SPORT AMONGST THE MOUNTAINS 243 



the whisky especially being undeniable and insinu- 

 ating, and " divil a headache in a hogshead of it." 



But I am to say something about salmon-fishing. 

 Faith, it's difficult to say anything new about it, 

 inspiring and exciting theme though it be. The 

 rationale of it I utterly renounce. We know pretty 

 well why a trout takes an artificial fly. It is a toler- 

 ably correct imitation of a natural insect, which is 

 the natural food of our spotted friend ; and the 

 different flies wliich are used on different waters, 

 and during the various months, are constantly 

 changed to correspond with the proper insects 

 frequenting each locality at each period. Of 

 course, this is reasonable enough. A trout is 

 lying on the look-out for flies, and something 

 comes floating down the stream towards him, 

 which so closely resembles his natural food, that 

 he sees no earthly (or watery) reason to sup- 

 pose it to be unwholesome, and he takes it, and — 

 it disagrees with him. But why on earth a salmon 

 should ever make such a fool of himself as to jump 

 at a huge, gaudy arrangement of feathers, fur, silk, 

 &c., which is not an imitation of anything " in the 

 heavens above or the earth below, or the waters under 

 the earth," the nearest approach to a faithful simile 

 for which would seem to be an imaginary cross be- 

 tween a humming-bird and a butterfly, altogether 



