304 NORTHERN MEMOIRS. 



THE TROUT. 



I have already told you that the salmon is 

 king in the freshes : And now I must tell you 

 that the princely trout has his residence and 

 principality in the same fluctuating element, 

 partaking very much of the nature of salmon, 

 admiring stiff and rapid streams in the vernon 

 ingress ; but he accosts the solitary deeps most 

 months in the winter. In the spring, you shall 

 observe this active animal scud to the fords, 

 where he flutters his fins at every silly fly ; for 

 that's his rendezvouz, and there you'l find him, 

 picking and gliding against stones in the bot- 

 tom, to scour off, if possible, the slimy substance 

 and scurf from his sickly sides, frequently occa- 

 sioned through want of motion. So that when 

 the sun vegetates and invigorates the creation, 

 then is he invigorated with motion and activity, 

 which argues a very great and unpardonable ab- 

 surdity in the ignorant and incredulous angler, 

 to fancy that peregrination debilitates and weak- 

 ens him, when apparently it adds an additional 

 strength, not well considering they were only 

 told so ; or peradventure they had read it in 

 some printed book, concluding from thence an 

 infallibility in the press. 



But as I intend not to burden you with cir- 



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