184 THE VALLEY OP ENCHANTMENT 



fell within certain marks and the weather became ' a little 

 much warm.' Well, yesterday the wind went to the 

 south, the sun shone forth, salmon were plunging in 

 every stream, the river was pronounced to be in perfect 

 trim, aU boded for the best; yet last night from six 

 o'clock till ten, this morning from six o'clock till nine, 

 three rods have been plied, and all the choicest confec- 

 tions of Farlow and Jamie Wright displayed in vain ; and 

 not a single fish hangs in the larder. Great salmon rolled 

 and bounced and rose in that seductive ' head-and-tail' 

 fashion close round our flies, but sorry a one could we 

 induce to lay hold. 



While, then, the flavour of Scandinavian sport is 

 heightened by a due seasoning of uncertainty — an ele- 

 ment so essential to excitement — assuredly there is no 

 lack of the salt of danger. Not risk of life or limb : after 

 a man's tenth lustre has been added to the irrevocable, he 

 ceases to hanker much after that; but hazard of losing 

 a good fish after hooking it. There are places in the 

 Rauma, seductive lodges in the foss of Fiva (a couple of 

 miles lower down than the foss of Aamhoe), where you 

 may easily tempt a heavy salmon to the fly, thereby only 

 courting almost inevitable disaster. Other places there 

 are — the stream of Lsernesset, for example, just above the 

 said foss — where, at a certain height of water, the odds 

 are about three to two in favour of raising and hooking 

 a fish, and about five to three against landing him. The 

 river, reuniting at this point after dalliance round some 

 islands, swoops in a swift curve upon a sharp incline, and 

 shoots down into the roaring foss. Once fast in a fish, 

 there is only one chance of bringing him to the gaff- 

 namely, to steer him into a bay or back-water by sidelong 



