CHAPTER III 



ON THE ITHON 



"That mysterious delight of pursuing an invisible 

 object, which gives to hunting and fishing their unutter- 

 able and almost spiritual charm ; which made Shakespeare 

 a mighty poacher; Davy and Chantrey the patriarchs of 

 fly-fishing, by which the twelve foot rod is transfigured 

 into an enchanter's wand potent over the unseen wonders 

 of the water-world to ' call up spirits from the vasty deep ' 

 which will really come ' if you care for them,' at least if 

 the conjuration be orthodox and they there." CHARLKS 

 KINGS LEY, Yeast. 



August, 1903. 



[EVEN years ago I fished the Ithon 

 round about Llandrindod Wells, 

 and I told the story of it in "An 

 Old Man's Holidays, 1898." That 

 was to me a very interesting trip, although the 

 fishing part of it was not of an exciting nature, 

 and did not result in any success to speak of. 

 It was a chubby river then, and chub thrive in 

 it now. The part of it which I fished then was 

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