GRAYLING. 109 



enjoyed their short reprieve, and " rose " with freedom 

 in blessed ignorance of the fate awaiting many of 

 them to-morrow. Big hip berries were plentiful in 

 the hedgerows, but haws were scarce, and did not 

 promise much bird food for the winter. 



Monday, Oct. 2ist. Another glorious morning, 

 precursor of another ideal day for the grayling. Wind, 

 very slight, north-easterly, but hardly perceptible ; 

 sky, heavy and leaden, admitting of no sunshine, but 

 refraining from sending down rain We, piscators, 

 were out early, but our Professor, while making allow- 

 ance for our juvenile enthusiasm, assured us there 

 would be no rise till about twelve o'clock, and that 

 the fish would all be down by four. " Red Spinner," 

 with a too scrupulous conscience, insisted on keeping 

 up his acquaintance with "the Shoulder of Mutton" 

 region, which he had so punished and depleted on 

 Saturday. He might, with his extraordinary skill, 

 have done much better lower down, but he did not do 

 badly, having at the end of the day accounted for 

 several brace of fine grayling, besides several large 

 trout, which had to be returned. 



The Major became a rover, but clung to the most 

 promising spots, and easily captured seven brace of 

 lovely grayling, two only of which weighed less than 

 I Ib. most of them nearer 2 Ib. besides two brace 

 of fine trout returned. 



The "A. A." fished with his usual skill and his 

 usual want of luck, but he finished up with two and a 

 half brace of really big grayling one of them 2 Ib. , 

 and the others of quite passable and respectable 

 dimensions. 



