SEVENTH DAY.] GRA YLING. 181 



a half old very good for the table. I will land him 

 if possible. 



PHYS. There ! He is off ! 



HAL This happens often with grayling : their 

 mouths are tender, and unless the hook catches in the 

 upper lip, which is rather thick, it is more than an 

 equal chance that the fish escapes you. 



PHYS.- Here, I have another, that has taken the 

 stretcher, and as it is a larger hook, I hope he may 

 be held. He is likewise a larger fish but how oddly 

 he spins ! This, I suppose, must be owing to his 

 large back fin, by which the stream carries him round. 

 There he is : he has quite twisted my link ; it would 

 not be amiss to have swivels for this kind of fishing. 



HAL. It is a fish in good season, dark above, 

 fair below, and weighs, I should suppose, about 1 Jib. 



PHYS. As this is the first grayling I have seen of 

 my own taking, I must measure, weigh, and examine 

 him. 



HAL. We can do this hereafter. See, our fish 

 barrel : he can be kept alive till a more convenient 

 time of the day. 



PHYS- I am disposed to gratify my curiosity 

 immediately ; for to acquire information is at least as 

 interesting to me as catching fish. I shall kill him 

 by a blow on the head. He is not, I suppose, worth 

 crimping afterwards ? 



