502 icings ot tbe 1Rofc, IRifle, anO $un 



seven dozen of them, fair-sized, perhaps not in good 

 season. However, that went for nothing with me at 

 that time. I could notice that Mr. Stoddart was taking 

 at least two for my one. It was getting well on in the 

 afternoon when, all at once, he laid down his fishing-rod 

 and seemed to have given up the sport. I had also 

 made up my mind to leave and wound up ; and, being 

 curious to see his take, I came over the bridge down to 

 the Anna, and got over by the mill-lead sluice to where 

 Mr. Stoddart still was. I could hardly believe what I 

 there saw. His basket (a very large salmon one) was 

 filled, aye, crammed with trout. The weight could not 

 be less than a quarter of a hundredweight, and nearly 

 as many were lying on the bank, which he had begun to 

 strap up on a strong cord. Of course I expressed 

 surprise as well as admiration at the great catch, when 

 he quietly said, ' Man, if I had not been out of bait, I 

 could have killed as many more ; and to show you 

 something perhaps you never saw before, look here ! ' 

 He sat down by the river-side, and commenced washing 

 his hands, and I could see the trout actually nibbling at 

 his finger-ends a fact which had to be seen to be 

 believed. He told me many instances of the like, and 

 other strange experiences and feats of fishing which 

 seemed almost incredible. 



Another day, when angling on the same river, between 

 the Old Castle cast and Heiton Mill, another favourite 

 cast, I met Mr. Stoddart coming down. He was literally 

 clad with salmon and sea-trout ; his large hamper was 

 full, and five or six strapped on his rod hanging across 

 his shoulder and down his back, the perspiration stream- 



