438 



of tfoe 1Rofc, 1Rifle t an& (Bun 



from one bank to the other. In my transit through the 

 current, I found something like a sharp instrument 

 cutting the calves of my legs. I scampered ashore, 

 under the impression that I was trailing after me some 

 sharp toothed monster, perhaps a lamper eel ; when 

 upon passing down my hand to ascertain the fact, I 

 found to my great astonishment and delight, that I was 

 once more in possession of my lost line, hooks, fish and 

 all. The fish had fairly drowned each other, and by a 

 curious coincidence, were passively passing in the current 

 at the time my legs stemmed it." 



Here is a curiosity in angling which the author relates 

 of a fisherman whom he knew well in the service of the 

 Duke of Atholl : 



"'The Tay trout/ says John Crerar (I copy from his 

 MS.), ' lives in that river all the year round. It is a 

 large and yellow fish, with a great mouth, and feeds 

 chiefly on salmon-spawn, moles, mice, frogs, etc. A 

 curious circumstance once happened to me at Pulney 

 Loch. One of my sons threw a live mouse into it, when 

 a large trout took the mouse down immediately. The 

 boy told me what had happened ; so I immediately took 

 my fishing rod, which was leaning against my house 

 close to the loch, and put a fly on. At the very first 

 throw I hooked a large trout, landed it, and laid it on 

 the walk : in two seconds the mouse ran out of its 

 mouth, and got into a hole in the wall before I could 

 catch it,'" ~.-: 



From William Scrope's many exciting adventures with 

 salmon I select the following for quotation, because he 

 himself says that it was the finest bit of sport he ever 



