TROUT 129 



succeeded in getting the landing-net under him 

 in time. He weighed 4J lb., and I have never 

 seen a finer fish, and never captured another in 

 such singular fashion. 



Those who are young and enterprising and 

 vigorous, will get more fun out of such wander- 

 ings than from the more settled and regular 

 pursuit of salmon. The quest of the trouts' 

 habitat will give them almost as much amuse- 

 ment as their capture when it is found ; the 

 dreary months spent away from Norway will be 

 enlivened by a continual study of the map, and 

 a calculation of altitudes and routes ; and the 

 secret of the Elysium, when it is discovered, will 

 be jealously guarded as a precious possession. 



July is quite early enough for such excur- 

 sions on the high fells. In June the trout are 

 still in poor condition, and the snow may still 

 cause difficulty in getting about. Even in July 

 it can be very cold of nights at an altitude of 

 three or four thousand feet. August is some- 

 times a good month in the higher regions, but 

 the northern summer is already beginning to 

 wane, and the northern night has lost its char- 

 acteristic charm. 



Even a quarter of a century ago, to get good 



I 



