i;8 LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES 



Strangely enough I was always in dread of hooking 

 a salmon in this pool, though in truth we never caught 

 or saw one in it. I had arranged beforehand with Ole 

 to lend me the support of his strong arm if I had some 

 day to follow a fish down from boulder to boulder, and 

 I am not ashamed to confess that on many occasions 

 both Ole, the gaffer, and Knut, the boatman, rendered 

 me assistance of this kind ; they hauled me up, and 

 lowered me down, and kept me from falling when I was 

 engaged in a fight with a fish. 



So far as the pool under consideration went this 

 emergency did not arise ; it yielded me nothing but 

 tired limbs, and a few precepts which may be useful to 

 brother anglers who cast from rocks, as, for example : 

 In moving about, keep your eye on the stones ; if you 

 support yourself with the gaff handle, make sure that 

 the end of it is not jammed in a crevice ; keep going 

 when stepping from boulder to boulder, as the swing 

 of regular advance is a greater help than occasional 

 pauses ; do not put down your rod save when actually 

 necessary, if you would do a friend's duty to it and 

 your winch ; keep on examining the point of your 

 hook ; do not be afraid of sliding down a rock that 

 cannot be otherwise travelled over, for in these days of 

 science the reseating of breeks is not impossible, and 

 any casual personal disfigurement that may ensue is 

 not likely to be obtruded upon the notice of even per- 

 sonal friends. 



The nearest bit of fishing to our honest farmhouse 

 gave us a charming landscape, and it was not reached 

 without some little difficulty. Just above the village 

 the rapids and fosses were finished by a broad pool 

 pouring over a fall, and creating the particular pool 

 about which something has been said. Then the river 

 opened out to a lake-like area from three to four hun- 



