274 ANGLING 



an average about three-quarters of a pound each. On 

 the second day I laboured at the streams, and with great 

 care, too, for full four hours, and never got a single rise ; 

 when, all of a sudden, a general movement took place 

 in every direction, both in streams and still water, and 

 in another hour I obtained fifteen; more varied, how- 

 ever, in size than those of the . day preceding, and 

 amounting to nearly the same weight. The black 

 palmer was the favourite to-day. From all I heard, I 

 was led to conclude that all the trout in this river are 

 rather uncertain and capricious in their tastes and 

 movements — a fact connected with their natural 

 history generally I have often had opportunities of 

 verifying, in reference to the fiimy tribes of our own 

 rivers in Great Britain. 



"I was not successful in hooking one of the small 

 species of salmon {saumoneau) which are to be found 

 in the Eille, and which, writers on natural history say, 

 are only to be found here and in the Ehine. I had the 

 good fortune, however, to see one of these rare fish in 

 the basket of an English gentleman,, who had caught 

 it near Montfort, a delightful locality of the Eille, on 

 which the grey walls of the castle of Hugh de Montfort 

 still stand, which withstood a thhty days' attack from 

 our Henry I., in the year 1122. 



"The river Rille, at Pont Audemer, is divided into 

 several branches, when it arrives at the town, which 

 contains about five thousand inhabitants. But in all 

 the divisions of the stream, and even within the 

 confines of manufacturing works, trout of good size and 

 fine flavour are to be had. I killed two very fine ones 

 close to a mill-race. 



" I set oif in a day or two after for Pont VEveques, on 

 the river Touques, a very fine stream. Here I tried 

 minnow, though not a favourite bait with me, and 

 caught some fine trout, during about two hours I 

 wandered by the sides of the river. I then put on fly, 

 but met with but indifferent success. The fish were 

 rising here and there at, apparently, a very small gnat- 

 fly ; but with all the care I could exercise, they obstin- 



