and so dear to an artist's 
 eye ! Every stone has been removed, and every 
 tree that shrouded and sheltered it cut down. 
 Where it stood the plough sweeps along un- 
 interruptedly now; and when I last saw the 
 spot, the corn lately grown there was lying 
 on it in sheaves ready to be removed to the 
 rick-yard. 
 
 A very few throws in the Cottage-Pool, 
 and just off the point of the rock, salmo 
 shot up from his favourite lair, seized the fly 
 fast and firm enough, and in his descent, soon 
 found it was food he had little calculated on. 
 Very often when a fish is hooked in a part that 
 gives him no pain, he will hang on hand for some 
 
Salmon Fishing, 207 
 
 time, till he discovers that, let him try to disport 
 himself as usual, he is not his own master. 
 And then the notion of being a prisoner suits 
 him so little, that he lashes out, and begins 
 to try every dodge, to escape at once, if he 
 can, from durance vile. Such I imagine was the 
 case with the fish, at the beginning of the fight, 
 the angler in question had hold of. 
 
 I know no one who enjoys a battle with a 
 big fish more than he who was then engaged. 
 It seems that the struggle, fierce and furious at 
 first, was fast sinking into a tamer display of 
 stubbornness on the one hand, and patience on 
 the other. The fisherman felt as sure of his 
 prey, as though it were lying on the bank beside 
 him. He happened however just to look 
 behind him for a moment, as he was drawing 
 back with the fish, sufficiently beaten to come 
 gradually on with little resistance ; when lo ! 
 what should he behold within about thirty yards 
 of him, but an enormous bull glaring at him 
 in a most menacing manner ! 
 
2o8 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 Can anyone fancy a more critical situation 
 for an ardent sportsman, like my friend, to be 
 in ? If ever a brave man felt inclined to resist 
 the attacks of so gigantic a bully, I believe this 
 plucky angler was he ! But brute force, backed 
 by ferocious determination ! Where would the 
 fisherman have been, had he made up his mind 
 to stand his ground against such terrible odds ? 
 Facing each other for a time stood the un- 
 welcome stranger, and the fisherman ! Then 
 lashing his sides with his tail, and uttering the 
 deep, low guttural growl that gives warning of a 
 charge ; — no sooner did my friend see and hear 
 this, than he straightened his rod, and then pulled 
 violently at the line, till the gut snapped asunder, 
 and in the twinkling of an eye was on the other 
 side of some rails below, out of harm's way. 
 
 So greatly have I been indebted to my love 
 of fishing for health and amusement, that 1 
 rarely lose an opportunity of encouraging the 
 like love, not in behalf of the youthful only, 
 but of others. 
 
Illii 
 
 lil 
 
 
 y iliiil : 
 
 'I '11 
 
 a 
 
 11 ifl'-:^' • . > 
 
Salmon Fishing. 209 
 
 In my old trout-fishing days, many a fly, &c., 
 have I gladly given away to the humbler fol- 
 lowers of the craft, whom I happened to fall 
 in with, when trying their skill, often with a 
 very sorry display of tackle. A big, burly, 
 rough-looking fellow once joined me on the 
 banks of the Honddu, not far from Llanthony- 
 Abbey; and I believe I won his rather inac- 
 cessible heart at once by acceding to his request 
 for a few sneck-bent hooks of a May-fly size. 
 Out of his pocket at once came an old leather 
 receptacle, from which he insisted upon my 
 taking some fur-dubbing, which was not only 
 rare, but what I especially coveted. 
 
 On mentioning this to a friend, he said most 
 indignantly, "Why, that fellow is the most 
 incorrigible poacher in the v/hole neighbour- 
 hood ; somehow or other he always kills more 
 fish than any one else, and I verily believe he 
 carries concealed about him a small silk net, 
 which he uses whenever he has the opportunity. 
 
 On another occasion a pretty-good scolding 
 
210 Salmon Fishing-, 
 
 was administered to me by another friend for 
 giving a fish to a man who had frequently 
 pointed out where he had seen salmon rise, 
 and more than once had climbed high trees to 
 extricate my fly from the branches. 
 
 I was rebuked for rewarding this man on the 
 same grounds, viz., that he was a poacher. 
 
 Now, with regard to the first man, I was in 
 ignorance of his poaching propensities ; though 
 I had my suspicions about the other, from some 
 sinister reports that reached my ear. 
 
 The question here may be fairly asked ;— did 
 the present of a few hooks at all tend to en- 
 courage the former in his mal-practices, provided 
 he was really amenable to them t Or was the 
 other so determined to get what he could in 
 the shape of illegal plunder, seeing that un- 
 asked he had informed me of rising fish in the 
 very pool nearest his dwelling-place ; and often 
 helped to land them for mic. 
 
 The opinion of the humbler classes in general 
 is, I fear, that sportsmen are a sadly selfish set 
 
Salmon Fishing, 211 
 
 and so bent upon the furtherance of their own 
 amusements, as to try to exclude others from 
 any participation in them. 
 
 If right then in my surmises, instead of en- 
 couraging hard thoughts of us, and aggravating 
 their poaching propensities, the candid reader 
 will perhaps be constrained to confess, that what 
 I did would have the contrary effect, and that 
 my scolding was hardly merited. 
 
 There is a kind of poaching that finds 
 favour with not a few in a higher station of 
 life even than those above-mentioned, more 
 especially in their youthful days, utterly alien 
 from, though quite as heinous in the eye of the 
 law, as that which frequently involves bloodshed 
 and loss of life. 
 
 Few Englishmen are born without a natural 
 love of sport, to gratify which, in unguarded 
 moments they seem impervious to all fear of 
 attendant penalties. And in the same ratio it 
 is hard to get, and perilous, is the pleasure of 
 its pursuit enhanced. 
 
-212 Salmoit Fishing, 
 
 Under the promptings of this inborn pro- 
 pensity was I induced, I imagine, at Oxford 
 years ago, to enter a certain nobleman's preserve 
 hard-by to try and bag a brace of his Pheasants, 
 after being twitted by a friend (so called) that 
 I dared not do it. The nobleman in question 
 had earned so unenviable a name among the 
 Under Graduates for strictness and severity, 
 that it necessitated the employment of far more 
 watchers, than would otherwise have been the 
 case. Woe betide the unfortunate youth who 
 was caught with a gun anywhere on his 
 property ! 
 
 My usual attendant in shooting excursions 
 was a crooked-legged, wiry, middle-aged man, 
 for many years of his life a keeper to a well- 
 known Duke in the neighbourhood, and one, I 
 verily believe, who knew every inch of every 
 one's property within a radius of ten miles of 
 Oxford. I told him of my intentions, and 
 though he tried hard to dissuade me, for the 
 fellow had become attached to me, I said that I 
 
Salmon Fishing. 215, 
 
 had made up my mind to risk the danger, for 
 the sake of the fun. 
 
 " Well,'* said he, *' if you will go, you wont 
 catch me far off, for you are hardly the chap 
 to leave in the lurch !" 
 
 There was a small covert next the road I 
 knew to be full of game, and having stationed 
 my man on the outside, I told him to keep his 
 eyes and ears open, and to give a low whistle, 
 should he see or hear anyone at hand in the 
 shape of a keeper. 
 
 Not five minutes had slipped away before up 
 blundered a hen-pheasant through the thick 
 undergrowth, and down she dropped without a 
 struggle. I did not wait to load, and had not 
 walked ten yards, ere a splendid bird (I think I 
 see him now) with his bright plumage and long 
 tail rose in front of me, a little too close, for I 
 believe a dozen pellets must have pierced him, 
 so shaky were his legs and wings, when I picked 
 him up. Having crammed both the birds into 
 my coat-pockets, I beat a retreat without 
 
214 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 another moment's loss of time. The report, I 
 knew, would soon bring one, or more unwelcome 
 visitors, and when I bounded from the fence 
 into the road, I felt as though a ton of care 
 had been cast from my breast. 
 
 No sooner had I loaded my gun, and began 
 walking leisurely away, than round the nearest 
 corner, whom should we see heave in sight, but 
 a thick-set, red-faced, determined-looking fellow 
 rushing up to us, as though he were bent upon 
 swallowing us whole then and there. Though 
 strong of limb in those days, and resolute, I saw 
 at a glance, that had there been a struggle 
 between him and me, I should very soon have 
 come off second-best. But well knowing I was 
 on the safe side of the hedge, and in the 
 presence of my plucky attendant, I could afford 
 to look and talk as one innocent of all offence. 
 
 " By heavens," blustered out our new visitor, 
 as soon as he could recover his breath, " you're 
 the very customers I wanted to catch; and 
 depend on't you shall smart for this ; that you 
 
Salmon Fishing, 215 
 
 shall.'* " Smart for what, my good fellow ?" I 
 replied quietly. "For what indeed! Have'nt you 
 just bin in this here Presarve, a shooting at his 
 Lordship's Pheasants } I should like to know." 
 Did you see us in his Lordship's Preserve ?" 
 " Can't say I hactually saw ye, but I heard ye, 
 plain enough." 
 
 " Now, sir, mind what you are about. If you 
 say much more, and don't keep a civil tongue in 
 your head, I'll summon you before a magistrate 
 for abusive language, and a libellous charge. 
 You hear shots in this covert. After the lapse 
 of some time, you rush up in hot haste ; and 
 because the first two men you meet in the high 
 road happen to be carrying a gun, you accuse 
 them in a rough, rude way, of trespassing in 
 your Master's Preserve. How do you know, 
 while wasting your time here, the very fellow, 
 whose gun you heard, is not lying hid not far 
 from where we are, and laughing at you ? When 
 you next meet two harmless persons walking on 
 the road, be a little more cautious what you say 
 
2i6 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 to them, or perhaps you wont be let off so easily 
 as now." 
 
 Well backed up all the time by my com- 
 panion, who looked not only most indignant, 
 but the very picture itself of injured innocence,. 
 I could hardly help bursting with laughter. 
 
 The upshot of the matter was that being 
 secretly pleased with the keeper's zeal for his 
 master's interests, and his stern refusal to allow 
 me to have a shot or two in the covert at any 
 price, I could not help presenting him with 
 half-a-crown, to console him, for not getting 
 hold of the rascally poachers. 
 
 When he caught sight of the glittering 
 coin, he looked me hard in the face, and 
 out came, I believe, his honest sentiments. 
 "Well, if you arn't a gintleman, I never 
 clapped eyes on one afore," and so we parted, 
 he in great good humour, and I, ^ cowed 
 inwardly by the faint calling to me of a 
 little voice, that in reality punished me perhaps 
 more than a month's incarceration m a jail 
 
Salmon Fishing, 217 
 
 would have done, which I richly deserved. 
 
 Little did the recipient of the pheasants 
 think, when he saw them smoking upon his 
 board, and he engaged in the jolly task of dis- 
 pensing his hospitalities to the jubilant guests 
 of his supper-table, what penalties he might 
 have incurred, who had procured them for 
 him ! 
 
 From this instance on my part of a wilful, 
 wayward transgression of the law, may we 
 not with some show of reason infer that, as 
 the love of sport, more especially when hard 
 to gratify, tempted me to commit so palpable 
 a bit of poaching, the majority of incipient 
 offenders in this respect have acted under no 
 very dissimilar circumstances ? 
 
 To shut up then all open spaces of common 
 ground, once the familiar resort of youthful 
 sportsmen ; and to drive from the riverside 
 every humbler disciple of the gentle art ; so 
 far from being a corrective of the evil, must 
 it not carry an ugly appearance in the eyes 
 
2i8 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 of our poorer brethren, and lead, I fear, to 
 a contrary result ? Nor will it tend to reconcile 
 the minds of the latter to the harshness they 
 think they are treated with, when they see 
 and hear in every direction, of the more 
 favoured classes slaughtering game to such an 
 extent, as would have seemed fabulous to a 
 bye-gone generation; and on the pleasant 
 banks of the rivers they once frequented in 
 happier days, that none are permitted to wield 
 a rod novi^, save the members of the like 
 exceptional class. 
 
 What can be (I was going to say) more 
 ludicrous, than to read glowing paragraphs 
 in the papers, how Sir Harry Lackland, Lord 
 Broadacres, and Caleb Cottonbags, Esq., 
 knocked over so many hundred birds in so 
 many hours, as though they had done some- 
 thing highly meritorious, or conferred a great 
 boon upon the human race ; instead of merely 
 holding their guns straight, and committing 
 such wholesale butchery? 
 
Salmon Fishing, 219 
 
 Let sportsmen be a little less selfish in their 
 pursuits, and regardless of the like propensities 
 in others ; and game preservers cease to come 
 into painful collision with their tenantry, by- 
 adopting a fair system of compensation for 
 injury done to their crops; and the mouths of 
 agitators, now so rampant, would be soon 
 stripped of their sting, and sink into silence. 
 
 Too many, I fear, in their estimate of the 
 lower classes are wont to confound the genus 
 '' rongW with the rest. But in reality they 
 are as wide asunder as the North and South 
 Poles. Fortunately for us, the former, numeri- 
 cally speaking, are insignificant enough ; though 
 they fully make up for their deficiency in this 
 respect, by the rudeness of their demeanour, 
 and roughness of their tongues. Let anything 
 like a prize-fight (a rare exhibition, I rejoice 
 to say, now) take place, and the rough will 
 expend his last penny to be present at it. Or 
 cast your eyes upon the crowds that gather 
 occasionally in Hyde-park and Trafalgar-square, 
 
220 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 and there will you have Mr. '' Rotigk" in full 
 feather. 
 
 Could we but get rid of the genus, no matter 
 what the school for the ameliorating process ; 
 and our ears would cease to be shocked as now, 
 by the nauseous mixture of blasphemy and 
 obscenity, without which they rarely open their 
 mouths. 
 
 The lower classes in general are deserving of 
 the greatest respect and admiration. For the 
 smallest of favours they receive at your hands, 
 if conferred unostentatiously upon them, their 
 gratitude usually exceeds the value of the gift. 
 Besides, their kindness to each other, and 
 sympathy, in seasons of distress and sorrow, 
 are beyond all praise. 
 
 When these sons of labour congregate on 
 the banks of canals, or such rivers as the 
 Clyde, a mile or two above Glasgow, and are 
 satisfied to watch their floats for hours; what 
 can be a more powerful antidote to vice, whether 
 offered to them in a beershop, or a brothel ? 
 
Salmon Fishing, 221 
 
 And though, as an enthusiastic disciple of the 
 immortal Izaak, I may perhaps be excused for 
 a certain amount of prejudice ; let any other 
 amusement be pointed out, as harmless and 
 healthful as fishing, for the recreation of these 
 men in their brief hours of leisure, and most 
 heartily would I say, "God speed all who are 
 philanthropic enough to promote it." 
 
 From the smoke of the workshop, and dull leaden sound 
 Of hard labour that reigns undisturbed all around ; 
 Who can wonder the banks of the bonnie, bright Clyde, 
 Should be swarming with anglers at late eventide? 
 
 When the sun leaves behind its last lingering beam 
 
 That lights up the sweet landscape, and brightens the stream ; 
 
 Oh! how few Nature's winning appeal can withstand, 
 
 Be the brain heavy-burthened, or hard- worked the hand. 
 
 Though the bee has long gone to his home in the hive, 
 Still with thousands of insects the air seems alive ; 
 While the thrush, as he jauntily sits on the spray. 
 Softly warbles his last farewell song for the day. 
 
 Borne along on the breath of the soft summer- breeze, 
 That just plays on the water, and sings in the trees, 
 Not seldom is heard a wild shout of delight. 
 As the float steals away from the fisherman's sight. 
 
222 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 A few speckled beauties side by side on the grass, 
 With their gay, glossy coats, catch the eye, as you pass ; 
 And though scanty in number, and slender their size, 
 The proud captor appears well content with his prize. 
 
 Let each doctor prescribe his own favourite pill. 
 To cure every social and political ill ; ' 
 Teach the rough sons of toil to sit quite at their ease, 
 And earn the same wages, work or not, as they please. 
 
 To the school of old Izaak all such would we send, 
 Where both labour and leisure so charmingly blend. 
 That the hardest of all the hard tasks of the day 
 Melts at once from the mind, where the wild waters play. 
 
 Then hurrah for the streams of the bonnie, bright Clyde, 
 When they chant their sweet music at late eventide ; 
 The weary to solace, and the toil-worn delight. 
 Ere all things sink shrouded in the darkness of niHit. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 O one observant of the foibles of his 
 fellows, perhaps there are few places 
 more favourable than a well-fre- 
 quented hotel, in a retired part of the country. 
 Rarely with more than one room for the guests 
 to assemble in at meal-time, let some try to 
 be as exclusive as possible, they cannot fail 
 of betraying their little peculiarities in un- 
 guarded moments. 
 
 In sojourning at an hotel of this kind not 
 many miles from Oban in Argyleshire, each 
 day brought under my notice fresh visitors, as 
 dissimilar in social position, as in form and 
 feature. Though a solitary sort of bird by 
 choice, when handling a salmon-rod, I am far 
 
224 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 from being the same from inclination when 
 otherwise situated. Many a pleasant companion 
 have I not only secured by the mere offer of 
 a few friendly observations, when seated at 
 the same table, but gleaned much information, 
 as amusing as instructive. 
 
 There was a time, when seated in the midst 
 of a host of Oxford-men on the outside of a 
 coach, not a single word was adventured by 
 any one of us, for fear of compromising our 
 dignity, in case he whom we addressed belonged 
 to a college less gentlemanly than we thought 
 our own. For a Christchurch-man to speak 
 to a Queen's-man, it would have been death 
 to his reputation, had such a "faux pas" been 
 known. 
 
 A very slight skirmish indeed, to say nothing 
 of the stern battle of life itself, soon scattered 
 from the breast of the writer such flimsy, foolish 
 notions. 
 
 When first landed at the door of the hotel 
 in question by the enormous machine, half 
 
Salmon Fishing, 225 
 
 capacious, coach-like, and half omnibus (it 
 was made to stow away, alas, for the poor 
 horses! from thirty to forty passengers), every 
 individual of the crowd I found myself in the 
 midst of was a perfect stranger to me ; when I 
 left it, there was hardly one I had not the 
 pleasure of exchanging a friendly greeting with. 
 
 On the second or third evening, when seated 
 at the dinner-table with a large party, I could 
 not help singling out one, not only as the 
 most demonstrative, but by far the most 
 loquacious of all. One peculiarity of his, I 
 think, must have struck all who heard him, 
 and that was the excessive loudness of his 
 voice. He seemed to be impressed with the 
 notion, that everyone in the room laboured 
 under a distressing attack of deafness, so 
 exceptionally high did he pitch his voice. 
 
 The chief burthen of his talk with me, for 
 I was the favoured party he chiefly addressed 
 himself to, was the strange, adventurous life 
 he had lately led in the high-ways and bye- 
 
226 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 ways of the United States, every inch of which 
 he appeared to be conversant with. 
 
 One part of his conversation struck me very 
 painfully, and that was in reference to the 
 reckless disregard of a fellow-creature's life, 
 that characterised the Yankee companions of 
 his late travels. More than once in the Prairies, 
 when starting in the morning, he missed one 
 or two, whose society was as agreeable, as 
 their conduct satisfactory ; — " Where's so and 
 so.^" he said to the man next to him, "I 
 don't see him as usual." "Oh," he replied, 
 " you wont see him again ; he's left behind." 
 The meaning of the latter words being, that 
 some sanguinary ruffian, whom he had happened 
 to offend, had taken out his revolver, and shot 
 him dead then and there. 
 
 Another of the party then joined m the 
 conversation, and told us that when travelling 
 in the same country himself, he came into 
 collision with a ruffian near him at table, who 
 insisted on the wine he had ordered for a 
 
Salmon Fishing. 227 
 
 friend and himself being shared by the rest 
 of the company. On his resenting this, he 
 kept his hand on the revolver he had in his 
 pocket, and when the bully shewed the first 
 hostile demonstration, he snatched out his own 
 weapon, and declared that, let him move but 
 a finger, and he was a dead man. 
 
 Here was a fine specimen of the same 
 ''genus" rough, we find such a nuisance at 
 home, only in a much more sanguinary shape. 
 
 The impression these two travellers left upon 
 me of Yankee blackguardism, was soon dispelled 
 by the timely arrival the following evening of 
 two young Americans, who were engaged in a 
 pedestrian tour through Scotland. One of the 
 strangers was a youth no one could help 
 remarking as a most favourable specimen any 
 country on the face of the globe might well be 
 proud to call its own. His person, voice, 
 demeanour stamped him at once as a thorough- 
 bred gentleman. So intelligent did he prove, 
 that I lost no time in launching into a dis- 
 
228 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 cussion with him on matters of mutual interest. 
 
 One thing especially surprised him, which was 
 that the English preferred investing their money 
 in their own Funds at three per cent, when the 
 Government Bonds of his country, that paid 
 double, were neglected by us. 
 
 As mild as milk was the reply I made, though 
 enough to convey to him the fact that, John 
 Bull's faith having formerly been rather rudely 
 shaken by a memorable money-mishap on their 
 part, many years, I feared, must elapse, ere his 
 confidence would be quite restored. 
 
 We then touched upon the Alabama problem. 
 I told him at once that, if the matter rested 
 with me, not a farthing of money would they 
 ever get from our pockets, in the way of 
 compensation, and I gave him my reasons for 
 such a determination. Had the arbitration not 
 been accepted by us, he was convinced that 
 a war must have followed sooner or later. The 
 majority of Englishmen, I said, hated war, not 
 less than I did, but, if driven into it, I had no 
 
Salmon Fishing. 229 
 
 fear at all of our coming off second-best. We 
 had money enough to provide armaments on 
 such a scale that the world had never witnessed 
 the like before. And as to pluck and hardihood, 
 let him just look at "Young England" now, 
 and say, if they were not a match for any 
 nation in the world t 
 
 I am afraid, I said, you will get from our 
 present Government three or four millions, but 
 were the whole population of Great Britain 
 canvassed, not one farthing would a large 
 majority declare you should have. 
 
 With a good-humoured smile, but in a most 
 confident manner, he knew from the best 
 authority, that at the very least ten millions 
 would be the amount we should have to pay ; 
 and any wager he was open to that his words 
 would prove true. 
 
 He looked very hard at me, when I told 
 him I meant to stay where I was for a few 
 days more ; wondering, no doubt, what amuse- 
 ment I could find in rambling rod-in-hand, or 
 
230 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 out of hand, in such a quiet, retired spot ; and 
 with an expression that seemed to imply that 
 he pitied my hard fate ! " I hope sincerely we 
 shall meet again," he said, when he shook me 
 by the hand, as I was starting with my rod for 
 the banks of the Awe, and he and his com- 
 panion were walking away with their knapsacks 
 on their shoulders. 
 
 Who of the whole fishing fraternity has not 
 heard of the river Awe ? Years ago I longed 
 to have the opportunity of fishing it ; and here 
 was I at length on the very eve of carrying my 
 wishes into effect. I had a week or ten days 
 at my disposal ; I was m the midst of scenery 
 that, turn which way you will, blind must be 
 the eye that does not behold it with unfeigned 
 delight ! 
 
 Alas for us fishermen ! Seldom is it that we 
 are quite satisfied ; but here in my case perhaps 
 not without cause. Rain, rain, rain; — hardly a 
 day for months before had the down -pour 
 ceased ; and with the exception of one Sunday, 
 
Salmon Fishing. 231 
 
 my walks in Argyleshire Avere a series of 
 splash and soak. The actual presence of rain 
 itself I have become case-hardened against; but 
 the river I had anticipated fishing with such 
 delight was so high and rapid, that fortunate 
 indeed was the fisherman who could lure a 
 salmon to look even at his fly ! For weeks had 
 many tried the experiment with little, if any, 
 success. 
 
 On the present occasion I had secured the 
 services of the best guide in the neighbourhood, 
 who rejoiced in the name of Peter. Not many 
 minutes' talk was exchanged between us, ere I 
 saw that I had got hold of the right man. 
 A middle-sized, keen-eyed, well-put-together 
 Scotchman was Peter ; very chary of adventuring 
 a remark himself, though by no means back- 
 ward in replying to any question of the many 
 I put to him. " Possibly I might move a 
 'f usher' 
 
 "Look at these flies, Peter, and tell me the 
 best to put on." When I put my fly-book 
 
232 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 into Peter's hands, and he kept turning over 
 the leaves, his little dark eyes began to sparkle ; 
 and when I told him that I had tied them all 
 myself, up with a bound went his respect for 
 me at least twenty degrees. My fabrications in 
 this respect are nothing to boast of, but when 
 put side by side with some Peter exhibited of 
 his own handy-work — very rough specimens 
 indeed, — they certainly did look somewhat to 
 advantage. 
 
 What struck Peter most, were the rod and 
 rather heavy line I was using. A stiff rod was 
 the old fellow's delight — '' Could'nt he pitch a 
 flee anywhere with that V 
 
 The first pool I tried rather rudely upset the 
 flowery notions I had long treasured up of the 
 far-famed river Awe. To get at it in the first 
 place was no easy matter ! I had to descend 
 a precipice, though there were narrow steps in 
 it, and roots of trees at hand, without the aid 
 of which, a tumble from the top to the bottom 
 must have been inevitable. When I got safely 
 
Salmon Fishing, 233 
 
 to the bottom, I looked round, it was as wild 
 a bit of river-scenery, as any ardent disciple 
 of the pencil could desire. For a pool to handle 
 a hooked salmon in, however, oh, thought I, 
 may the fates avert such a catastrophe from 
 befalling me ! 
 
 Though Peter would insist upon my trying 
 it, I saw my chance of moving a fish was by 
 no means promising, the water as it struck me 
 being far too deep. The next pool below I 
 could only fish by wading some way on a 
 narrow ridge of smooth slippery stones, with 
 seven or eight feet of water on each side of 
 me. " No, Peter, take the rod, if you like, 
 and fish it yourself ; I don't want to be drowned 
 quite yet." 
 
 Peter did as most are wont to do, when 
 offered a throw or two. He commenced paying 
 out more line, and the consequence was, that 
 his performance was anything than artistic. 
 
 When we left these pools, without the symptom 
 of a rise, we came to water that at once struck 
 Q 
 
234 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 me as about the likeliest for a salmon of 
 any I had yet seen. Our want of success 
 in the two former ones confirmed Peter in the 
 opinion he offered on starting, that no salmon 
 would be killed till the water was lower. 
 
 Acting on the advice I gave him, he lit his 
 pipe, and made himself comfortable, while I got 
 away a little by myself, apart from Peter's 
 watchful eyes. At the very top of the water 
 in question, almost in the centre of the seething 
 foam, I distinctly saw a large red fish come 
 at the fly, and miss it. Short, but very thick, 
 he looked not unlike a beer-barrel, with a head 
 and tail at each end. 
 
 Very glad was I to break through the hard 
 crust of Peter's discouraging prophecy, who, I 
 verily believe, when I told him about it, put it 
 down to a distempered imagination, or figment 
 of fancy on my part. He had made up his 
 mind no fish would die at my hands that day, 
 and he stuck stubbornly to his text. When I 
 left him to resume my fishing, he was doing 
 
Salmon Fishing, 235 
 
 something to his pipe, with his back to the river. 
 
 One, two, three heavy fish I saw rise within 
 a few feet of my fly, but not at it. Carefully 
 and closely did I search every nook with a 
 shortish Hne of about fourteen feet in length, 
 but in vain ; to my soft solicitations was salmo 
 quite insensible. 
 
 Such lovely water ! not to have a rise in it, 
 I should have thought next to impossible ; but 
 so it was thus far. 
 
 Remembering that three or four of the 
 angling fraternity, then located at the hotel 
 had been daily perhaps pestering this stream, 
 the thought struck me that, contrary to custom, 
 I would go over the whole of it again with at 
 least twenty yards of line ; so that with deep 
 wading I might command water that had not 
 been so mercilessly flogged. 
 
 When I had come within a few yards of the 
 bottom of the stream, up dashed, like a flash of 
 light, a silvery beauty, and in his downward 
 descent, what with the tightened line, and 
 
236 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 rushing water, I found I had hold of him firm 
 enough. 
 
 For a minute or two during the first bursts 
 of the fish, to free himself from durance vile, I 
 saw nothing of Peter. Just as I had shortened 
 the line, and the fish flung himself into the air 
 at full length : — " He's thirty pound, if he's an 
 ounce," he called out in a loud voice not far 
 from where I was standing. " Quietly Peter, 
 quietly ; say half the weight, and you will be 
 nearer the mark." 
 
 Little did I suspect, as these words fell from 
 my mouth, the desperate struggle that awaited 
 me with this fish ! 
 
 Below for some hundreds of yards was the 
 river coursing along, swifter than a mill-race, 
 and over and between rugged rocks, and big, 
 round boulders, that scattered the foam thick 
 and white as snow-flakes in the air. To keep 
 the fish somewhat in hand, and within the limJts 
 of the upper- water, was the only plan, if 
 possible, to adopt. At one time I thought I 
 
Salmon Fishing. 237 
 
 should gain my end, and began putting, first 
 a gentle pressure upon the fish, and then in-^ 
 creasing it, though he was still strong and active. 
 I knew I had good tackle, and could depend 
 upon the rod, and was inclined to take liberties, 
 more so perhaps than I ought to have done. 
 
 Once or twice when the salmon was within 
 an ace of going down, he turned just in time, 
 and came back a few yards. I believe he tried 
 his best to remain where he was, but gradually, 
 as he grew weaker, my hopes of his doing so 
 waxed fainter and fainter ; the stream between 
 him and me was too strong, and there was no 
 slack water I could pull him into. While this 
 was going on, exclamations of hope and fear 
 came thick and fast from Peter's lips. Suddenly 
 I saw him stoop down, and drag his trowsers as 
 high up his legs as he could, and then put his 
 pipe into his pocket. He got as near as he 
 could to where the fish was, and then roared 
 out to me to look out, for " down he'll go, and 
 you must follow him." 
 
238 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 To describe the scene that ensued, beyond 
 giving a shght sketch of it, is utterly out of my 
 power. For some time was it all hurry, scurry, 
 only diversified with a brief exchange of words 
 with my attendant, when the faintest lull in the 
 fight would admit of it. 
 
 So rapidly had I to run every now and then,, 
 to keep at all within distance of the fleet 
 fugitive, that my stock of breath was almost 
 exhausted. All the while, be it remembered,, 
 was I compelled to clutch hold of stray branches 
 of trees, to enable me to keep my footing, and 
 prevent them from brushing against my face. 
 So uneven too was the bottom, and overspread 
 with round stones that, what with stumbhng 
 over one, and almost tripped up by another, I 
 could just manage to hold the rod in my right 
 hand, and no more. Down all the time kept the 
 fish descending, carried doubtless against his 
 will, by the irresistible force of the current. 
 
 I had long since felt the cold water trickling 
 down my legs inside the wading stockings, and 
 
Salmon Fishing, 239 
 
 most devoutly did I wish that I was well out of 
 the thraldom of the latter. As the struggle 
 went on, an encouraging bravo would burst now 
 and then from Peter's lips, which did me as 
 much good as a gulp from the whiskey-flask. 
 
 We had come down already at least three 
 hundred yards from where the fish was first 
 hooked, and still was there no cessation, but, 
 if anything, an increase in the speed of the 
 latter. 
 
 All at once to the alarm of Peter, and 
 astonishment of myself, something in the shape 
 of a stone, or root of a tree, caught my foot 
 below, and ere I could recover myself, I was 
 struggling in the torrent, with the whole of my 
 unlucky self under water, save the left side of 
 my face. How I managed to escape being 
 drowned, and to keep fast hold of the rod, is 
 a mystery to me. Had the current set in from 
 the shore, instead of towards it, the hand that 
 now holds the pen, must, I fear, long since have 
 been motionless. 
 
240 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 And now was the time when, had it not been 
 for Peter, not a dozen yards farther could I 
 have gone. My legs seemed as ponderous, as 
 though they had been formed of lead, instead 
 of bone and flesh ; the wading-stockings being 
 distended to the utmost with the river-water. 
 
 Very loth was I to surrender the rod to Peter, 
 even for a few minutes, while I tore off the 
 odious stockings. Still, what with my exhausted 
 strength, sickening sensation from the water I 
 had involuntarily swallov/ed, and vexation of 
 spirit at being thus put " hors de combat," a 
 full quarter of an hour must have slipped by, 
 ere I wrung my coat and waistcoat, and 
 scrambled up the steep bank to meet Peter as 
 he came down the river-side. 
 
 I felt as light as a feather without the water- 
 logged stockings, and longed to take the rod 
 again, and go on with the fight. After hurrying 
 along for some distance, I again descended the 
 steep bank, and just as I had turned up the 
 river, beyond some gigantic boulders, I caught 
 
Salmon Fishing, 241 
 
 sight of Peter's imperturbable countenance. 
 
 It was quite a picture to see the old fellow 
 with the rod in his hands, the line on the strain, 
 and he standing quite motionless, and as grave 
 as a judge ! 
 
 " Well done, Peter ! youVe got hold of him 
 still, I see. Here, hand me the rod, and I'll 
 soon stir him. Why, what on earth ails the 
 fish 1 he is'nt gone, is he, and the fly fast in 
 the rock ?" 
 
 All the while I was speaking I kept winding 
 up the line, which I found Peter had let out 
 within a very small remnant of the hundred 
 yards I had on the reel. When I got it 
 sufficiently shortened, I said to Peter, " I'll stir 
 him now, if he's still on, or snap the gut." I 
 held the rod quite straight, and pulled pounds 
 upon pounds ; far, far beyond what I thought 
 any gut would sustain ; when lo, all at once 
 the resistance ceased, and I saw the line slowly 
 move on. 
 
 "Hurrah, Peter, I've got hold of him still. 
 
242 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 and now, if we don't beat him, we ought to be 
 beaten ourselves." 
 
 The sudden rebound from despair to delight, 
 did I never before experience to anything like 
 the extent as now in my salmon-fishing ex- 
 perience. 
 
 " I must try my best, Peter, to keep him from 
 that rapid water, or down he will go again like 
 a shot." " Aye, sir, and if he does get beyond 
 the Claypits, you can't follow him an inch 
 farther." It was a trying time for both of us; 
 so high was the river, and so hard to keep the 
 salmon from shooting out into the thick of the 
 stream. 
 
 " He'll go down after all. Well done, you 
 managed him bravely then," said Peter. 
 
 If I could but get the fish into the slack- 
 water, thought I, it would be very soon all up 
 with him ; and more than once did the tough 
 rod bend well-nigh double, in my endeavours 
 to do it. So eager was Peter that he almost 
 upset my equanimity, by making a sudden dash 
 
Salmon Fishing, 243 
 
 at the fish with the gaff, which scraped his 
 back, but nothing more ; I could have rated the 
 old fellow roundly for his folly, but forbore 
 to do it. 
 
 Once more did I succeed in coaxing the 
 salmon close enough towards the bank, and in 
 the twinkling of an eye Peter got the gaff well 
 under him, and he was hauled out on dry land. 
 
 " Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah !" I verily believe 
 that Napoleon of old, after gaining a hard- 
 fought battle, did not feel prouder than I at 
 that moment when I stood victorious beside 
 gallant Salmo-Salar ! 
 
 Peter, for a Scotchman, was exuberant with 
 delight ! As a practical proof of which, he not 
 only drained his own whiskey-bottle of every 
 drop, but my flask also, which I gladly put 
 into his hands. 
 
 The fish proved to be more than eighteen 
 pounds; — far under Peter's computation, but 
 much more than mine ; very thick, and with a 
 head almost un-naturally small. 
 
.244 Salmon Fisldng 
 
 The distance the fish took me down, I heard 
 from those well acquainted with the locality, 
 could not have been less than seven hundred 
 yards. When the steep and rugged bank, over- 
 hung with trees ; the huge rocks that stood in 
 the way ; the roaring torrent that swept so 
 ruthlessly by ; are taken into consideration ; 
 no fight that I, and very few, I imagine, that 
 others ever experienced, could have exceeded 
 this in the variety of incidents that tend to 
 make salmon-fishing so replete with excitement. 
 
 When seated on the green sward, I hardly 
 know whether Peter thought more of me, than 
 I did of him. " He's a gude fusher," he told 
 the people at the hotel, after he had described 
 the fight, and how near I was being drowned. 
 ^' If ever I have such a struggle again, may 
 you be at hand, Peter, and I shall be more than 
 satisfied ;" — were almost my parting words to 
 him. 
 
 I am indebted to the pencil of a Physician, 
 of well-nigh world-wide celebrity, — then staying 
 
Salmon Fishing, 245 
 
 at the hotel — for the little sketch of that part 
 of the river Awe, where the fight took place. 
 
 The upper part of the Awe above the bridge, 
 in private hands, is totally different in its- 
 character from that below, which is rented by 
 the landlord of the hotel. The former, though 
 very rapid, is little, if at all, encumbered with 
 trees or bushes, so that you could follow a 
 hooked salmon as far down as he felt disposed 
 to take you. It is in this part of the river, I 
 was told, one of our most famous members of 
 Parliament is accustomed occasionally to amuse 
 himself with a salmon-rod. Indeed, on the 
 very day I took my departure, he was expected 
 at the hotel. It would have been a great treat 
 to me to have met him at the same table. I am 
 free to confess that after hearing him roundly 
 abused by others, I have more than once taken 
 leave to say that, in my humble opinion, let his 
 tongue utter, no matter what monstrosities (to 
 coin a word) in our ears, in the heat of the 
 moment there must be many a redeeming 
 
246 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 •quality in the speaker himself, who is so fond 
 of a quiet day's fishing, as he is said to be. 
 
 For a hard-worked, say, well-nigh used up 
 celebrity, like the above, to handle a salmon-rod 
 the whole of a fine autumn-day, and not have 
 his crooked thoughts somewhat straightened, 
 and rugged views smoothed down a bit, is, I 
 think, as little possible, as probable. 
 
 O those tranquil, peaceful hours, when the 
 late combatant with his fellows in the clash and 
 clamour of political strife, finds himself at 
 leisure on the banks of such a river as the 
 Awe ! Hard and cold indeed, must the heart be, 
 whence every drop of bitterness does not 
 disappear under the soothing influence of scenes 
 that catch the spectator's eye at every step ! 
 
 Though much has been said of the poverty and 
 wretchedness of the peasantry, more especially 
 in the South and West of Ireland, the same 
 class in this part of Argyleshire, contiguous to 
 the hotel and river, struck me as being not a 
 whit superior in this respect. The cabins are 
 
Salmon Fishing, 247 
 
 just as miserable, and the women and children 
 as poorly clad. 
 
 Often in my rambles I stumbled upon poor, 
 emaciated women working like slaves in the 
 potatoe-patches. The too seductive vegetable 
 towards the end of August was fast losing its 
 bright green leaves under the incipient attack 
 of its old, fatal foe, and it quite saddened me to 
 hear the well-nigh broken-hearted replies to my 
 frequent questions about the state of the crop. 
 
 Though I had some difficulty m making 
 known my inquiries, when they were understood, 
 they invariably received a courteous reply. 
 
 Looking at the class of tourists in general, 
 I am afraid they do not leave behind a very 
 favourable impression on the natives. Bent 
 upon enjoying themselves, like butterflies in a 
 sunny Spring morning, they flit about, regardless 
 of much beyond the prime object in view ; and 
 but too often oblivious of the fact that, charity 
 has no national or parochial boundary. 
 
 Poor as the peasantry evidently are, not once 
 
248 Salmofz Fishing, 
 
 do I remember being importuned for relief by- 
 man, woman, or child. And it is to such as 
 these, that the wealthy strangers, who throng 
 every picturesque nook of Scotland, might well 
 extend a helping hand, with the pleasant con- 
 viction that, every farthing was right-well 
 bestowed, and most gratefully appreciated. 
 
 Before winding up *' The Facts and Fancies of 
 Salmon Fishing," — a much longer line, I fear, 
 than some of my readers will quite appreciate, 
 a few more remarks haply on flies and fly-tying 
 may not be unacceptable to the beginner. 
 
 First, then, as " fancy" moves me, there are 
 certain types of flies which engross my attention 
 for the time being, and tempt me to put implicit 
 faith in them. But though much valued for a 
 season, fresh and fresh combinations of fur and 
 feather crop up, and the late favourites soon 
 sink into neglect. 
 
 At one time I was in the habit of using large 
 
Salmon Fishing, 249 
 
 flies, when the water was high and coloured ; 
 but, I must confess, without much success ; and 
 as they are by no means so pleasant to throw, 
 I have long since discarded them for flies of 
 more moderate dimensions. 
 
 To have a hook with a large grasp, is certainly 
 an advantage ; and to prevent the iron from 
 being too conspicuous, I usually make the body 
 low down, and a little below the bend of the 
 hook, and the wings not too full. When a small 
 hook is used, I cannot see the use of putting 
 on long wings, or a tail that projects two 
 far, inasmuch as you thereby combine a large- 
 looking object, in the eyes of the fish, with 
 the disadvantage to yourself of a hook, with a 
 disproportionate grasp. 
 
 By not adhering precisely to the same patterns 
 of famous fishermen, long since removed from 
 their pleasant river-haunts, I am well aware, I 
 expose myself to the charge of presumption. 
 But ever since I commenced salmon-fishing, I 
 have taken leave to think and act for myself, 
 
250 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 not only in fly-tying, but many other things in 
 connection with my favourite pastime. 
 
 What are flies after all, but mere figments of 
 the fancy, with no resemblance at all to those 
 we of the English school are wont to use for 
 trout-fishing. There are certain colours, how- 
 ever, which, I must say, I do prefer in Spring 
 and Autumn ; but even in this case, too much 
 preponderance of either I am averse to ; from 
 its being unpleasant to my own eye, and there- 
 fore, as we logical anglers are wont to argue, not 
 so attractive to the fish ! 
 
 Tinsel of some sort I invariably use, as it 
 helps to set off* one's handiwork, and keeps 
 the rough body of a fly well-together. I do 
 not mean to say that flies without tinsel are 
 not equally fatal, seeing that, when completely 
 tarnished, it seems to make no difference in 
 their killing powers ; but it does give at first, 
 at least, a smart, dressy appearance to the lure 
 in question, few of us, I believe, have the heart 
 to forego. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 251 
 
 Perhaps I bestow more time in arranging the 
 fibres of various feathers for mixed wings, than 
 is usual or necessary. A well-mixed wing, with 
 due regard to colours, is always attractive. In- 
 stead of disposing the fibres so as to make them 
 appear all of the same length, I much prefer 
 putting on two or three parcels at different 
 times, the first, of course, nearest the bend of 
 the hook, being the shortest, and the last the 
 longest. I am fond also of seeing the fly 
 well-shouldered, otherwise it has a meagre ap- 
 pearance. Should the wings after all look 
 somewhat short and stubby, a few fibres of 
 some feather of a decided colour, longer than 
 the rest, will rectify the defect at once. 
 
 Antennae of blue or red Macaw, well put on, 
 give a very graceful finish to the fly; but they 
 are so difficult to arrange, when taken from 
 each side of the feather, as they ought to be, 
 that I am usually satisfied to put them on, when 
 stripped from the same side. 
 
 The most showy shoulder appendage. 
 
252 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 especially with a dark body, is the little 
 bright blue feather of the kingfisher. I verily 
 beHeve I have seen it glancing in the streams 
 twenty yards from me. It was with a claret 
 body, and this feather at the shoulder, I used 
 to beguile many a brown trout, over two pounds 
 weight, to his ruin, in one particular stream 
 in the Dovey, when I first began fishing it, 
 and with a fly of this type I killed the salmon 
 in the Awe I lately had such a memorable 
 fight with. 
 
 It is a rare thing to see any bought fly, or 
 indeed any made by an amateur, without a 
 topping for a tail. The graceful curl of the little, 
 bright, golden feather, is singularly attractive to 
 the human eye at least ; but I much question 
 if it appear anything extraordinary in the 
 salmon's eye. It is but seldom I use it, being 
 difficult to get, and in my humble opinion by 
 no means indispensable. On the contrary, I 
 believe a tail well concocted of a few striking 
 colours to be equal, if not, superior to it. I 
 
Salmon Fishing, 253 
 
 cannot help fancying too that a long topping 
 may cause a salmon occasionally to come short. 
 
 Talking of toppings, a few fibres of the 
 larger ones in a mixed wing, particularly if 
 the other fibres be of a dark shade, tell 
 wonderfully well. 
 
 For August fishing I am fond of floss- 
 silk bodies, and grouse-hackles. What can 
 be prettier, than neatly tied flies with orange 
 bodies (say) of different hues, glittering with 
 tinsel, and encircled with grouse-hackles, and 
 ornamented with wings of well-selected fibres t 
 I sometimes think I could rise myself at such 
 a dainty bit, in preference to my ordinary fare 
 of bread and cheese, by the riverside ! Or 
 substitute blue bodies, and darkish orange 
 hackles; how charming they look! Or what 
 can be prettier than a body, the upper part 
 dark mohair, then deep orange floss-silk, with 
 a turn or two of dark green below ; and a small 
 topping for tail mixed with jay fibres } A 
 few strands of the wood -duck feather, how 
 
254 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 wondrous an effect have they in a small mixed 
 wing ? 
 
 But, ah me! what an endless field lies 
 before the fly-tier, if he be one of an inventive 
 turn of mind, and withal independent enough 
 to stray away from being a mere copyist of 
 another's ingenuity, and to trust to his own. 
 To one so constituted is there plenty of 
 pleasant occupation provided, when confined 
 a close prisoner, be it to an hotel, or lodging. 
 Not only can he while away agreeably many 
 a tedious hour, when so employed ; but the 
 flies he makes he has, I believe, more faith in 
 as killers, and knows full well, that they will 
 not fail him, when their strength and dura- 
 bility are put to the test. 
 
 Let me recommend .every youthful fly-tier 
 to guard against the salmon's sharp teeth by 
 not bringing the hackle too near the tail, as 
 it answers every purpose, if the fibres are not 
 too short, to make the first turn of the hackle 
 one-third up the body. And let him eschew 
 
Salmo7t Fishing. 255 
 
 the ordinary gold and silver plate, and only- 
 use that which is wrapped over silk ; for unless 
 he follow my advice, after the first tussle with 
 a fish, in all probability the pretty tinsel will 
 be rent to tatters. 
 
 The materials needed for fly-tying can be 
 carried in a leather case, of moderate dimen- 
 sions, with pockets. It is true, I have seen 
 men take about with them a huge material- 
 receptacle, not much less than a family bible, 
 but defend me from an ounce of weight, or a 
 single article, that I do not absolutely stand 
 in need of. 
 
 I remember years ago, I had directed Master 
 Boots to call me punctually at five' a.m., to 
 be in time for the steamer that left Inverness 
 at six; when to my horror I found that, 
 instead of complying with my directions, the 
 youth knocked at the door so late, that there 
 was little more than half- an -hour at my 
 disposal — to get up, stow my things away, 
 and walk some distance to the steamer. For- 
 
25^ Salmon Fishing. 
 
 tunately I had only a large carpet-bag and 
 rod-case. Into the former did'nt I cram boots, 
 and shoes, and shirts, and shaving tackle, etc., 
 all higgledy, piggledy! Never was there such 
 a "meddle and muddle!" No shaving that 
 morning, and no breakfast, until I got on 
 board the vessel, which I was only able to do, 
 by shouldering the bag myself, and making 
 Master Boots follow with a box of sweet- 
 kippered salmon, and the rod -case. Moreover 
 I did not fail to tell the youth that if he put 
 his best leg foremost he should have an extra 
 shilling, if not, something perhaps not quite 
 so agreeable. Now, had I been encumbered 
 with a fraction of more luggage than was 
 absolutely necessary, where should I have 
 been at this conjuncture } 
 
 Not a single reel do I possess that weighs 
 more than thirteen ounces, and one or two 
 less than that. In fact I study lightness and 
 handiness in everything connected with my 
 fishing paraphernalia. Still for a month or 
 
Salmon Fishing. 257 
 
 six weeks' excursion in search of new fields, 
 or rather rivers, my luggage at times I wish 
 at Jericho, when porters are scarce, and loco- 
 motion not easy. More than once have I 
 had to carry the whole of my ** traps" for no 
 inconsiderable distance, and hard experience 
 of this kind has not been thrown away upon 
 me. 
 
 I usually take two salmon-rods, a grilse, 
 and a nine foot trout-rod, in a box, strong 
 enough to be trusted indiscriminately to 
 the tender mercies of railway officials. It is 
 principally for the convenience of stowing 
 one's rods in the latter, that I have had 
 them made with four, instead of three joints, 
 which perhaps is preferable. I don't ^xiYy 
 some of my friends, who have three-jointed 
 Gordon-rods, when moving about. The latter 
 always seem in the way, whether in or out 
 of a box. 
 
 In studying all these little matters, many 
 may be inclined to smile at my innocence; 
 
258 Salmon Fishin^ 
 
 '<b- 
 
 but so often have I experienced the benefit 
 of it, that I am quite case-hardened against 
 any amount of chaff. Salmon-fishing in itself 
 is to me, at least, so pleasant a panacea for 
 aches and pains, mental and bodily, few of us 
 poor mortals are free from, that wilfully to 
 detract from its attractions by the want of a 
 little forethought, or attention, would indeed 
 be sheer folly. 
 
 I have spoken of fishermen who carry about 
 with them material -receptacles, not less in 
 dimensions than a family -bible. May I not, 
 however, be confuted by the reader with a 
 proportionate propensity for enlargement, in a 
 diffierent way, if I continue prating on a subject, 
 that seems to be inexhaustible ? Lest too tight 
 a strain be inflicted on his patience, I will 
 hold hard, and only just add a few more 
 remarks, ere I bid him a friendly farewell. 
 
 Salmo-Salar doubtless is a most whimsical 
 gentleman in his disposition and habits. And 
 though we are led to look for him, as a likely 
 
Salmon Fishing. 259 
 
 suitor for the pretty, silver-bespangled beauty 
 we offer to his notice, when wind, and water, 
 and weather, are favourable ; how frequently 
 are we compelled to beat a retreat at night 
 baffled, if not, utterly beaten, by our finny 
 friend's caprices. 
 
 Well, good reader, were this not the case- 
 and you able with mathematical precision to 
 "spot" a fish without failure always in a certain 
 locality, and under similar circumstances, would 
 you continue the pursuit of your prey with 
 unabated interest as now ? One of the chief 
 charms of salmon-fishing (to me at least) is 
 its uncertain nature. Fish on, as we do, often 
 for hours together without catching sight of a 
 fin even, every minute be it not forgotten, 
 are we hopeful of a happier change ; and 
 when Salmo does come, swift sometimes as 
 a flash of lightning, just shewing perhaps 
 an enormous head and tail ; or when taking 
 the fly under water with a "will;" who 
 does not feel at that magic moment more 
 
.26o Salmon Fishing, 
 
 than compensated for his trial of patience ? 
 
 Not only then should the salmon fisher 
 encourage this latter virtue, but the absence 
 also of fretfulness, when a want of sport is 
 the result of a hard day's perseverance, Fret- 
 fulness indeed! Why how seldom is it that 
 the banks of a river, are devoid of objects to 
 delight the eyes, and right-pleasantly employ 
 the mind ? 
 
 It seems but yesterday (alas, how time does 
 gallop on!) that I borrowed an old bell- 
 mouthed brass blunderbuss (my first attempt 
 at shooting), and great was my joy, when I 
 blew a tomtit almost to pieces with it, at a 
 few yards' distance. The little mangled car- 
 case I felt as proud of exhibiting as a proof 
 of my prowess, as the deadly hero in a sporting 
 paper seemed to have been of late when 
 recording his murderous slaughter of grouse, — 
 so many head in so many hours ! After this 
 exploit of mine, it was not long ere I could 
 detect a bird by his flight, almost as soon as 
 
Salmon Fishing. 261 
 
 I caught sight of him. And though my passion 
 for shooting has long since subsided, I still 
 retain as keen an interest as ever for my old 
 feathered favourites. And what better oppor- 
 tunity for the gratification of a taste like this 
 could there be, than in the wild secluded scenery 
 where a salmon fisher usually seeks for his 
 sport. 
 
 The stoop of a Peregrine Falcon I once 
 witnessed into the very midst of a terrified 
 flock of Curlews ; — why, rather than miss so 
 glorious a spectacle, would I most willingly 
 have fished on for a whole day without a rise, 
 and been satisfied ! 
 
 THE STOOP OF THE PEREGRINE-FALCON. 
 
 The sun was so bright, and the sky so bkie, 
 
 That fearless of danger the Curlews flew, 
 
 Following the leader in close array. 
 
 To their fav'rite feeding-grounds far away. 
 
 Could we who are wont to dwell here below, 
 
 What the birds were thinking of only know ; 
 
 Not very unlike p'raps to those of men, 
 
 Were the Curlews' thoughts, should we find out then. 
 
 While all things around were calm and serene, 
 
262 Sacmon Fishing, 
 
 And not a symptom of change to be seen, 
 Away they hastened in gladness and glee, 
 As safe, as though roosting beside the sea. 
 Ah ! they little knew of a foe on high, 
 Soaring above them in the bright blue sky ; 
 Till just as they paused and slackened their flight, 
 Dashed a Falcon down, like a flash of light ; 
 And while one poor bird lay bleeding behind, 
 The rest fled scattered, like dust by the wind. 
 Thus to bird as man may the sunniest day 
 Too often close in grief and dismay. 
 When Death draws near with a pitiless blow 
 To sever the closest of ties below. 
 
 To a real lover of nature, not only when she 
 unfolds to the eye a wide, extended picture, 
 made up of her choicest materials in the 
 aggregate ; but also scatters around rich and 
 varied supplies, now of flowers and ferns in 
 hedge-rows and lone corners ; and now of noble 
 trees, alone, or in groups, and in every graceful 
 form, and faultless outline ; — is it possible to 
 behold these, and kindred sights, and yet go 
 fretful and disatisfied home because Salmo had 
 shunned his acquaintance } 
 
 Not soon shall I forget the wild look of 
 
Salmon Fishing, 263 
 
 astonishment an acquaintance of mine once 
 betrayed, when I happened to exclaim in his 
 presence, that I could gaze on a new rose of 
 undeniable beauty for ten minutes at a time 
 with unwearied interest ! That man, I verily 
 believe, had not a feeling of courteous com- 
 punction stopped his words, would have dubbed 
 me a lunatic then and there. 
 
 On the banks of many a lovely stream in 
 North Wales, and elsewhere, once the familar 
 resort of the angling fraternity, not a single 
 fisherman is now to be seen, so complete has 
 been the extinction of our finny favourites. 
 
 If the "almighty dollar," as the Yankee 
 would say, is thus to predominate ; what is to 
 prevent everything else, beside fishing, in the 
 shape of diversion to the mind, and relaxation 
 to the limbs, from being inevitably drawn within 
 the vortex, to its eventual suppression 1 
 
 A nice prospect, if not for us, at any rate for 
 our successors, to find that the favourite hunter 
 must be discarded, except it be to drag the 
 
264 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 cart, or the plough ! The Yacht be utilised to 
 carry, not a select few, for health and diversion's 
 sake ; no, but the fleeter she prove, so much 
 the sooner must she be monopolised to bring 
 home bales of cotton or chests of tea ! The 
 breechloader, once so active on the moors of 
 bonnie Scotland, or the bogs of old Ireland, or 
 the stubbles and plantations of merry England, 
 must be hung up an ignominious relic of less 
 civilised days, when game was preserved, and 
 the rights of property recognised by a too 
 credulous people ! 
 
 Alas, for me ! that I should be one of the 
 unfortunates who still fail to detect the delightful 
 sensation of beholding nothing but endless lines 
 of warehouses in our towns, and of huge, steam- 
 propelled merchantmen in our larger rivers ! 
 
 Is Dives after all one whit the happier for the 
 fabulous increase of his dollars ? His sleep the 
 sounder ? his mind the more buoyant ? his limbs 
 the more elastic ? 
 
 So far as my experience goes, he is a man 
 
Salmon Fishing. 265 
 
 to be pitied rather than envied, unless one (a 
 ''rara avis" indeed), to whom it is a luxury 
 not to hoard, or to spend his wealth upon 
 himself, but in furtherance of his fellows' good. 
 
 Despite such dismal forebodings, however, 
 there is a drop of comfort still left to the 
 salmon-fisher in the fact, that at length the 
 eyes of the landowners have been opened to 
 the monstrous evil of having their rivers and 
 streams converted into cesspools, or poisoned 
 by mine-water. 
 
 A mere angler, who rambles about rod-in- 
 hand for his own amusement ; — how pre- 
 posterous, that the hot scramble for money 
 should be stayed a moment, out of any feel- 
 ings of compunction towards him ! But for 
 horses and cattle to drink in their decline, and 
 speedy death, with every draught of river 
 water they imbibe ; aye, and the herbage on 
 the banks, so far from being doubly green 
 and luxuriant, to be shrivelled up or destroyed 
 altogether! This, this is a totally-different 
 
266 Salmon Fishing. 
 
 matter, and must be remedied at any cost ! 
 
 Thanks to the not unnatural alarm of the 
 landowners, and their determination, if necessary, 
 to resort to the existing law, which is quite 
 stringent enough to correct the evil, for the 
 last season the Dovey has been freer from 
 mine-water, and in consequence better furnished 
 with fish, than it has been since my recollection. 
 
 That our Autumn-fishing should be extended 
 three weeks, on condition of our foregoing the 
 Spring-fishing, has, I am sorry to find, been 
 a sad blow to a few of our old members, 
 though a welcome boon to the majority. 
 
 One of the former discards altogether the 
 commonly received notion, that many, if not 
 most, of the fish in the river in the Spring are 
 Kelts at all; but, on the contrary, fish that, 
 after spawning, have gone down for a time 
 to recruit in the estuary, and returned again. 
 He has also a theory of his own about the 
 "scaling," as he calls it, of the fish, and of 
 the scales themselves, which I have frequently 
 
Salmon Fishing. 267 
 
 heard him descant upon, though without, I 
 believe, making any converts. 
 
 That the Kelts of the Dovey are wondrously 
 well-looking, and fight hard to the last, when 
 hooked, is beyond dispute. And no one, I 
 hear, without ocular proof, would credit the 
 difference between an Usk or Wye, and a 
 Dovey Kelt. The latter, too, are never in- 
 fested with parasites on the gill-covers ; and 
 often, I have been told, when cooked, have 
 been pronounced good, in colour and flavour, 
 by excellent judges, and particularly in the 
 case of the cocks. I must, however, in candour, 
 admit myself, that the few I have ever had the 
 courage to taste, were very far from coming 
 up to the above favourable character of them, 
 but were in the words of the farmer, who 
 probably had never tasted decent fish in his 
 life, "so nice, and white, and soft." 
 
 That the poisoned waters of the Dovey should 
 hitherto have proved detrimental to the fry, 
 and yet contained some quality capable of 
 
26S Salmon Fishing. 
 
 recruiting the Spring-fish m so short a time, 
 and to such an extent, is a problem for the 
 scientific to unravel. The absence of parasites 
 from the gill-covers may be the result of the 
 poison in solution in the river; and the fish, 
 thus freed from their tormentors, be able to 
 recover health and strength all the sooner. 
 Still in this, and many other matters relating 
 to salmon, we are sadly in the dark. 
 
 In wide-sweeping laws on the subject, to 
 enforce rules and regulations alike for all rivers, 
 strikes me as being no less a bungle, than for 
 the hatter to make all his hats from the same 
 block, to fit the heads of his various customers. 
 
 It is well known, that in some rivers the 
 majority of the fish run up early; in others 
 less so ; and in some, as in North Wales, very 
 late. Instinct, no doubt, tells the fish, that 
 in the latter there is a greater chance of high 
 water later on in the year, and they shape their 
 domestic economy accordingly. On this account, 
 it is but reasonable that rod-fishing should be 
 
Salmon Fishing. 269 
 
 more protracted than in earlier rivers. To 
 prevent the indiscriminate slaughter of gravid 
 fish, however, the use of the gaff should be 
 prohibited in the Autumn months. 
 
 In a question of such wide interest, as that 
 pertaining to salmon, it is much to be regretted 
 that in some instances, there should be such 
 a collision of opinion between the upper and 
 lower proprietors. With all due deference to 
 the latter, they should not fail to remember, 
 that it would be ruinous to them, were the 
 former to discontinue their watchfulness over 
 the spawning-beds. 
 
 In the passion at present for Joint-Stock 
 Companies, it would be well, were the public, 
 the net-fishers, and the anglers, connected 
 together in some such association, in principle, 
 at least, if not in practice. The first look upon 
 friend Salmo in the light of food ; the second, 
 of profit ; and the last, of amusement. Let each 
 party then learn to regard the question in a 
 larger and less selfish spirit. 
 
270 Salmon Fishing, 
 
 As for the last, I believe, I embody the 
 sentiments of the fraternity in general, by 
 declaring sport, not spoil, to be the chief 
 object. Of the hundreds of salmon I have 
 landed, not five per cent, in monied phraseology, 
 have I monopolised myself. In fact, I should 
 only be too happy to enjoy the privilege of 
 fishing "ad libitum" a picturesque river to my 
 taste, on the condition that I made the pro- 
 prietor a present of every salmon I killed. 
 
 Let the noble fish have but common fair 
 play, and sure am I that he will not fail to 
 fill our rivers with his progeny, and provide 
 food in abundance for the people at large, and 
 plenty of sport and amusement for the angler. 
 
 FLOREAT SALMO. 
 Long may friend Salmo flourish ! 
 
 A gallant fish is he, 
 When in his robe of silver, 
 
 He leaves the stormy sea. 
 
 See, how he stems the torrent, 
 
 With its white crest of foam ; 
 No dangers can deter him 
 
 When hast'ning to his home. 
 
Salmon Fishing, 271 
 
 Let rocks bespan the river. 
 
 And rapids roar around ; 
 He falters not a moment, 
 
 But clears them at a bound. 
 
 And when through smiUng valleys 
 
 He wends his devious way, 
 No passing pleasures lure him, 
 
 From duty's path to stray. 
 
 Should he succeed in reaching 
 
 The ciystal stream above, 
 None could more richly merit 
 
 The joys of constant love. 
 
 Cruel the hand, and dastard, 
 
 That would disturb him there ; 
 Or from his nuptial bed. 
 
 By force poor Salmo tear ! 
 
 A thousand foes beset him ; 
 
 May he victorious be. 
 And reach again in safety, 
 
 The 'shelter of the sea. 
 
J. WRIGHT AND CO., 
 
 "THE BRISTOL STEAM PRESS," 
 
 STEPHEN STREET. 
 
bv the same author, price 7/-, 
 
 RAMBLES AND RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF A 
 
 FLY FISHER, 
 
 ILLUSTRATED ; 
 
 With Appendix Containing Ample Instructions to 
 THE Novice, Inclusive of 
 
 FLY MAKING, AND A LIST OF REALLY USEFUL 
 FLIES. 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 "Welcome as the flowers of May is this most pleasant of 
 Books."— /^/>/^. 
 
 "The Volume contains many freshly-written and pleasant 
 pages. " — AthencBum. 
 
 "The Volume is beautifully illustrated. His list of flies is 
 admirably selected." — BelVs Life in London, 
 
 "The descriptive sketches are pleasing, the views in the 
 argumentative part sensible, and the composition easy and 
 lively. " — Spectator, 
 
 "This is a glorious little book." — Bristol Times. 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 MNEWAIS ONIY-TEI. NO. 64a-3405 
 . . J «„ rhe last date stamped below, or 
 
 f EB 2 4 1970 
 
 General Library 
 University of CaUforma 
 
 Berkeley 
 

 YB 10327 
 
;5^^