212 HINTS ON ANGLING. 



THE SOMME. 



In that wild flight, 



We spurred our coursers o'er the babbling Canche ; 

 And dashing madly on, soon left behind 

 The Authie's lagging wave. Beneath the rays 

 Of the soft summer moon, we scoured the plain 

 Where Edward plucked fresh laurels for his brow, 

 And with the first beams of the morning sun, 

 Our gallant steeds the goal of safety gained 

 Plunged through the waters of the welcome Somme . 



The Sentinel's Story. 



MANY wonderful stories are told, both by French and 

 English anglers, respecting the magnitude of the trout in 

 this river. Some affirm that fish of the enormous weight 

 of thirty-six pounds have occasionally been found in it; 

 and there is a story current, strengthened by many cir- 

 cumstantial proofs, that a trout was caught in this stream 

 not long ago, which weighed twenty-seven pounds and a 

 half. It was transmitted by Diligence as a curiosity to 

 Lille ; but on reaching Hesdin the address was lost, and it 

 consequently remained at the Hotel de France in that 

 town. It was given to a fishmonger in Hesdin for lack 

 of an owner, who cut it up into pieces, and sold it in 

 that form. We received this account from highly respect- 

 able parties; but beyond this we cannot vouch for its 

 truth. Certain it is, however, that trout of a more than 

 ordinary size are obtained in this water; but, we confess, 

 nothing like an approximation to these prodigious weights 

 has ever fallen under our own observation. 



The Authie takes its rise near a village called Warlin- 

 cour, situated about eight miles from the town of Doulens, 



