98 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING. 



cluck not being dead, made a swim and a dive of it. 

 Long and dubious was the chase; but in the end I 

 descried his bill amongst the sedges, where he had 

 poked it up to take a little breath. Making a dexter- 

 ous snatch, I seized him underneath by the legs, — 

 Chinese fashion, with the exception of the pumpkin, — 

 and drew him loud quacking to the bank. When landed, 

 I squeezed my clothes a little, according to order ; but 

 I do not believe that benefitted my chilblains. 



At a rather more advanced period of my life I used to 

 make longfishing excursions, generally with prosperous, 

 but occasionally with disastrous results. I remember 

 well, when a pair of bait-hooks was to me a valuable con- 

 cern, I hooked two large black-looking trouts in a deep 

 pool at the same time. As I had to pull them several 

 feet upwards against the pressure of the stream, my line 

 gave way, and left me proprietor of a small fragment 

 only. For some time I looked alternatelyatmy widowed 

 rod and my departed fish ; which last were coursing it 

 round and round the pool, pulling in opposite directions, 

 like coupled dogs of dissenting opinions : Durum — sed 

 levius fit patientia. So I sat down with somewhat of a 

 rueful countenance, and began to spin with my fingers 

 some horse-hair which I had pulled that morning, at the 

 risk of my life, from the grey colt's tail. This being done 

 in my own peculiar manner, and my only remaining hook 

 being tied on with one of the aforesaid hairs, I continued 

 to follow my sport down the stream for about half a 

 mile. After the lapse of a considerable time, I had occa- 

 sion to cross bare-legged from one bank to the other. 

 In my transit through the current, I found something 



