SALMON REELS 127 



himself in a swimming posture, and wriggle away 

 near the deep water. In fact, had there been but 

 one inch of water more over the sand bank, he would 

 have had it all his own way. Philip, aware of the 

 danger, set at him with redoubled activity, kicking 

 his fastest and best. But the event being still 

 doubtful, he knelt down and grappled with him ; 

 and finding him still slippery and elusive, he cast 

 himself bodily upon him, and fixed him with his 

 weight at once : ' Toto certatum est corpore 

 regni." So thought he of Macedonian appellation ; 

 but he did not express himself in such terms, being 

 a man of no clerk-like capacity : whatever he might 

 have thought, he only said, looking up with a grin 

 of delight and with a Wiltshire accent, " I got un 

 be hanged if I ha'nt." 



A cold bath for a few minutes more or less is of 

 no consequence ; so I made him remain a space, 

 like ^Etna pressing upon the shoulders of Enceladus, 

 till I came up and gripped the huge salmon by 

 the tail, and walked to dry land with him, 

 triumphant. 



I was nearly three hours in killing this fish, all 

 owing to the derangement of a multiplying reel ; and 

 as this contrivance, though useful enough in our trout 

 rivers, will by no means answer with very large fish, 

 I have mentioned the above occurrence in detail as 

 a warning to others. 



After this time I caused to be made some large 

 single reels, nicely constructed, so as to give the line 

 out evenly, and not run too slackly ; and I directed 

 that the cylinders should be of a very ample circum- 



