THE RIVER GAULA 5 



have fallen during the past winter. Such re- 

 ports are disseminated by persons who have 

 a pecuniary interest in the prospects of the 

 angling season, and it is always possible that they 

 may have taken a rose-coloured view. But on 

 this occasion it is evident they have not erred. 

 As we leave the region of the outer fjords 

 with their low bare islands, and enter a land 

 of loftier hills and birch-girt cliffs, we find all 

 the higher summits still snow-clad ; and on 

 the northern slopes, which the sun has yet 

 hardly reached, there are great masses of snow 

 extending far down among the trees. There 

 has been a spell of hot weather for the last 

 week ; yesterday in Bergen the heat was that 

 of London in the dog-days ; and all the little 

 becks and rills are coming down in flood. It 

 is evident that we shall have to deal with a 

 big river. Other things being equal, a bigger 

 river as a rule means better sport. So we look 

 forward to a good year, and begin to talk of 

 fish in terms of thousands of pounds. It is 

 the habit of mankind 



"To swallow gudgeons ere they're catched, 

 And count the chickens ere they're hatched." 



As we round the last headland and approach 



