172 How I Became a Sportsman. 



had in my life. At the end of the day I had 

 killed five and a half brace of fish, weighing 

 fourteen pounds, and did not forget to take up 

 a fair quota to the squire. 



When the May-fly came on I killed a great 

 many fish by dapping with the natural fly; but 

 I never caught one in this stream in any other 

 way than with the worm or the natural May- 

 fly ; indeed I do not think throwing a fly on 

 this water would have been possible, except in 

 a very few places. 



Worm-fishing in swift-running streams, with 

 Stewart's tackle, is quite an art of itself; and 

 many a good day I have had in the streams 

 running through those splendid woods near 

 Lidford in Devonshire ; and I have caught 

 many a good dish of fish in that way in that 

 extraordinary natural phenomenon, the cele- 

 brated Lidford Gorge. 



I had another stream, about four miles away 

 from this first place I mentioned, where I 

 subsequently obtained the sole right of fishing 

 for about two miles. This river was of a 

 different character : in places very deep, but in 

 others, where the water ran very sharp, there 

 were beautiful gravelly scours; and it was in 



