72 THE SALMON 



walked up to the Castle in the evening followed by 

 the bearer of seven salmon — two of these grilse of 

 eleven or twelve pounds — the others ranging from 

 seventeen pounds to twenty-three. 



It must not be supposed that our host was under 

 the delusion that this was the highest form of sport 

 that the river could afford. When it was possible to 

 give a beat to a single rod, and he was a fisherman of 

 experience, he was allowed to cast from the boat 

 instead of occupying the position of a sort of auto- 

 matic trimmer. But all who remember that delightful 

 time, those elastic walls, and genial hospitality, will 

 bear me out in testifying that it was no easy task to 

 provide sport for the numbers who were welcomed 

 there ; and that occasionally it could only be secured 

 by putting the proverbial ' three men in a boat' 

 Somehow or other, however, it was contrived that 

 every guest should go out expectant in the morning 

 and come back radiant in the evening, for the place 

 was like the conjurer's magic bottle, and every taste 

 was provided for. 



Sometimes the fish were obstinate, and there was 

 ample leisure for the passengers in the boat to think 

 of other things as well as the care of their rods and 

 lines. Many were the good stories told, and the 

 songs and parodies composed on such occasions for 



