ALFHEIM, 1913 209 



over the precipice, and was glad to be able to note the 

 effect from below. I wished in vain for my camera 

 to take a snapshot. When the great rock pitched on 

 the cairn at the foot of the cliff a cloud of smoke 

 seemed to rise, and reminded me of the exceedingly 

 free paraphrase by which Pope professed to translate 

 the Sisyphus passage in the Odyssey : 



" The huge round stone, resulting with a bound, 

 Thundered impetuous down and smoked along the ground." 



There is nothing about either thundering or smoke 

 in the original Greek, but the words give quite a 

 correct impression of the sound and the sight. 



My lack of waders or knee-boots restricted me on 

 most of the lakes to a rather limited range. A com- 

 panion more suitably equipped got a good bag in the 

 shallows near the reedy banks, on an occasion when 

 I did little or nothing from the cliff. It was tantalis- 

 ing to leave many places unfished which I saw dimpled 

 with rises, which could have been reached by a wader 

 without going above the knee. I think I might have 

 been tempted to wade as I was, but for the fact that 

 I was very short of foot-gear of all descriptions. In 

 spite of this I thoroughly enjoyed my sport ; boat- 

 fishing is all very well for a change, but I infinitely 

 prefer fishing from the shore, especially in small lakes. 

 I soon get tired of sitting on hard board, and like to 

 wander about, and try to reach rising fish either with 

 wet fly or dry rather than to drift and " chuck and 

 chance it," or row and be rowed trailing a minnow or 

 fly. " Of sitting, as of all carnal pleasures, cometh 

 satiety at the last." So says the monk in Kingsley's 

 Hypatia, and I cordially agree with him. 



o 



