208 LINES IN PLEASANT PLACES 



caught by me without competing, or thinking of prizes ; 

 but I was proud to take the award when it was offered, 

 and had the amount laid out in tackle. Here was the 

 winch, after much service, accounting for a grilse in 

 Norway ! I now ran my fingers down the gut cast, 

 tested the knots, and began again. D. did not go 

 back to his rock, and while in the water, having de- 

 livered my cast, I was turning round to hand him my 

 tobacco pouch, when a furious pluck nearly brought 

 the rod-top to the water. But one manages these 

 things by instinct, and the whole-cane was arched like 

 a bow again, and, out of the water, now abreast, now 

 below, now away in the stream, leaped a sea trout. 

 He was the most restless of fishes ; the grilse had gone 

 through his campaign with severe dignity, but this 

 fellow played endless pranks, and led me a merry 

 dance down the pebbles, ending in the production of 

 the spring balance, and a register of z\ Ib. The sun 

 was out strong now, and I feared that the fun was 

 over. Never, however, leave off because of the sun 

 with sea trout ; no, nor with salmon either, though 

 only half or quarter of a chance is left you. I have 

 killed some salmon and plenty of sea trout, though 

 after much apparently hopeless toil, against all the 

 rules as to sun, wind, and cloud. I was recalling ex- 

 amples when the rod was made to quiver again, and 

 this time it was a sea trout of over ij Ib. I would not 

 degrade D. by allowing him to interfere, but walked 

 back and hauled the fish up a sandy spit, extracted the 

 hook, and weighed him myself, as I generally do. In 

 the next quarter of an hour I got three sea trout of 

 the smaller size, and weighed them en bloc, tied to- 

 gether, at 5 Ib. the leash. Breakfast was now fairly 

 earned, and in a fine state of perspiration and content- 

 ment I led the way home. 



