SEVENTH DAY.] GRA YLING. 181 



a half old very good for the table. I will land him 

 if possible. 



PHYS. There ! He is off ! 



HAL. This happens often with grayling : their 

 mouths are tender, and unless the hook catches in the 

 upper lip, which is rather thick, it is more than an 

 equal chance that the fish escapes you. 



PHYS. Here, I have another, that has taken the 

 stretcher, and as it is a larger hook, I hope he may 

 be held. He is likewise a larger fish but how oddly 

 he spins ! This, I suppose, must be owing to his 

 large back fin, by which the stream carries him round. 

 There he is : he has quite twisted my link ; it would 

 not be amiss to have swivels for this kind of fishing. 



HAL. It is a fish in good season, dark above, 

 fair below, and weighs, I should suppose, about llb. 



PHYS. As this is the first grayling I have seen of 

 my own taking, I must measure, weigh, and examine 

 him. 



HAL. We can do this hereafter. See, our fish 

 barrel ; he can be kept alive till a more convenient 

 time of the day. 



PHYS. I am disposed to gratify my curiosity 

 immediately ; for to acquire information is at least as 

 interesting to me as catching fish. I shall kill him 

 by a blow on the head. He is not, I suppose, worth 

 crimping afterwards ? 



