178 ANGLING. 



This is no mean sport. Eor myself, 1 must say that I was not 

 successful in capturing any large trout ; but during five or six 

 days I was out with different small parties., I got several fish 

 which weighed about a pound and a half. I never tried bait, but 

 kept to the fly. I found the general opinion of the anglers at 

 Caen very much divided as to the most killing flies for the river; 

 some zealously claiming the superiority for this colour, and some 

 for that. As far as my own experience went, I killed the greater 

 portion of my fish with a middle-sized hook, red body, and drab 

 coloured wings. 



" I set out for Avranches, and after a tedious and rather laborious 

 journey, I reached the bottom of the eminence on which the town 

 stands. _ The place is exceedingly beautiful and picturesque. 

 On casting an eye over the surrounding objects from the ter- 

 race on which the old cathedral stood, for it is now in ruins, 

 a more engaging ^id lovely landscape cannot be seen in all 

 Erance. 



" After spending about ten days at Avranches, I left for the 

 borders of Brittany. I bent my steps towards Pontorson but I 

 must stop here, and remind the wandering angler that on leaving 

 Avranches he has five small rivers to cross ; and if he is induced to 

 keep, what the English call, low down in their course, he may find 

 crossing their waters very troublesome. _ The sands sink pro- 

 digiously, and the tide rushes with amazing velocity, so that a 

 traveller may be placed in great jeopardy without much previous 

 intimation. 



" On arriving at Pontorson, I struck up into the country. I 

 soon got to the eminence of a long hill, from which there is a most 

 enchanting prospect to the traveller's eye. The varied and undu- 

 lating nature of the country, the yellow corn fields studded up and 

 down, and the clusters of apple orchards, present to the mind a 

 variety of objects of great beauty and interest. 



" Travelling onwards, I came to the higher parts of the river 

 Couesnon, which forms the boundary 'between Normandy and 

 Brittany. Here I readily perceived that I was entering upon a 

 part of France considerably different from that which I had just 

 left. Brittany is the countiy where the real portion ^ of the 

 Celtic character is to be met with in all its purity. The inhabit- 

 ants of Normandy have, generally, long oval features, and very 

 expressive blue eyes, and fair complexions; whereas the Bretons 

 are characterized by a brown swarthy skin, sharp peering black 

 eyes, short round faces, and broad jaw-bones. They are likewise 

 of a lower stature than the Normans. In the manners and 

 customs of the two people there is alsc a wide and palpable 

 distinction. In Normandy the men wear almost universally a 

 blouse of blue cotton, while the Bretons have a sort of coat, 

 sometimes made of calf -skin, and sometimes of sheep-skin, with the 

 hair or wool outside. This coat reaches a little below their knees, 

 and gives a very uncultivated and savage appearance to the person. 



