PRECAUTION. 89 



fish at the end of one's line rushing down, he 

 is as good as lost. But I had now guarded 

 against the probability of such an accident 

 by substituting my long Macintosh overalls, 

 reaching upwards as high as the chest, sup- 

 ported over the shoulders by short braces, and 

 tightly fastened round the waist by a hempen* 

 cord to prevent the ingress of water to the lower 

 regions ; while thick, short, worsted socks, and 

 large, well-nailed brogues, buckled over them, 

 completed my equipment. 



Frequently since last week had I thought over 

 my late mishap, and mentally recapitulated every 

 incident that had occurred, and as often derived 

 consolation from the conviction, that, unless I 

 could have crossed the upper part of the rapid, 

 where Simon had failed in his attempt to clip the 

 salmon, or over the stream that cut me off on the 

 left, I could not have prevented the catastrophe. 

 All this was passing through my mind for the 

 hundredth time, as, after separating from A, 

 whom I left with Simon at a pool on the right 

 bank of the main current, I waded over to the 

 opposite side, a little above the scene of my former 



* I have found this better than a leather strap, as it tightens 

 when wet, whereas the latter becomes relaxed if saturated with 

 water. 



