TREATISE ON FLY-FISHING. 95 



be guided within a few feet of the boat, the well 

 directed gaff was ready for its deadly purpose ; 

 in another second, the fish would quiver on the 

 barb, when in a twinkling, the promised prize 

 darted off with renewed energy, and rushing 

 down the river, passed beneath the centre arch, 

 and could be seen on the other side, struggling 

 against the stream and the steady line of his oppo- 

 nent ; the man holding in his right hand his trusty 

 rod, slipped with his left, the rope which kept his 

 boat in her position, which quickly followed in 

 the fish's wake, when as a last effort, the salmon 

 doubled upon its pursuer, and darted through the 

 second arch from that which the boat had just 

 entered ; the line came of course in contact with 

 the pier, the fish gave one desperate plunge, the 

 next moment the line floated lightly on the surface 

 of the water. The man cast his rod in anger on 

 the bottom of his boat, looked daggers at the 

 laughing crowd above, and quitted the scene of his 

 disappointment, to seek better fortune elsewhere. 



