4 Salmon Fishing. 



donor had gratuitously bestowed upon me as 

 a boon, it would have given me the greatest 

 pleasure to surrender my rod to him, if possible, 

 for a day or two. Nor was the willingness 

 on my part any great stretch of personal self- 

 denial. I have never, either with a gun, or a 

 rod, had the smallest inclination to be a butcher 

 in my sport. The mere fact of killing birds, 

 or fish, unaccompanied by collateral circum- 

 stances, would soon sicken me, as a child is 

 sickened by a surfeit of sweets. " A hot corner" 

 in shooting, for instance the " ne phis ultra" 

 with so many ; Oh, defend me from the 

 delights of such sport as this ! And the 

 turnips and stubbles tramped over in un- 

 broken ranks, each one who composes them 

 burning to beat his neighbour; Oh, the jolly 

 days of yore, when often with one companion 

 and a brace of dogs I used to sally out armed 

 with the dear old muzzle loader, and walk, 

 "ad libitum? hour after hour, well satisfied with 

 a bag of two or three brace of birds, and a hare, 



