450 Notes on Sport and Travel \\ 



himself on the gafif, and putting down his arm 

 till the pure cold element flowed into the neck of his 

 shirt ; and the second time ditto, and ditto, but with- 

 out the same success ; returning to the shore with 

 the end of the casting-line in his hand, minus both 

 fly and salmon, severed from us for ever by the sharp 

 rock edges, and in a state of cold and misery too 

 deep even to permit of the mildest blasphemy. 

 Struck with this humbling recollection, I took but 

 one step, which brought me up to my middle in the 

 stream, and rushed frantically through stickle and 

 over stone, breaking my shins and bumping myself 

 shapeless at every step, making the water fly around 

 me like a wild horse of the Pampas with a gymnotus 

 under his stomach. I was able to reel in at the last 

 reach above the pool, and get my friend well under 

 the rod. He lay sulking on the ledge for a time, 

 undecided what devilry to try next ; whereon, with 

 much caution, I gat me a stone, and cast it in just 

 below him. He thereat being vexed, sped up the 

 river at railroad speed, taking me along with him, 

 knocking every particle of bark ofi" my devoted shins, 

 and twisting my ankles between the submerged stones, 

 till I began to think that the soles of my feet were 

 permanently turned upwards. Up, up, and away, 

 to where a ridge bounded the smaller pool above ! 

 I ventured to hope that he would stop, were it but for 

 a minute. Not a bit of it ! On he went, and the reel 

 began to discourse most eloquent music, so I ' louped ' 

 on to the greensward above, and away we bowled 



