158 SINGULAR INCIDENT. 



number immediately seized it with avidity ; but owing to 

 a flaw in my casting-line, which was of the best twisted 

 gut, it parted at the upper lead in striking the fish, and he 

 went off, as I supposed, uninjured. I was, of course, much 

 annoyed at the mishap; but there was no help for it: 

 so causing the people to put me on shore, that I might 

 repair the tackle, I directed them in the interim to proceed 

 two or three hundred paces farther down the stream to 

 the boat-house, for other baits, those which we had 

 brought with us being exhausted. They did so ; and re- 

 turning in about a quarter of an hour afterwards, jokingly 

 asked if I should like to see the hook recently carried 

 off so unceremoniously by the trout. I smiled, con- 

 ceiving the thing an impossibility ; but they produced, not 

 only the hook, but the fish itself a fine fellow of about 

 sixteen pounds. It appeared that in rowing down stream, 

 and when in very deep water, they saw him, evidently 

 much distressed, and with his belly uppermost, plunging 

 on the surface, when, having a large landing-net, they at 

 once rowed to the spot, and placing it under him, lifted 

 him on board. 



I could never quite comprehend this matter, for the fish 

 was fairly hooked in the mouth, and the weight of the leads 

 was trivial ; but I suppose the disabled state he was found in 

 must have been caused either by the hook piercing both jaws, 

 or that the casting-line had twisted about his gills, and thus 

 prevented him from respiring freely 



A similar circumstance, but not attended with equally 

 fortunate results, occurred to me at an after period, when 

 fishing in the great pool immediately below Ny-Bro ; for 

 though the fish, shortly after breaking the line, was seen in 



