OF A SALMON. 71 



men will start together, with their coracles on 

 their backs, in the dusk of evening or else long 

 before daylight, and walk six or seven miles up 

 the river one of them setting night-lines as they 

 go their pretext being the pursuit of fly-fishing, 

 which they accordingly resort to when the day is 

 far advanced ; in the mean time, with a coracle 

 on each side the river, they sweep most of the 

 long pools with nets of illegal mesh ; and if you 

 stumble upon them some time after seven or eight 

 o'clock in the morning, and ask them their suc- 

 cess they have had none ! their coracles are 

 empty, and so are their panniers ! they can't tell, 

 " no indeed" what is the matter with the fish, 

 they won't rise at all ! but their companion is 

 off with the wet net wound hydropathic ally 

 round his body under his coat, and he or his 

 confederate has taken a good weight of fish to 

 the nearest market. If you bid them good 

 morning, and afterwards return and watch the 

 two that remain, with not less caution than you 

 would stalk a deer, you will see them now and 

 then lay down their harmless fly rods, and fur- 

 tively draw from the river, night-line after night- 

 line r they follow the downward course of the 

 river scarce a line, perhaps, coming to the bank 

 without some booty. 



It does not come at all within the scope of our 



