272 Salmon- Fishing. 



" Too sore enpierced with the shaft 

 To soar with its light feathers," 



and then he seeks a refuge underneath. In any 

 case, his first demand is usually for more rope ; and 

 the angler who would not that the first wild rush 

 should bring the captive off scot-free must be ready 

 to comply. 



It is difficult at first for one to form an accurate 

 idea of the size of the fish he has hooked, for the 

 play and vigour are not always in direct proportion 

 to the weight. A comparatively small fish, espe- 

 cially if newly run, may, at the first onset, afford 

 quite an unexpected display of strength, and by 

 his frantic efforts to escape, create a wrong impres- 

 sion of his bulk; while one of bigger frame may, 

 for a time, be patient under the rod, and seem to 

 acquiesce pleasantly in the arrangements made for 

 his despatch, until, goaded by the barbed steel or 

 exasperated by the incessant curb of the tackle, he 

 rises in all the majesty of his might, 



" With such power 

 As may hold sortance with his quality," 



threatening dire destruction to the weapons of war, 

 and filling the angler's soul with wild alarm. 



" Although," says " Ephemera," " a salmon or 

 grilse, fresh run from the sea, is larger and in 

 better condition than it will be after a few weeks' 



