A WHIT-MONDAY FISHING 263 



and game-like little fish, which we suspect to be, not 

 troutlets, but young salmon. In the larger pools which 

 hold the finest trout, it is often impossible to throw 

 away enough water to make the capture. 



The closing scene of the " fishing " was a swan-hunt, 

 in order to capture and shut up the royal birds, which 

 would have given little law to the young trout when 

 turned, tired and bewildered, into the strange waters of 

 the manor ponds ; and it was not until after much 

 manoeuvring and strategy that the swans were driven 

 from the water, and shut up, hissing and indignant, in 

 the pen which is reserved for such occasions. But 

 the fish soon become accustomed to the spacious waters 

 of their new home, and there thrive and grow fat, 

 until they fall victims to the rod, and form not the 

 least welcome of the " kindly fruits of the earth " which 

 a well-managed estate provides for its owner's table. 



In a similar enterprise in a different part of Somer- 

 setshire, at which the writer assisted, a number of fine 

 trout took refuge in a deep hole under the bank, where 

 the tips of their tails only would be reached by the 

 hands stretched to the utmost limit which the water 

 allowed,. >: One of the party, fired by the enthusiasm of 

 the moment, divested himself of all raiment, and lying 

 down in the water, drew out, one by one, the reluctant 

 fish. Meantime, the "water " became a thin red paste, 

 deeply coloured by the red marl of the district, and 

 when the successful bather emerged, he stood like an 

 interesting example of terra-cotta statuary, until a dip 

 in the mill-pool enabled him to resume his costume. 



