ST. BOSIVELLS. 235 



up, and he was on ! I was about as much surprised as the 

 fish would probably be ; and, strange as it may appear, 

 at the moment, I would have much preferred it to be a 

 good trout, which, if I had secured, I could have tapped 

 on the head, and laid to rest in the creel, no one daring to 

 call me in question. For, be it remembered, my per- 

 mission was only for trout ; and I felt that I might be 

 suspected of aiming at higher game, more especially as I 

 saw a man on the opposite side, whom I believed to be 

 one of the gamekeepers, come up and ensconce himself 

 behind a tree, evidently bent on seeing what the stranger 

 Avas about. At best, if I caught the fish, I should certainly 

 deliver it to the rightful owner, and thereby, I, personally, 

 would not be much of a gainer ; and incidentally, I might 

 to an indefinite extent be a loser, if the animal, which had 

 given occasion for these thoughts, like a flash, to dart 

 across my mind, should lead me a dance, and indulge in 

 such unseemly and unnecessary behaviour as would 

 endanger my rod and line, neither of which was of such 

 a kind as I should have selected for salmon-fishing. 

 Accordingly, as soon as I felt his dead weight, I struck 

 rather forcibly, intending to see whether the hook — a 

 mere midge for a salmon — was properly fastened, and if 

 not, to be off with him at once. But the hook was firm, 

 and up he came to the surface, shewing the round of his 

 back and his dorsal fin ; and after shaking his head 

 indignantly, as a terrier might do with your handkerchief, 

 he headed away down stream in gallant style — a fish of 

 fifteen or twenty pounds — having evidently made up his 

 mind for a run to Ber\vick-on-T\vecd, or the sheltering lee 



