52 THE SONG OF THE REEL. 



the latter fish namely, a desire to reach the higher portions of the 

 river and that, accordingly, she makes no attempt to jump the 

 weirs and other obstacles which the trout successfully confronts. 



We have discovered, furthermore, that the grayling, despite her 

 coyness, is not so easily " put down " as the trout ; and that, so 

 long as we kept well out of sight, and provided she had not felt the 

 sharp sting of our hook, the same fish would rise at our fly again 

 and again. 



We admit that, during the season of mists, annoyance is fre- 

 quently caused by leaves that have fallen into the stream adhering 

 to our flies ; but this inconvenience is more than counterbalanced 

 by the glories of these October days. 



Of the occasions on which we enjoyed moderate sport with the 

 grayling, there is one, in particular, that lingers in our memory. 

 That was a time when Nature was in her happiest mood, and the 

 beauty of our surroundings aroused our unstinted admiration ; when 

 we refreshed ourselves on the hillside with a fair landscape spread 

 out at our feet. How striking was the contrast the rich brown soil 

 of the ploughed fields opposed to the verdant pasture lands ! whilst 

 beyond the river the silent woods glowed with multifarious hues 

 russet, lemon, orange, purple and many others and a wondrous 

 carpet of fallen leaves already lay beneath the trees. We dallied 

 over our frugal meal ; and the poet of our party, in despair of finding 

 words sufficiently eloquent of his own to describe the magnificence 

 of the scene, had recourse to his memory, and poured forth that 

 passage from Longfellow : 



There is a beautiful spirit breathing now 

 Its mellow richness on the clustered trees, 

 And, from a beaker full of richest dyes, 

 Pouring neiv glory on the Autumn ivoods, 

 And dipping in warm light the pillared clouds. 

 Morn on the mountain, like a summer bird, 

 Lifts up her purple wing, and in the vales 

 The gentle ivind, a sweet and passionate ivooer, 



