32 GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL. 



in the recesses of the lower river, where he looked 

 ' for ail the world as big as a calf/ would tempt 

 me to sally forth with the approved paraphernalia 

 of trolling, to endeavour to capture one of these 

 monsters of the deep, who, I was assured, had 

 baffled the arts of every previous visitor, and was 

 destined to become a trophy of ' my honour's 

 superior skill/ But although well aware that 

 these leviathans existed only in the excited ima- 

 gination of my informants, yet as their reputed 

 whereabouts lay in the immediate vicinity of the 

 falcon's retreat, I used to listen with apparent 

 credulity to these pleasing fables ; and if I failed 

 to land a larger fish than any of my predecessors, 

 yet I obtained at least the reputation of possess- 

 ing a greater share of those indispensable qualifi- 

 cations of an angler, patience and perseverance. 

 One afternoon especially I remember, when tired 

 with want of sport, I found myself close to the 

 spot where I had witnessed the last performance 

 of the peregrine. Having waded into many parts 

 of the stream during the morning, I had now the 

 less hesitation about venturing into the sedges ; 

 so converting my trolling-rod into a beater's stick, 

 I walked boldly into the swamp, and flushed 

 several ducks, wigeon, teal, and a few pochards ; 

 pausing every now and then, when an opportu- 

 nity occurred, to take a reconnoitring glance 



