112 RUN WITH A TKOUT IN BEEAMISII. 



moved. My own plan, under such circumstances, is still 

 to maintain a very slight strain on the line during the 

 upward spring of the fish, and relax it gradually as he 

 descends towards the water; therefore, I never for a mo- 

 ment suffer the line to become entirely slack, and thus 

 guard against the hook being thrown out of its hold ; 

 while the line is sufficiently eased to prevent its snap- 

 ping, should the fish happen to strike it with his tail, or 

 fall across it on his return to the water. 



Finding my friend's tactics too many for him at this 

 game, his next dodge was to descend to the bottom of 

 the water, and endeavour to rub out the obnoxious barbs 

 against the stones and gravel in the bed of the stream ; 

 but the stubborn elasticity of his enemy's rod again 

 put its veto upon the success of this movement. He 

 now commenced prancing round in circles, cutting 8- 

 figures, dancing down the middle and up again, and 

 going through other eccentric figures in this exciting 

 contra-dance ; till, after a determined contest of nearly 

 a quarter of an hour between fish and fisher, during all 

 of which my friend manoeuvred with the most con- 

 summate skill, the sturdy finster was at length obliged to 

 succumb to the superior generalship of his antagonist ; 

 and finally; laying his beautiful star-spangled side and 

 quivering fins broadside on the surface, was triumphantly 

 hauled ashore upon the shelving gravel ; when, reeling 

 up the line to less than the length of the rod, my friend 

 was enabled with safety to stoop and grasp his victim 

 with the left hand, without relaxing the spring of the 

 rod, which was still upon the bend, and elevated above 



