NATURE AND SPORT IN BRITAIN 



from my attendant, followed this shocking misfortune. 

 Poor Peter was full of apologies and distress ; the mis- 

 chief was done, it was no use crying over spilt milk, 

 and so, inwardly grieving over the loss of the first 

 grilse hooked that season, I resumed my progress up- 

 stream. 



Striking through the belt of woodland on my left, we 

 emerged, after a short but rough ascent, on the upper 

 part of the stream. A little way further on I was rejoined 

 by my fishing companion, who had killed four nice 

 white trout, risen a salmon, and captured a few 

 " brownies." 



The course of the stream now lay through a long 

 stretch of flat grass and bog-land. We therefore got 

 into a rough boat, and were pulled steadily along a 

 piece of stream which flowed quietly, somewhat like 

 a canal, through the smooth terrain. Beyond us the 

 country rose gradually, until checked by the wild, rough 

 moorland hills which towered upon the skyline. As we 

 were rowed we cast our flies on either side of the boat, 

 with the result that I took a nice white trout of a pound 

 and both my comrade and myself several good brown 

 trout. The wind was steadily freshening, and as we 

 emerged presently upon a sort of lake into which the 

 stream widened, our boatman had quite as much as he 

 could manage to keep his unwieldy, ill-found coble 

 moving. 



At length, after a row of two or three miles, we were 

 put ashore again below a small fall, beyond which the 

 boat could ply no further. Below these falls my fishing 

 friend hoped to get a salmon, but after trying every 

 pool with various lures, he had to resume his march 

 with the addition only to his creel of another good white 

 trout of about two pounds. Meanwhile, I had steadily 

 fished upstream, and although sport was not brilliant, 



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