PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 147 



loosened and the expert angler instinctively recov- 

 ers any slack that may result from this movement, 

 so that by the time the fish is ready to descend, the 

 line is taut ; and unless this descent is followed by 

 a simultaneous dropping of the tip of the rod, such 

 a sudden strain on the line will ensue as to inevit- 

 ably either break something or tear out the hook. 

 The latter mishap was what befell me on this occa- 

 sion. The hook had caught in some tender place 

 in the mouth of the fish, strong enough to resist 

 any ordinary strain but not strong enough to re- 

 sist the pressure of a five or six feet plunge. No 

 fish ever afterward leaped with my fly that my rod 

 did not, in response, bow as promptly and as grace- 

 fully as the exigencies of the occasion required. 

 No lesson is harder to learn, because nothing in all 

 the angler's experience is so exciting as the spiteful 

 leaps of a hooked salmon. 



So, with the dashing rapids sparkling in the 

 sun, with the balmy atmosphere redolent with the 

 aroma of a thousand flowers, with the mountains 

 casting their giant shadows upon the ever-changing 

 landscape, with ten thousand birds warbling their 

 grateful anthems, with no fretting cares or bab- 

 bling intruders to jar upon the harmony of the 

 scene, my ten-mile ride home was inexpressibly 

 exhilarating. I can hope to experience no more 

 ecstatic emotions until I stand upon the banks of 



