Salmon Fishing. 189 



with the knife, and I cut the fish into three 

 pieces to be distributed in the cottages at hand, 

 the astonishment at my proceedings burst out 

 into a continuous buzz of excited conversation, 

 and not a little merriment, I am afraid, at my 

 expense. 



To one of an excitable temperament salmon- 

 fishing is not seldom attended with considerable 

 danger. A well-known Dean in the West of 

 England once told me, that when he fished 

 certain rivers in Scotland, he thought it prudent 

 to have a rope round his waist, with the other 

 end of it in the hands of his attendant, lest, 

 when engaged in a fight, his ardour might carry 

 him further than he cared to go. I never had 

 the pleasure of watching this dignitary of the 

 church at work with his rod, but to judge 

 from his resolute bearing, and fearless ex- 

 pression of thought, no matter in whose presence, 

 it would be a rich treat to see him engaged with 

 a strong, active fish. 



Far different would such a spectacle be at the 



