122 SALMOXIA. [fifth day. 



POIET- — You have fished in most of the salmon 

 rivers of the north of Europe — give us some idea of 

 the kind of sport they afford. 



HAL. — I have fished in some, but perhaps not in 

 the best ; for this it is necessary to go into barbarous 

 countries — Lapland, or the extreme north of Norway; 

 and I have generally loved too much the comforts of 

 life to make any greater sacrifices than such as are 

 made in our present expedition. I have heard the 

 river at Drontheim boasted of as an excellent salmon 

 river, and I know two worthy anglers who have tried 

 it ; but I do not think they took more fish in a day 

 than I have sometimes taken in Scotland and Ireland. 

 All the Norwegian rivers that I tried, and they were 

 in the south of Norway, contained salmon. I fished 

 in the Glommen, one of the largest rivers in Europe ; 

 in the Mandals, which appeared to me the best fitted 

 for taking salmon; the Arendal and the Torrisdale. 

 But, though I saw salmon rise in all these rivers, 

 1 never took a fish larger than a sea trout ; of these 

 I always caught many — and even in the fiords, or 

 small inland salt-water bays ; but I think never any 

 one more than a pound in weight. It is true I was 

 in Norway in the beginning of July, in exceedingly 

 bright weather, and when there was no night ; for 

 even at twelve o' clock the sky was so bright, that 

 I read the smallest print in the columns of a 



