SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 197 



singularly tempting, and had there been a fresh I should have 

 desired nothing better than a day or two on its banks ; but there 

 was no chance of such a thing, so I could only hope for better 

 fortune on some future occasion. The rent of house and angling is 

 100/. per annum ; and what a holiday station for any overworked 

 dweller in our great and busy cities ! Why a turn on the lawn, the 

 music of the waterfall, the purple moorland, the sparkling ocean, the 

 profound quiet, and the delicious air, would be agents more potent 

 for the restoration of health than all the tonics in the pharmacopoeia ; 

 and had I one foot in the grave I should deem that a three months' 

 sojourn in such an angler's paradise would restore me to pristine 

 vigour of brain and body. 



We have yet another ten miles before us, so we roll along by the 

 winding waters of the noble Bay of Galway, drawing nearer and 

 nearer to the Isles of Arran, which stretch their sheltering arms 

 across its mouth, and form a haven where the navies of the world 

 might ride, but where now a few small coasters lie at anchor, with 

 an occasional ship from the Baltic with deals, or a rakish Greek brig 

 with com or meal. Then the road bends suddenly to the west, and 

 we are speeding along the shores of Costello Bay, at the head of 

 which is the far-famed river of the same name a river which, 

 including its lakes, does not, I should imagine, possess a greater 

 length than nine or ten miles. Hardly any water in Britain (or 

 elsewhere probably) of the same extent, has any sporting reputation 

 at all. I never knew a single member of the club, nor did I ever 

 hear any exact details of their sport ; doubtless they have a capital 

 thing, and, like wise men, enjoy their good fortune, and say as little 

 about it as may be. The reticence of the club is admirable ; we hear 

 occasionally spirit-stimng accounts from the Thurso, the Erne, the 

 Spey, or the Moy, but from the Costello " never a word." The rent 

 of this little fishery about 250Z. per annum speaks its excellence ; 

 and as I stood looking at the lodge, glistening in the evening sun- 

 shine, I could not but envy the possessors of such treasures. The 

 situation of the house is perfect, close to the stream, and within a 

 hundred yards of the sea, and whilst looking inland up the course 



