400 VERTEBRATA. 



l.oar an.l tlu' \"\, as a civatmr al-.v utility, and made siu-cially for sport. It is to all intents 

 iin<l imrposfs a fish of jm-y ; to this cii.l cvfiy part of its frame is adapted by the master hand 

 of iiatiiri'. "Tlie eloinratod f.-nii of his body," says Herbert, "tapering forward and aft with the 

 most u'radtially nirvatr<l lines, lik.- tlic mtrance and tlie van of some swift-sailino- banpie, cnabk-s 

 him to irli.l,. f"|ir.>iiirh the swift water in which lie loves to dwell, displacing its particles with the 

 least resistance; tlie powerful mnsck-s and strong branched rays of his broad and vigorous cau- 

 • laltin servo as a propeller, bv \\lii<'h he can command an immense degree of momentum and 

 velocitv. and ascend tlie sharpest rapi<ls. No one who has felt the arrowy rush of a fifteen 

 pound salmon, when strmdc with the l)arbe<l steel, will be inclined to undervalue his strength, 

 iiis speed, or his ai,nlity ; and the numerous and astonishing leaps -which he is capable of making, 

 to the iieiijlit of manv feet above the surface, either in attempting to rid himself of his hook, or 

 in surmounting obstacles t<» bis upward passage in the shape of dams, flood-gates, or cataracts, 

 prove the exceeding elasticity, vigor, and strength of his muscular system. 



"Tlie ])ro(li::ious power of sinew exhibited in the lithe and springy limbs of the quadrupeds 

 of prey of the fidine order, i^ not superior in its degree to that possessed by this, the veritable 

 monarch of the fresli-water fishes; nor are the curved fangs and retractile tah>ns more efficacious 

 instruments to the lion and the tiger for the seizure of their victims than are the fine rows of 

 sharp liookcd teeth with which the whole mouth of the salmon is bristled for the prehension and 

 detention of his slippery and active prey." 



One of the greatest charms of field-sports consists in breathing the fresh air amid the wilder 

 scenes of nature. In this respect fishing, especially river-fishing, has oven the advantage of 

 shooting and luinting, for it not only leads the sportsman amid the most picturesque scenery, 

 consisting of wood and water in every beautiful and fantastic combination of color, grouping, and 

 movement, but it allows, by its tranquil pauses, the soul to drink deep of the spirit of beauty 

 ever haunting such places. Izaak Walton understood all this, and Herbert graces his vivid de- 

 scriptions of the more active experiences of the fisherman with poetic lights and shadows, indi- 

 cating an appreciation of the emotions to which we allude. We shall take the liberty to quote 

 a passage from his Jasper St. Aubyn, which affords an admirable picture of salmon-fishing as ex- 

 ercised in the highest style of the craft : 



"All nature was alive and joyous; the air was vocal witli the piping melody of blackbirds and 



thrushes, caroling in every brake and bosky dingle The shadowy mists of the 



faint morning twilight had not been dispersed from the lower regions, and were suspended still 

 in the middle air in broad, fleecy masses, though melting rapidly away^ in the increasing warmth 

 and brightness of the day. A still faint blue line hovered over the bed of the long rocky gorge 

 which divided the chasm from the open country, floating about like the steam of a seething 

 cauldron, and rising here and there into tall, smoke-like columns, pi-obably where some steeper 

 culvert of the mountain stream sent its foam skyward 



"Once at the water's edge, the young man's tackle was speedily made ready% and in a few 

 minutes liis long line went whistling through the air, as he wielded the powerful two-handed rod as 

 easily as if it had been a stripling's reed, and the laige gaudy peacock-fly alighted on the wheeling 

 eddies, at the tail of a long arrowy shoot, as gently as if it had settled from too long a flight. 

 Delicately, deftly, it was made to dance and skim the cleai-, brown surface until it had crossed the 

 pool and neared the hither bank; then again, agreeable to the pliant wrist, it arose on glittering 

 wing, circled half round the angler's head, and was sent fifteen yards along, straight as a wild 

 bee's flight, into a little mimic whirlpool — scarcely larger than the hat of the skilful fisherman — 

 which spun round and round just to leeward of a gray ledge of limestone. 



" Scarce had it reached its mark before the water broke all around it, and the gay deceit van- 

 ished ; the heavy swirl of the surface as the break was closing, indicated the great size of the fish 

 which had risen. Just as the wave was subsiding, and the forked tail of the monarch of the 

 stream was half seen as he descended, that indescribable but well-known turn of the angler's 

 wrist fixed the barbed hook, and taught the scaly victim the nature of the prey ho had gorged 

 so easily. 



" With a wild bound he threw himself three feet out of the water, showing his silver sides, with 



