JULY 181 



Sod Ditch, but when fished from the right bank is known 

 as the Angler's Throw, just above a foss over which the 

 river discharges itself with much tumult. In this pretty 

 stream I had met a lively grilse, whereof the landing 

 occupied time out of all proportion to its dimensions, by 

 reason of the long and deep wading necessary to enable 

 the angler to get his fly over the lie of the fish when the 

 river is on the low side. When the water is heavy the 

 fish lie near the sides. There is more wading in the Erne 

 than in any water of similar length and volume that I 

 have ever fished. It is the practice for the gillie to 

 accompany his employer into the water, to guide him 

 along the practicable lines, which are often tortuous, and 

 could not be found out by a stranger. The current is 

 very strong in many places, and the angler, with the 

 water brimming under his arm-pits, is often grateful for 

 the support of a steady shoulder. To hook a strong 

 salmon from such a standpoint is far more nervous work 

 than it is from boat or bank. A false step at such a 

 moment ensures a thorough ducking ; and in such a place 

 as the Angler's Throw, where the river sweeps swiftly to- 

 wards a boiling gorge, there is added an exhilarating sense 

 of peril. A blunder here might easily cost a man his life. 



Some temperaments are impatient of over-sedulous 

 assistance ; those who remember Lord Randolph Churchill 

 will hear without surprise that he took his own line not 

 infrequently. The same impetuous temper which made 

 him throw up the seals of the Exchequer may be traced 

 in a scene described by Paddy Rogan. 



' Oh, but he was the kind-hearted gintleman,' said he, 

 no doubt with a suitable recollection of the scale of Lord 

 Randolph's douceurs ; ' and notorious fond of the fishing 



