42 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR, 



merable as are its tributaries, I fancy our good Salmon Act found it 

 bad enough, The labyrinth of stake-nets in the lower river, draught- 

 nets, bulging, and angling, had cruelly injured poor Mr. Salmon's 

 prospects. Now what the river can produce we shall see. In five 

 years' time, I believe, if men have one grain of common sense, for 

 every ten fish brought to market we shall have fifty, besides leaving 

 pretty pickings for honest men. 



Tliere stands Castle Connell, nestling amidst demesnes and pleasure 

 grounds, a very paradise for anglers. The glorious rapids, ever chant- 

 ing the same sweet lay, sing to it night and day now piano, now 

 forte till with the shout of ten thousand voices, they thunder over 

 the ''Leap of Doonass." 



From its source to the sea the Shannon is said to have a fall of 

 only 150 feet, more than half of which occurs between this place and 

 the city. These beautiful casts being all in private hands, or leased, 

 especially to the rod, you and I have nothing to do with them at 

 present, beyond envying a gallant officer, an especial friend of some 

 of my especial friends, labouring with his usual energy. We should 

 have liked to have heard his recent experiences, but as it is quite 

 as practicable to carry on a conversation across Niagara as across 

 these rapids, we did not attempt it. We watched him for some 

 time, but saw nothing of the fifty-pounder. 



These rapids extend for miles, with here and there spots of sur- 

 passing excellence. What will they be in 1870 ? 



We must leave Limerick and Mr. Cruise's comfortable hospitium 

 early to-morrow, and try to find our way to Sligo, for we have much 

 to do before the middle of May* I certainly could not make out our 

 route satisfactorily that night. If the reader wishes to learn exactbj 

 how we got there the next day, I cannot tell him. At this moment 

 I retain a general impression, that between going up and down, 

 backwards and forwards, we wandered in an irregular manner over 

 about hcUf the island, and that is all I know about it. 



