THE BARON. 145 



pledged to meet the Baroness at the Falls of Niagara. But 

 we had already spent more than six weeks in going from 

 river to river, and had been encamped for more than a 

 fortnight on the banks of the beautiful Mingan, where the 

 water becoming low, and the sport slack, we resolved to 

 turn our faces homewards ; and so with sorrowful hearts 

 struck our tents, and conveyed our traps to the yacht* We 

 found the wind blowing very fresh, exactly in our teeth, 

 with a heavy sea rolling, so that it would have been useless 

 to make sail. The next day was dark, the wind had gone 

 down, the air was calm, but the mighty waves " curling 

 their monstrous heads," like girls preparing for a ball 

 came tumbling into the mouth of the harbour, and with 

 their hoarse voices plainly forbade us to go to sea. Where^ 

 upon the Captain and I resolved to have one cast more for 

 a salmon, and proceeding to the pools, passed a delightful 

 afternoon, killing on that little sandbank, which neither of 

 us will easily forget, five fresh-run, short, and beautiful 

 fish of 12, 15, 17, 19 and 21 pounds weight. Whilst 

 we were on our way down the river, returning to the 

 schooner, we overtook the Commissioner in his canoe : he 

 had also killed his fish, was in good spirits, and gave us a 

 most animated account of the Baron's anxiety to be off. 

 Upon which we formed a conspiracy to propose the recon- 

 struction of our camp, near the junction of the two rivers, 

 in order to try his temper and have a laugh at him. 



Dinner was come and gone, the Baron was dejected and 



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