160 ANGLING. 



from a small lake on the north side of the county of Longford, 

 runs through the comity of Fermanagh, and falls into the ocean at 

 Donegal Bay. Many British anglers have considered the Erne at 

 Bally Shannon to be one of the very best salmon rivers in the 

 kingdom. A distinguished Liverpool angler caught, in 1834, 

 twenty large salmon in four hours and a half in this river. This 

 was a surprising feat. The gentleman does not wish me, through 

 delicacy, to^nake his name publicly known, t but I have the means 

 of substantiating the fact beyond all question. There is a great 

 variety of flies used on the Erne, some large and gaudy, others 

 small and dull. The fish here dp not seem to be very particular. 

 In the higher parts of the river, in the county of Cavan, the trout- 

 fishing is almost equal to the Tweed and this is saying a great 

 deal. There is no district in Ireland where a sportsman can spend 

 a week or two more pleasantly and successfully than on the 

 streams of the Erne. 



On the banks of this river, where there are some fine woods, 

 the scenery is exceedingly rich and interesting. We find at every 

 step a constant succession of small trees and shrubs which shelter 

 themselves beneath the larger sons of the forest, whose majestic 

 figures are beautifully and tastefully ornamented with climbers 

 running from tree to tree, and linked together, we would fancy, 

 by the hand of an amateur botanist. When the foliage is fully 

 developed in the month of June, the scene brings to your imagina- 

 tion some of the fictions of the " Arabian Nights," or some land of 

 fairy establishment. Nothing can surpass the luxuriance of the 

 view. We feel as if we could linger amidst these delicious shades 

 for months together, gazing on the interesting combinations of 

 light and shade. When we think of this place, the lines of Milton's 

 description of the Garden of Eden rush into our mind : 



" Over head up grew 

 Insuperable height of loftiest shade, t 

 Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm, 

 A silvan scene, and as the ranks ascend 

 Shade above shade, a woody theatre 

 Of stateliest view. 33 



The rivers Woodward and Crohan, in the county of Cavan, are 

 good trout streams, and will afford to the travelling tourist a few 

 days 3 good sport. The palmer and hackle flies will be found in 

 these streams, taking ones in the summer months of June and 

 July. Both these waters^ yield a plentiful supply of fine trout 

 after heavy rains in the height of the season. 



THE PROVINCE OP CONNAUGHT 



Contains the counties of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, 



