SALMON ANGLING IN IBI5LAND. 69 



the sedges gazing sleepily at their own shadows ; and the birds a 

 countless choir were in full rivalry, each one telling his tale of love. 



The first thing to be done was to collect siiffici'^nt bait for the day. 

 Basket in hand, our boatman walked up to some small alder bushes, 

 and began to select the flies which sat in hundreds on the leaves. 

 Those rough fingers of his, how delicately they lifted the beautiful 

 creatures, depositing the brightest-coloured ones each after each 

 under the lid of his little wicker cage ; then we sat down under a 

 tree to an'ange the tackle. The small hook was neatly tied to a 

 strand of the finest gut, which in turn was fastened ^o one end of a 

 skein of floss silk, the other being carefully spliced to the light 

 running line. There was nothing more to be done on shore, so we 

 pushed off, rowed well to \vindward, and commenced our first drift. 



There is some little skill required in this mode of fishing. The fly 

 must sit naturally on the water ; the long sail of soft silk, bellying 

 out before the wind, should keep the gut perpendicularly above the 

 fly ; not an inch of tackle ought to be in the water. Supposing 

 matters to be managed according to description, the fly sailing along 

 foui-teen or fifteen yards in advance of the boat, whilst neither sound 

 nor motion gives warning even to the most wary old stager I say, 

 all things being secundem artem poor trouty has no standard 

 whereby to detect the thief from the true man. 



' Dear oh ! dear oh-o-o I Was there ever the like ? '" This doleful 

 soliloquy caused me to look towards the bow ; there sat Willie (he 

 had asked for a holiday), his rod straight upright, with the straw- 

 coloured floss floating in the wind, without fly, hook, or gut. The 

 disconcerted professor had one weakness he was vain of his skill : 

 it was necessary, therefore, to account for the accident. 



" Master," he said, with true northern solemnity, " the gut's 

 rotten ; you should look to yourn." 



A quarter of an hour after this there was a light splash ; this time 

 the weed was sound. The game little fish, barely l^lb., fought 

 to the last, and could not be persuaded to enter the net till quite 

 helpless. This, our first prize, at once attracted attention by its 

 great beauty. Belly and sides were of the richest golden hue, and 



