174 O'er Crag and Torrent 



charmers. The effect was sublime and instan- 

 taneous ; for two solid hours, I declare, I never 

 had such sport in my life, almost every cast 

 I made I hooked good, lusty fish many half- 

 pounders and two or three nearer a pound 

 than a half-pound ; the fish were stark staring 

 mad ; they must have had a coronation ; it 

 was a gala day ; a saint's day ; a day never 

 to be forgotten. But the happy moment was 

 approaching one of the events of my long 

 fishing life that I lock up like a treasure in 

 the deepest recess of my memory. Sauntering 

 onwards I at length met a quiet, dignified 

 old fisherman who, in reply to my query as 

 to sport, informed me that he had six or 

 seven nice little fish. His look of utter 

 astonishment when I showed him my big 

 creel nearly full, and getting uncomfortably 

 heavy, was downright ludicrous. I made 

 the old fellow happy by giving him a pull at 

 my flask and presenting him with a cast of 



