A Visit to Troutbridge 159 



of English sport. The first rush of the 

 salmon is imperial ; and a thrill of delight 

 will seldom be wanting when the sportsman 

 brings down cleverly the one woodcock ol 

 the day, or scores with a diiEcult right and 

 left on the first of September. But let me 

 handle the ten-foot rod bent double by a 

 three-pound trout in perfect condition in 

 may-fly time ! I know of no sporting 

 sensation equal to it. 



By seven o'clock the hatch of fly and the 

 rise of trout seem to be over for the day. 

 Not a solitary may-fly is to be seen where 

 there were scores sailing down stream and 

 fluttering out into the fields an hour since : 

 and the stream is as a fishless one ; not a 

 single trout even of the sprat size can be 

 espied near the surface. ' No more good 

 to-day!' you who know not the beauty 

 and the glamour of the Clear as the still 

 June night draws in, may exclaim. Perhaps 

 you have scruples against angling in the 

 semi-darkness, or more likely have ordered 

 dinner at the inn for eight o'clock sharp. 



