Fly-Fifhing. 65 



The firft effort of the falmon in queftion, di- 

 rectly he found himfelf pricked, was to bound high 

 in the air, graceful, and glittering like filver to 

 fhow, perhaps, a faint fpecimen of his agility ! 

 How tender muft have been the hold of that little 

 rod how nice the calculation, to meafure out the 

 exa6l proportion of line, and no more how ad- 

 mirable the judgment, to hold on within a hair's 

 breadth of the refiftance that might fafely be ven- 

 tured on. After the fomerfet he had exhibited, 

 up rufhed the frightened fifh, to fee what fpeed 

 would do to free him from his foe. Faft flew the 

 fiftierman too, ftill keeping his rod on the utter- 

 moft bend it would bear without breaking, and the 

 line flrained within the fmalleft fraction it would 

 admit of. * * * * 



Some time had now elapfed, and ftill the fimerman 

 faw (it muft have been with aftonifhment) that all 

 was in his favour. The falmon took it into his 

 bewildered head to turn fhort round, and com- 

 mence (without abfolutely making down the ftream) 

 taking a zig-zag direction that way. Now was 

 the time to keep him, if poflible in his prefent in- 

 tention to humour him, as a fond mother would 

 humour a great, overgrown, obftinate boy, alter- 

 nately pulling and coaxing him, without exactly 



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