SALMON 229 



me, being beautifully marked with yellowish red rings, while 

 it looked so tempting, smelt so sweet, and was wriggling so 

 prettily in its efiforts to escape, that, forgetting all caution, 

 I made a dash at the enticing mouthful. Truly delicious it 

 tasted, but as I turned to regain my resting-place, the horrid 

 creature began to wrestle with me. In spite of my struggles 

 I was hauled to the surface, only to be sent flying over the 

 head of a small Foe into a grass field. Here I still fought 

 my best to get rid of this demon worm, and while growing 

 fainter at every kick, the small Foe picked me up, and kindly 

 setting me free from the worm, threw me back into the river, 

 the while calling out to a female Foe seated behind him in the 

 grass, ' It's only a horrid little smolt.' 



" I lost no time in rejoining my companions, and telling them 

 of my adventure, we all swore off worms of any description. 

 Many flies, however, were so tempting, but so exactly like the 

 real ones we had just previously swallowed with pleasure and 

 impunity, that great numbers of us fell victims to them, and 

 very few had the good luck to meet with treatment as kind 

 as I had experienced, for not one in a hundred came back to us. 



" On our way down stream we fell in with other companies 

 of fish, all equally bent on the same journey, while each 

 pool we came to added to our numbers, until at length we were 

 a countless crowd. Presendy the rapid rush of the river ceased, 

 and we found ourselves in deep, slow-running water, in which, 

 by-and-by, we were brought to a halt by a wall of brown weed, 

 which appeared to stretch right across the river. It was of 

 singularly regular shape, but through it most of us wriggled 

 our way in safety. This remarkable weed had a peculiar but 

 not unpleasant smell, but when working my way past it, I saw 

 many of our large relations hung up in its folds, while in spite of 

 their struggles they were slowly but surely pulled to the shore, 

 where I saw a cluster of Foes standing by the water-edge, 

 which induced me to make a note of the event for future 

 guidance, for it was clear our enemies were again persecuting 



