136 A DAY ON 
But somehow or other, in spite of the appearance of all 
these things, it was hard to believe that November had 
really come; for day by day, instead of fog and mist, the 
weather was fine and open, reminding one of September 
and October (or rather say what those months ought to 
have been), until at last I could stay in town no longer; 
therefore packed up my fishing paraphernalia and made 
tracks northward to have a turn at the grayling. 
Now. to those of my readers who are not initiated in the 
mystery of angling, I suppose I had better explain before 
proceeding further, what a grayling is. I will attempt 
therefore to do so. It isa fish highly esteemed, both for 
yielding excellent sport to the angler, and for its edible 
qualities ; but, unlike the generality of the finny tribe, it 
is only to be met with in some of our English streams,— 
the most noted being the Rye, the Wharfe, and the Yore, 
in Yorkshire; the Derwent, the Wye, and the Dove, in 
Derbyshire ; the Severn, the Teme, and the Lugg, in the 
Worcester district ; and the Itchin and the Test in Hamp- 
shire. On some of these rivers, especially the two last- 
named, they attain to a fair size, viz., 2 and 3lbs. weight, 
but on the Yore and the Wharfe a pound grayling is looked 
upon as being a good fish ; while one of l4lbs. is regarded 
as a monster. It is supposed that the monks of old brought 
them over to England from the continent, and as the streams 
containing them are usually found to have the ruins of a 
monastery situated upon their banks, the hypothesis seems 
a probable one. In appearance they are a slender, sym- 
metrical fish, covered with bright, silvery scales, having a 
sheen of green and purple hues upon them when freshly 
caught, and the smell of them is exactly similar to that of 
a cucumber ; an eminent writer on angling matters has 
described the trout as being the gentleman of the streams, 
and the grayling as the lady. I consider the comparison a 
very apt one. Grayling come into season with the autumn 
