130 THE TROUT ARE RISING 



about ji. I did not incur great expense for 

 licences. The Severn licence costs two shillings, 

 and the possession of this document entitles you 

 to fish not only the great river but also its 

 tributaries. Taking out a Severn licence in the 

 early summer, for fishing the Tern round about 

 the old home in Shropshire for a few days, I put 

 the licence away, thinking it would not be my 

 fortune to need it again. But then I had a few 

 days with the trout at Craven Arms, where runs the 

 Onny. This is a tributary of the Teme, which in 

 turn is a tributary of the Severn. So the licence 

 served. It made me feel thrifty. Then, after 

 visiting in turn the Manifold, in Derbyshire, the 

 Border and Westmorland, I came back to the 

 Tern, and once more the Severn licence came 

 in. The long journeys seemed almost justified 

 because of the saving on the licence ! Then 

 came my October visit to Tenbury, for grayling ; 

 another trip to Craven Arms, for grayling this 

 time ; a journey to Cound in late November 

 the Severn licence albeit getting a bit tattered 

 franked me everywhere. A fragrant memory, by 

 the way, is the last trip, brightened by the 

 prospect of a chance grayling on the fords ; by 

 the anticipation of seeing old friends ; by the lure 

 of the cloud-effects in the Severn valley, which 

 in winter seem to me more wonderful at Cound, 

 with its wealth of woodland and fresh fields, than 

 in any place 1 know, unless it be Richmond Park 

 on a grey wintry afternoon with just an occasional 

 glimpse of sun. Also I wanted to see once more 



