828 PEAIEIE AND FOEEST. 



that would protect the angler from these pests when he is 

 enjoying a trip that has no other drawbacks! To describe 

 my sufferings would be impossible ; suffice it to say that 

 my actions were sufficient to cause a physician to imagine 

 me fit for incarceration in a lunatic asylum. Even now, I 

 can scarcely revert to the subject without feeling inclined 

 to scratch myself. 



Revenontt a nos moutons. With salmon fishing the 

 imaginary moment of victory is frequently the precursor of 

 defeat ; the noble adversary but relaxes his efforts that, in 

 the resulting confidence which follows, he may the more 

 successfully concentrate his powers for a final dash, and 

 frequently succeeds in escaping. I can compare it to 

 naught else than the skilful swordsman who, finding him- 

 self overmatched in his antagonist, gives ground and feigns 

 fatigue to imbue his foe with confidence, hoping that a 

 careless pass will still afford him an opportunity to deliver 

 the deadly thrust. Men have always foibles, always para- 

 mount pleasures ; their tastes are as diversified as the 

 colouring in Joseph's coat, as die physiognomy which we 

 bear. While one is devoted to the horse, another is to the 

 hound ; while one loves the gun, another loves the rod. 

 To question their tastes and argue with them the reason 

 would probably be unproductive ; but of this I am con- 

 vinced no man ever felt the pleasure, the intense excite- 

 ment, of having a salmon on a rod, or even the more 

 diminutive trout, without being again desirous of renewing 

 the sensation. The very uncertainty causes this fascination. 

 A gentlemen for whom I have much esteem, and who has 

 been busily employed all his life in mercantile pursuits, 



