A Year of Liberty, Or, Salmon Angling in Ireland, From February 1 To November 1 by W. Peard (1867)

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YEAil OF LIBERTY.
mh]<fmi7m;.]d~î)ir.'i^[tib:imi^^^^
Samuel Mmtstim MarFarlmid
"
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
î.-ij^'
A YEAR OF LIBERTY.
YEAR OF LIBERTY;
OR,
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND
FEBRUARY 1 TO NOVEMBER 1.
BY
LONDON:
HORACE COX, 346, STRAND, W.O.
1867.
f^
LONDON :
VRINTKD BY IIORACK COX, 340, STRAND, W C.

PREFACE.
The "Yeab op Libebtt," is as nearly as possible what the title
imports namely, a period of recreation after toil. During many

entire seasons the Author, rod in hand, had rambled over the length
and breadth of Ireland, seeing much and learning much, on all
matters connected with his favourite sport. With the advantage

of past experience, he again visited the island in 1865, pausing for a
time at nearly all the first-class salmon rivers and lakes, arriving
at each when in the highest order for angling. This plan often
necessitated passing more than once through districts previously
traversed, but as sport was the primary object of his visit, this
was of little moment, for what was lost in order was more than
compensated by success.
Whatever faults the work may possess, the writer at least lays
claim to accuracy. That which he saw, he endeavoured to describe
faithfully, and any reader who follows in his steps, and visits the
various waters at the periods referred to, may safely calculate on
sport.
It does not, however, necessarily follow that statements which
were true in 1865, should be so in 1867, for the constant tendency

'
VI. PBEPAOB.
of the annually increasing passion for angling, is to convert open into
private waters. This spirit of exclusiveness prevails more in Scot-
land than in the sister kingdom, where, however, each year closes
some station that was previously free to the wandering sportsman.
The beneficial influence of the Fishery Act of 1861 is also fertile
in changes ; converting, rapidly and surely, bad streams into good
ones. Everywhere through the land salmon are on the increase,
not merely as regards numbers, but also as respects size, and in
the few rivers where artificial propagation has been steadily and
systematically followed that increase has been great indeed.
Whilst in Canada and the United States the king of fish is day
by day becoming more scarce, in Great Britain it is growing more

numerous.
Halcyon days are in store for the rising generation of anglers ;
and should one of these, faint and weary from the battle of life,
stumble on this volume, then probably long forgotten, may he do
as I have done, and gain new strength for the combat, through the
healing influence of a second "Yeae of Libeety."

W. P.
June, 1867.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Page.
Private and Confidential Arrival at Lismore Misgivings Fish in the
River Throw Tendency of the Black water to get out of
Scholar's
Order "Show you the River, sir ?" The Bony Horse Unexpected
Fresh A Walk in the Woods Ara Glen Operations Resumed The
Lessee Sport for the Week Expenses. 1
CHAPTER n.
Choice of a Profession Spring Flies The Round Hill The Last Chance
The Finesk The Valley of the Bride At Home in the Evening
Awful Deficit, and the Occasion thereof 7
CHAPTER IIL
Between Lismore and Fermoy On to Elillarney Cost of Journey The

Flesk Flies of the Neighbourhood Trolling on Lough Guttane
Remarks What might be done, and how to do it 12
CHAPTER IV.
Sporting Expenses What they are, and what they might be A Dry
Sketch of the Lakes and Rivers of the District Trolling for Salmon,
or much Ado about Nothing Cross-lines Departure The Laune
Killorglin to Carra 17
CHAPTER V.
Rosbeigh The Beigh Carra River The Lake "My Autt's Legacy"
Glen Carra The Great Unknown ... ... ... ... ... 21
CHAPTER VI.
Waterville Concerning the Lake How we got there and what we did ... 27
VUl. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII. Page.
WatervilleDerrynane Spring Equinox Below Bridge Lake in
Summer The Coach before the Horses " Maiden Trout" Qualms of
Conscience Experience 31
CHAPTER VIII.
I go, but under protest Cummeragh River Distant View of the Inny
Lakes Certain Local Matters the Reader ought to know Ogham
Inscriptions Limerick The Old Hookmaker Doonass How we got
toSligo 37
CHAPTER IX.
Our Hobbies Morning Walk Sligo Mathew the Great The Drought
begins to tell Waters of the Neighbourhood Going a-fishing Lough
Gill The Angler's Duty Advice to a dear Countryman Off for
Lough Melvin 43
CHAPTER X.
Lough Melvin A Week at Garrison What the Drought did Permission

Irish Follower Advantages as a Station Head Waters Inhabit-
ants of the Lake The Great Middle Class Trying our Luck De
Omnibus Rebus ^Leaffrom an Old MS. ^We cry for Mercy 48
CHAPTER XI.
Why certain People are neglected The Lake Islands ^Woodcocks and
Ducks Our Last Day History of the Week The Camp is
^Trolling
broken up, and we march on Derry Willie goes Home Lough Swilly 64
CHAPTER XIL
What's in a Name ? Walking in the Mist, and Floundering in the Mud
A very rough Sketch of the Capabilities of Donegal Not knowing,
can't say Lough Fern Grand Day on the Leannan Greenon Hill
Doings for the Week 60
CHAPTER XIII.
The Bush Dulce Domum From Derry to Portrush What the Birds
said We sail Home, make Casting Linos and Flics, mend Rods, go to
the River, and get paid for the Job Pounds, Shillings, and Pence ... G7
CONTENTS. IX.
CHAPTER XrV. Page.
The Bnah- From tho Soa to tho Leap Rod-making Hoadlanda Wo

row up tho Bann Throo Days consecutive Angling at Spring Tides
Laggandrade Letter from Lismore Wo go to Lough Neagh ... 73
CHAPTER XV.
In which there is not a Word about Salmon Fishing Toom Bridge
Lough Noagh Antrim Two Days' Trouting Business calls me to
Dublin Old Lodgings Tackle Shops The South Wall We arrive
at MuUingar Fine Weather not ruinous to Belvidere The Lake
District 79
CHAPTER XVI.
He gets his Leg over the Traces MuUingar Its Market Population
Walk to the Lake The size of its Fish as compared with those of
Dereveragh and Lough Owel The Blow Line Mode of using it We
drift, and what wo do Cooking A dead calm Improving the Occa-
sion We talk Generalities, take to Roach Fishing, and determine to go
to Dereveragh next Morning 87
CHAPTER XVII.
Contains nothing about the Killing, though a good deal concerning the
Curing of Salmon The Day ends better than it promised 93
CHAPTER XVIII.
We go to Castle Pollard Fish Dereveragh for two Days Return to
MuUingar and Belvidere Visit our old Acquaintance Lough Owel
And set out for Boyle 100
CHAPTER XIX.
Irish Ruins Church Islands Things in General Boyle Lough Gara
Lough Key Lough Arrow Prophetic of Good We go to the Erne 108
CHAPTER XX.
The Erne -Early Morning The Bridge A " great' Misfortune Subse-
quent Success The Colonel discourses Draughting under the Falls.. IIG
CHAPTER XXL
A Piscatorial Republic
"
The Bank of Ireland
"
Moss Row The
" Luck's "
Captain's Throw The Lost Gaff AH 125
X. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXII. Page.
Ballyshannon Salmon Leap White Trout Êvening The Grass Yard

How Pat was brought to Life The Colonel Tries on his Boots, and
John doth a Tale unfold 134:
CHAPTER XXm.
The Colonel takes Command of an Expedition Through many Dangers
we arrive safely at Beleek, and troll on the Lake for anything we can
catch After Mess the Crew cut their Sticks, but subsequently return
to Duty A desperate Character Westward Ho ! 141
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ballysidere Its Fishery and Fishing 149
CHAPTER XXV.
Ballina The Tideway 158
CHAPTER XXVI.
Ballina The Scribe doth a Tale unfold Up the River, with manifold
Reminiscences of " Down the Water," illustrative of what may be done
on the Moy under favourable Circumstances Hypothesis 167
CHAPTER XXVII.
" "
Up the River Unexpected arrival of the Colonel He dis-
Pontoon
courses in the small hours A week on Lough Conn Departure for
Galway 175
CHAPTER XXVni.
Galway 186
CHAPTER XXIX.
Spiddal Costello Screebe Furnace Kilkerran Bay Birterbury Bay
Roundstone Ballinahinch Clifden View from Urrisbeg 195
CHAPTER XXX.
Early Morning Up before theSun Autumn The Evening fulfils its
Promise A Breeze Journey to Kylemore A Day on the Lake
Doings for the Week Leenane The Killeries Delphi The Errive
Drive to Westport The Reek, and what we saw there On to
Newport 203
CONTENTS. XI.
CHAPTER XXXI. Page.
The Big House Head-quarters at Newport Advantages of our Position

in Wet and Dry Weather Newport River Burrishoole, Tyrena
Pleasant Dreams Michael O'Leary's Board Early Start An Inn
amongst the Mountains Breakfast A Day after my own Heart, the

Dawn of which is only shown in the present Chapter 213
CHAPTER XXXII.
A Day after my own Heart Dinner by Proxy The Spoils Night
Patredivivus 222
CHAPTER XXXIII.
After a lazyDay on the Banks of the Beltra, we become more lazy still ;
abandon our Duty in a shameful Manner, and go Sight-seeing to the

Island of Achil 230
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Aehil Taken Captive Western Village New Style of Trolling Inn Bill
Tyrena in
"
The Dry Season " Father Ned Perseverance Erica
Mediterranea Carrig-a-Binniogh A Quiet Evening Under the
Stars 237
CHAPTER XXXV.
Donegal We lodge by the Castle A Morning Walk to Mount Charles
The River StrongRun after the Netting Season The Blacksmith
attends our Summons A ministering Angel Return in a Deluge, and,
the lost One being found, the Bells are set a-ringing! 243
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Donegal Lough Esk A Journey through the Wilderness 254
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Gweedore Poison Glen Dunlewey Lakes Arigle Valley of the Claddy
" "
Angling Regulations Waters of the Neighbourhood The Middle
Lake A Mountain Storm Old Dan 262
CHAPTER XXXVm.
Expectation The Myrtle Grove In at the Death Ruined Cabin An
Impostor Down to Bunbeg Gweedore River, and how to get there
Mountain Lake We set out on a long Journey, but say nothing about it 271
XU. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXIX. Page.
Old Ground The Major di3course3 about Prawns Snipe-shooting

Autumn Surf Old Gun On the Mountain Banks of the Cummeragh
My Friend's Yacht We anchor the Horse, and launch forth on the
Lower Lake Black Trout Upper Lough Red Salmon We leave off
in the Dusk, and go home in the Dark 280
CHAPTER XL.
The last Act The Inny in order Disinterested Advice The Major dis-
tinguishes himself Grand Total Homewards De mortuis The
wind-up Vale 28C
APPENDIX.
A Tourist-Angler's Guide 292
A \rj? A ry
EREATA.
"
,^0 7, line 1, for " profession," read professional."
"
48, omit the word whose."
6,
" " constitute."
97, 2, constitutes," read
for
" "
102, last line but one, for produce," read proceed."
" " her."
169, line 4, for here," read
" "
169, for
28, Tom's," read spite of Tom's."
spite
" that " some impression.'
172, 9, for impression," read
" " wares."
190, 14, for ware," read
" into."
208, 27, for "in," read
for " read "into."
222, 4, in,"
4, for
"
strides, intent," read " strides. Intent."
227,
^ ....^ mmm^ vm VMVirU tlX lOW lOX ilU IIUUIU. X IIQ

Salmon Act 1862 was at length in full operation.
of Queen's
gaps" where no such royal roads previously existed, increased
\ weekly close-time, together with the progressive demolition of
"fixed engines," promised great things, as I lay awake on that
blessed morning, thinking the dull dawn would never brighten
into day. Though nearly dark, the sun was shining on a world
of my own, for I was free free to come ;
free to
go free to ;
wander over delicious mountains, or rest by the sparkling river,

and there drink in new life from the contemplation of an eternal
youth, as fresh and bright as when the morning stars first sang
together.
So many doubts and fears crowded the space between hope and
fruition, that it seemed difficult to believethat tlê firs^ 4ay of my
XU. CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXIX. Page.
Old Ground The Major discourses about Prawns Snipe-shooting

Autumn Surf Old Gun On the Mountain Banks of the Cummeragh
My Friend's Yacht We anchor the Horse, and launch forth on the
Lower Lake Black Trout Upper Lough Red Salmon We leave off
in the Dusk, and go home Dark
in the 280
A YEAR OF LIBERTY.
CHAPTER I.
Private and Confidontial Ai'rival at Lismore ^Misgivings Fish in the River

Scholar's Throw Tendency Blackwator to get out of Order
of the
"Show you the River, sir?" The Bony Horse Unexpected Fresh A
Walk in the Woods Ara Glen Operations Resumed The Lessee Sport
for the Week Expenses.
)HERE was no happier man in Her Majesty's dominions than

51 I, on the morning of January 30, 1805. During the pre-
vious sixteen years, I had passed fifteen entire angling
seasons in Leland but in the last I had been less fortunate,
;
circumstances having bound me a close prisoner at home. The

Salmon Act of 1862 was at length in full operation. "Queen's
gaps" where no such royal roads previously existed, increased
weekly close-time, together with the progressive demolition of
"fixed engines," promised great things, as I lay awake on that
blessed morning, thinking the dull dawn would never brighten
into day. Though nearly dark, the sun was shining on a world
of my own. for I was free free to come ;
free to go ;
free to
wander over delicious mountains, or rest by the sparkling river,
and there drink in new life from the contemplation of an eternal
youth, as fresh and bright as when the morning stars first sang
together.
So many doubts and fears crowded the space between hope and
fruition, that it seemed difl^cult to believe that tlje first 4av of my
"
-^ ^
2 A YEAE OF LIBERTY; OR,
year of liberty had actuall}- come, and was no longer a poi'tion

of the uncertain future, but a present fact, a glorious reality.
With the cause of this happy consummation it is unnecessary to
trouble the reader. After all, who cares what it may be? The
other day my next-door neighbour ran away, and never told me the
reason. Some men fly from their debts as birds before snow one
has been jilted, another runs from matrimony. Sickness, care, ennui,
are all travellers but I go without fear of duns or dishonour,
;
whole in heart and sound of limb, and here stand in the street
to watch for the 'bus, as happy and foolish as any man could wish
to be.
As the reader will accompany us during the season, it is only fair
to tell him something of his compagnons du voijage. The party con-
sists of four persons a lady and her maid, your humble servant and
his man, who, besides being a master in all the mysteries of tackle,
officiates as valet to please me, and does much amateur cooking to
please himself.
In this practical age, as men care more for facts than fancies, it is
only necessary to say we left home on the morning of January SO,

and reached Lismore, via Bristol, Waterford, and Caliir. on the
following evening. A few lights twinkled in the shops as we drove
to our lodgings in the Mall, rejoicing not a little in the prospect of
food, rest, and fire, after a journey of thirty-six hours. . . . And

now, my dear sir, draw a chair to the side of this sparkling fire of
turf and bogwood, for, as I hope to take you with me, it is only right
to tell you my plans.
I propose, then, to visit most of the spring rivers and lakes in this
beautiful land, passing from one to another as circumstances may

render advisable, with the general design of working from the south,
to the extreme north of the island. In the three or four weeks which
we shall enjoy many plea-
divide the salmon from the grilse, I hope
sant days with the trout; and from June, we shall hold a roving
commission, hoist sail, and steer where water, wind, and weather
promise most.
Punctually at seven on the following morning Willie brought hot
f?ALMON ANQLINO IN IRELAND. 3
watt^r to niv dressiiig-room between the thumb and forefinger of

liis left hand was a fly read}' for winging.
<
You are early at work."
"Ned Ray has been here this half -hour, sir ; we have been to the
river, and our flies are rather large for the water."
I had studied the face before me years enough to read it with
tolerable accuracy there was something wrong. "Well, what /.s^
the matter ?"

"I seen it this moniing, and don't like it."
"Seen it seen what? Where was it? What was it like? What
' '
on earth do you mean ?
" Tlie master 'twas the pools I seen, and they a'n't as they
pools,
used to be."
"
Nonsense, Willie you know that twenty-eight stake-nets out of
;
thirty are gone from the estuary of course there must be double the
number of fish; so make haste and get breakfast." We were soon
out. The distance to the river, though only a few hundred yards,
will yet affordtime to say something of the fish before we get there.
Besides clean and foul salmon, the Blackwater, now and for the next
six or seven weeks, holds large numbers of fine fish, neither foul nor
fair, coming up to spawn. These are of all shades in short, they

are exactly in the condition of those which you and I, to our shame
be it said, killed in August and September last. So far as my ex-
perience goes, no other spring river in Ireland holds salmon at this
season in a similar condition. In other waters an occasional gravid
fish may be seen in March
here they are not the exception, but the
;
rule, and are, at least below the weirs, invariably returaed safe and
sound from whence they came. Well, here we are at the end of
the lane, and with wonderful unanimity, turn to the "Scholar's
Throw," for its length the best piece of spring water in Ireland-
such, at least, I have hitherto found it. Behind, the ground rises
abruptly, clothed with brush and forest trees a combination more
charming to the artist than the angler and here my attendant, two
or three seasons since, attained considerable proficienc}' in the art of
climbing, but subsequently lost it from want of practice.

B 2
4 A VEAE OF LIBERTY; OR,
Allis soon ready; over the left shoulder flies the line, whilst the
follows it amongst the branches, and then a turn of the wrist

eye
sends it light and true across the stream. At the fourth cast a fish
^'
rose. I hear the word fresh" pronounced simultaneously by
Messrs. Ned and Willie, the latter of whom, without a word, ex-
changes "the green" for "the grey."
Once more the fly skims over the water, a bright gleam marks the
run, and the descending line tells mo I am ""fast" in my first fish
for the season. A
sharp round of ten minutes brings the fight to an
end, and finds a nine-pounder, as bright as a new shilling, helpless
in the net.
As "the Scholar" and your humble servant had not met for some
time, we had no intention of parting so soon. We enjoyed his plea-
sant society for an hour or more and then, as he only lent us one
;
gravid fish, finding there was nothing more to be got out of him, we
bade him good bye. For the remainder of the day we worked hard,
now on this bank, now on that, without moving another salmon. I
fear we all walked home silent and sulky.
On the following morning the air was mild and balmy, and I, at
least, set out in hope of high achievements but on reaching the ;
river, which yesterday was so bright, we found it thick as pea-soup

and yellow as a guinea. The Blackwater in its long course is joined
by hundreds of mountain streams :

heavy rain falling in the neigh-
bourhood of one or more of these is sufficient to
produce a fresh in
the main river not high, perhaps, but often indescribably dirty.
With us, the moisture hardly sufficed to lay the dust. In short, the
Blackwater is a carnally-minded stream, prone to break bounds and
get into mischief, but slow to return to its happier state of goodness,
purity, and order.
As nothing better may be done to-day, if the reader has no objec-
tion, we will " show him the river." About half a mile above the
town stand the weirs, and from thence to the tideway the best
angling has hitherto been found ;
la creme de la creme lies about
midway between these points. We will take the casts in order,
pouimencing with those oi; the south side the "Scholar's Throw,"
SALMON ANGLING IX IRELAND. i}
"De Visiles' Stream," and the ^BuU Sod;" on the north, Ex Hole,
the Island, and De Visnes. All these are close to each other, and
within three minutes' walk of the town. There are also good
pools for a mile below ;
whilst between the bridge and the weirs,
some weeks later, are three or four casts scarcely second to any on
the Blackwater. Besides salmon, this river contains many inhabitants
of a lower grade in fish society some of them, indeed, being ex-
ceedingly low and vulgar. There are white trout, pike, perch, eels,
'*
gudgeon, brown trout, and flounders and still one fish, the Arab
;
of the water," remains to be mentioned. There is little, of course,

to be said in his praise, as he is carrion of the highest order; how-
ever, he will ent^r the estuary, whether we like him or not, in June
and July, to spawn, but does not ascend much beyond the extreme
tidal limit; he differs widely from the true alausa of the Severn,
and is, I believe, identical with the twaite of that river. This
naughty boy is
only mentioned because he rises rather freely at a
grilse-fly.
Owing width and general unsuitableness for wading, the

to its
Blackwater not an easy river to fish successfully, but the rods

is
employed are unusually long, and enable a skilful hand to deliver

from twenty-five to thirty yards of line but it is useless to-day, so;
we will extend our walk to the Castle

grounds, through which the
angler will have to pass on his way to the upper water.
The forest odours are already stealing through these beautiful
woods. The bullfinch in his bridal jacket flits from spray to spray,
and the woodrush spreads its shining and striated foliage as a carpet
for our feet.
The present castle was founded in 1185 by John Earl of Morton ;
and its ruin and restoration through many bloody centuries would
fill a volume. There it stands, on the verge of a precipitous cliff
below flows the above the tops of the forest trees rise tower
river, far
and battlement, and, from the terrace, the view over mountain and
valley is In the shade of the ancient giove
exquisitely beautiful.
Raleigh perhaps once stood here, too, Spenser may have dreamed,
:
and peopled the solitude with naked kem and stalwart knight.
O A YEAR OF LIBERTY; OR,
As salmon-rod must rest for one day at least, we will take the
tlie
reader to a cliarming little trout stream which crosses the high road,
about two miles north-west of the town. It is the type and flower
of mountain brooks, leaping in a series of noble cascades through a
wooded ravine. Wonderfully wild and beautiful is Ara Glen, its sides
clothed with oak and holly, pine and hazel. The winter floods have
swept away the underwood, leaving sufficient space for a skilful
angler. But little matters it what fly he throws, so it be small :
light or dark, silk body or fur, each seems as good as the other and
"
perhaps better."
About the list of killed, the less said the better ;
for the season is
early and the fish hardly yet in condition. Rather let me whisper that
any perf oimer as good as example, will not only bag
youi'self, sir, for
''
here as many well-made stumps of trout" as ever he killed in his
life, but will moreover see a glen so weird, solitary, and beautiful, as
shall take him half a lifetime to match.
The fresh cleared off sooner than we expected ;

in fact, it only
lasted a couple of days. For the remainder of the week the weather
was favourable, and the sport as bad as possible, the total for the six
days being only two spring fish, five ascending ditto, and one brown
trout about 31bi
Before closing this chapter it is necessary to say that the first step
to be taken by an angler on his arrival at Lismore is to write to the
kind and courteous lessee for permission. This is rarely refused to
ft stranger, who is, however, expected to take care of such fish as he
inay kill, and hand them over to Old Shehan as soon as possible.
Ye potent spirits, . s. and Co., what could we do without you ?
You certainly meddle awfully with our family affairs. You present
the spoon which holds our first mouthful of pap engross the marridge ;
settlement, and hire the mourning-coach keep us at home, or send

;
Us abroad, and fill our hearts with heaviness or our lips with laughter.
1 added up the waybill as I moralised, and found the joutney cost
exactly 21 Is. per head.

SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND.
CHAPTER 11.
Choice of a Profession Spring Flies The Round Hill The Last Chance
The Finesk The Valley of the Bride At Home in the Evening Awful
Deficit, and the Occasion thereof.
A stranger's first question to the waiter, on arriving at his hotel,

probably is, "Who can show me the water?" and ten to one the
luckless wanderer is saddled with some idle cousin or brother-in-law,
who, an easy obliging manner, eats and drinks all he can

in get,
receives his money, and does nothing he undertook to do.
It maynot, therefore, be out of place to speak of Ned Ray, than
whom a more skilful fly-maker or a better fishemian never cast angle
on the waters. Having spoken of honest Ned's manufacturing ability,
we will show you two of his favourites.
No. 1. Tip, gold thread and one turn of crimson seal ; tail,
topping with a few bright sprigs body, gi'een pig's- wool, two turns
;
of crimson at the shoulders, ribbed with gold legs, smoky blue ;
hackle ; jay shoulder ; wing, mixed with plenty of bustard ; horns,

crimson head, yellow seal ; hook, O'Shaughnessy, Nos, 2, 3, 4.
;
No. 2. Tip, silver thread and turn of blue seal tail, topping and ;
blue macaw body, light grey donkey fur, well picked out ; breast,
;
two turns of blue seal; ribs, broad silver; legs, none; shoulder, jay;
wing, a few bright sprigs, and two long feathers of the jungle cofck ;
horns, blue head, black; hook, O'Shaughnessy, Nos* 2, 3, 4, 5.
;
These flies are incomparably the best for the first thi-ed weeks of
the season.
Never did kelpy haunt his favourite with greater constancy
rill
than I did the Blackwater. From morning evening, all day and
till
every day for the last week, the salmon have been attended with
laudable perseverance. Had I stucl^ to business half as well my
fortune would have been made long ago. Yesterday (Feb, 7) proved
A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; 01?,
ci
blank, and to-day I hate not yet seen a fish ;
the wind, too, has
gone round to the south-west, and the clouds are gathering in heavy
masses. Sulkily we returned through the castle grounds from the
upper casts, Willie lagging behind despondingly with the rod. " Shall
we give it up, or walk down to the Bound Hill, and once more try
the water from thence to the bridge ?"
For once my faithful companion demurred. " Sure there was a
power of rain overhead ;

of course the glass was falling ;
the wind
had died away. Sorra a fish was there in the water, and if there was,
there was not a ghost of a chance."
At this stage of the debate a policeman, for whom my attendant
had conceived a violent friendship, passed, on his way to Cappoquin.
The aspect of things grew brighter. Now, there was nothing like
perseverance, so to the Bound Hill we went. Over all the likely
water at its base we fished with savage determination, but no success ;
pool after pool always the same blank, blank, blank. At last we
came to the lane. The wood round " the Scholar" looked awfully
dismal. The rain was falling heavily, and every bush and tree had
changed into a shower-bath. We had reeled in, and already taken
a step or two up the hill, when better thoughts came to our aid, so
we turned into the coppice. At the second cast I was fast in a good
fish. Verily, these animals are a mystery. Had it not been for a
wholesome fear of police, I should have shouted ''lo triumphe!" as
we marched up the Mall in the gloaming.
All night poured the rain, and in the morning Messrs. Willie and
"
Bay were hard at work tying small flies, the hare's-ear and yellow"
being grudgingly supplied by my landlady's cat. As the Black-
water was impracticable, we were to turn our misfortunes to account,
and take the Finesk at the fall of the fresh.
This pretty little stream, which crosses the road some distance
beyond Cappoquin, has a high local reputation for the size and
quality of its trout,
but is useless to the angler, except at times like
the present. Too much cumbered with alder, thorn, and hazel, it
winds its way through meadows to the main river in alternate pools
and shallows. In a few hours we killed about a dozen and a

SALMON ANaLIKG IN IRELAND. 9
half of respectable fish in fair condition, and above a score of small

ones.
What right or title I had to do these things, I know not. Mr. Bay,
in glowing language, proposed the expedition, and I went with a hazy
idea that something was wrong, and that I ought to have asked some
one or other for that leave which is so seldom refused in this kindly
land.
As our river is not yet in order, suppose we pay a visit to the
Bride. The lady is capricious, and does not always smile when her
suitors sigh another offer can do no harm, so we will take the rod
;
and try our fortune.

The Vale of the Bride were it not for the many Cromwellian
fortresses scattered over it ^has a strong English aspect. Familiar
home names stare at us from shop fronts drive in tax -carts and
; ;
own broad acres. Under the somewhat too vigorous administration

of the Protector, much property changed hands, and the sagacious
soldier rewarded those who served him. Neither life nor lands being
too secure, each new possessor erected a square tower to remedy the
difficulty, and add one charm more to the beautiful

Bride. The
river is of moderate size and unincumbered with wood. In the
summer it holds grilse and white trout, at which time, it is only
right to say, I never tried To-day the water proved in good
it.
order, and yielded us rather over two score trout, of all sizes, from
Jib. to 3oz.
It was late when we left Tallow Bridge ; and though the Black-
water cider needs no praise from me, I desire giatefuUy to record

that a glass or two of that nectar made the long hill short and
easy.
Home is a pleasant place. Within a stone's throw of my window
stands the Cathedral, its square tower and lofty spire rising above
the tall trees which sun'ound it. The strains of the organ, touched
by a hand of rare skill and taste, float through the room. In the old
limes the rooks are picking and stealing, toiling and fighting, like so
many featherless bipeds and, heedless of the turmoil, two venerable

;
bu'ds, without household cares, discoui*se gravely and sedately. Are

10 A yUae of liberty; OB,
they pitying some gay young reprobate as yet unconscious of tlie

retribution that waits on naughty birds ? or are they, as Longfellow
sings
Talking about the farmer's crops V
At present I am not very well up in their language, but rather

incline to the latter hypothesis.
But I must listen no longer, for we have dined already, and are
going to pay a last visit to the river. In the little garden, Willie
and Ned Eay, with rod and gaff, are chatting and smoking so come
with us ;
there is time to try Ex Hole and the Island before dusk.
On with the and do your best, whilst we light a
boots, Willie,
post-prandial cigar and look on.
A light whistle announced good news. Man and rod might have
foimed a study the one so erect, easy, and confident, the other so
faultless in its perfect arch. We have scarce time to admire before
we have cause to deplore, for the baffled angler is even now gather-
ing up some sixty yards of slack line, taken in that fatal runthe
first and the last.
The Island yet remains. Twice it has been carefully tned without
a rise. Our third and chance shall be with the orange gi'ouse.
last
Has the fly, or the witching hour, produced the change ? A clean
eleven*pounder has just been landed, and once more, about thirty
yards below the rod, stands my honest servant on the watch that no
salmon may turn at the fly unnoticed.
Simultaneously with his signal came a long drag on the line ;
swiftly and steadily the rod rose into position, and in thirty minutes
the vanquished lay on the bank, not dead but done up. He proved
a splendid ascending male, about 2 Gib., with a shoulder like a bull,
and a hook as thick as a walking-stick; Tenderly we returned him
to the water, and with very mixed feelings wttched him sail slowly
away. "What
a fine ould ancient gladiator," sighed Ned. ''Oh,
master, what a kipper he'd have made," groaned Willie.

It is an awful thing to be called on to show one's accounts. The
books of our firm reveal a terrible deficit. Well, if we must, we
must. Clean fish, 5 ; ascending dittos 6
SALMON ANOLlNa IN IEELAND. 11
Our visit to Lismore is ovor. The

three weeks spent here have
been a dead produced, strangely enough, by the improvements
faihire,
resulting from the Act of 18G2, which, after careful examination,

swept away the stake-nets from the estuary, and made a Queen's gap.
The reader will naturally say, all the salmon hitherto stopped by
the twenty-eight defunct stake-nets must have come into the river,
and nearly doubled the number of fish. Of course they came ; but,
alas they did not take lodgings, but were, I regret to say, little
!
better than tramps. Such is the fact but it is not always easy to
;
account for facts. Previous to this season the Blackwater, from tho
weirs to the tideway, was, in my opinion, if not the best, at least
equal to any spring water in Ireland and in support of this opinion

;
I may mention that in one throw alone

(the Scholar), not a hundred
years ago, we landed sixty-two spring fish in little over ten consecu-
tive weeks. It may be taken for granted that none of these sailed
to the weirs to askif the door was
up open or shut, for ascending
fishnever return from the highest point they have reached, unless
short of water. In fact, they lodged, not from necessity, but choice.
And why have they not done so this season ? Most probably because
the increased flow of water, or alteration in the direction of the current,
has pulled down their houses, without having yet found time to
build new ones.
That the injury to this beautiful lower water is permanent I can-
not believe. Let us hope that, like our navy, it is in a transition
state, and will soon come out all the better for our glorious new
fishery law. Of course, the upper waters have vastly improved, and
the long-suffering proprietors at length enjoy their own. In the
mean time we must wait, and I believe we shall not have to wait long
before we see the lower pools regain their late excellence, and outdo
their fonner gi'eat outdoings.
12 A YEAR OF liberty; OR,
CHAPTER III.
Between Lismore and Fermoy On to Killarney Cost of Journey The

Flesk Flies of the Neighbourhood Trolling on Lough Guttane Remarks
What might be done, and how to do it.
The morning, on the 27tli of February, was bright and breezy as

we drove over the bridge of Lismore, on our way towards Fermoy.
Here poor Ned was waiting to bid us adieu, and give Willie parting
instructions.Far away, the Knockmel-dawn Mountains formed a
background to the romantic glen, through which the Oun-na-Sheadh
(a fair trout stream) brawls its way to join the main river at the
It is a quarrelsome little water
bridge. ought to be, being
as it
bom in Tipperary and, on the smallest provocation, howls and
shrieks and knocks the boulders about, in a way quite creditable to
the county.
Between this point and Fermoy the Blackwater is a glorious
stream, rolling on from broad pool to broader shallow, through
English-looking meadows, and past English-looking houses, belong-

ing to the resident gentry. Happy would it be for poor old Ireland
ifshe had more of exactly the same pattern and quality. From the
kindness of some of these gentlemen I obtained full angling powers,
and shall stay two or three days at Fermoy to avail myself of their
courtesy.
Few things are more agi-eeable than the first visit to a new river.
Hope is our companion, and there is no end to the pictures imagina-
tion paints. The opening day on promising water is positively
delightful comparatively, doubly delightful to an obstinate pig,
who for three weeks had been savagely working himself to death, in
order to prove that he was right and everybody else wrong.
**
Shallwe begin here, Willie ?'*
My companion's mind, never very hopeful, was now quite out of
SALMON ANGLING IN IfiELAND. 13
Maybe, sir," was his cautious answer, in the most doleful of

*'
tune.
voices " it can't be worse than where we came from."
;
The
spot thus described was a splendid stream, ending in a pool,
which, after dozing awhile, suddenly woke up, and, ashamed of being
caught napping, hurried on its way with redoubled speed.
Presently there was a deep sluggish boil under the fly ;
we will
rest him and There was another, and another. All our
cast below.
and were "

gfi-oanings grumblings forgotten. Change the fly, Willie ;
we will try it down again ;" and so we did, but only landed two old
fish.
There were better things in store for us, as, before we left the
water, three beautiful spring salmon were killed, one spawner landed,
and I know not how many foul fish these last keeping us through
;
the day in a state of perpetual excitement. I thought of Mr. Bay's

parting words, Mind what '
Tm
telling ye, your honour ; they'll
have the nice time entirely in county Cork."
The following day was much like the one which preceded it, quite
as pleasant and nearly as busy. Unused, in a general way, to covet
my neighbour's goods, I certainly then and there longed for the
exclusive right of three or four miles of the Blackwater, somewhere
about midway between Lismore and Fermoy.
We are now, as the reader knows, in the county of Cork. If he
had read the following passage before his visit he would have
believed he had gone somewhere else by mistake. Vast tracts of
land are still unreclaimed perhaps never can be reclaimed yet the
improvement of the last quarter of a century is marvellous indeed.
"Prior to the year 1829 a great part of the north-west district of

the county was almost inaccessible. This district, foi-med of a tract
of 970 square miles, is comprised between the Shannon and the
Blackwater, and up to the year 1822 contained no road passable for

horsemen in wet weather. The entire district must have remained
neglected by the hand of civilisation from the period at which its
ancient proprietors, the later earls of Desmond, had been dispossessed
of it in the reign of Elizabeth. The whole district contained but
two resident landed proprietors, whpe houses were distant thirty:
14 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; Ofl,
eight and a half miles from each other. The inhabitants were poor
and ignorant, and the inaccessible nature of the country made it the
asylum of smugglers and outlaws."

Thank Heaven none of these unpleasant gentry now haunt the
!
environs of Mallow, which is a quiet peaceable place, celebrated for

its tepid mineral waters. The walk to the springs is matter for a
May morning. Health-giving fountains, lovely climate, capital
fishing what could a valetudinarian, piscatorially inclined, desire

more ?
The rail soon bore us to Killarne}- ;
a brief conversation with Mr.
Callaghan McCarthy settled all necessary preliminaries, and in a

few minutes more we were off to Fort William, half farm, half
lodging house, with a very grand total of comfort. Do you think

that all this steaming and driving is dear at 17s. 6d, per head ?
The Flesk is full; and how different from the shallow stream
which scarce fills half its bed in summer. The day is bitterly cold,
the east wind striving, not in vain, to dissipate the caloric that wraps
our bodies like a mantle.
Eight hours in the stern-sheets of a boat, watching for a run, is

not to be thought of, with the thermometer three degrees above
frost, and the wind as sharp as a razor so this morning we will try
;
the Flesk, which, through the kindness of Colonel Herbert, is open

to all anglers who apply to him. Below our house is a beautiful
cast,but we made nothing of it. For five hours we worked manfully
over pool and rapid not a fish was to be seen, and had it not been
;
contrary to custom, we should have given it up in despair, and

returned by the road from the bridge. What a different animal is
man, with his stomach empty or full. At 2 p.m. we desponded ;
at 2.30 we lunched, and hope revived.
Cheerfully we lit a pipe, and leaned over the parapet, to mark a

scene as stern and wild as ever Salvator painted. All parts of this
district bear traces of the O'Donoghue a hundred ruins record their
;
feudal power, and here before me, near the bridge, stood Killaha,
grey and savage, facing the wilderness of Glen Flesk, seeming still to
keep guard over the vale below.

gALMON ANGUNG IN IRELAND. 15
On tlio way homo our work was as neatly executed as if instant
payment were expected. At the eleventh hour it came.

A '*
spirited rise in the
rough stream" broke the spell, and at the
magical hour of sundown we were again successful. To land two
pood fish of 101b. iuid 81b. respectively, at the close of a day so
inauspiciously commenced, was very consoling. In salmon angling
perseverance is ever better than skill. lie who keeps his fly longest
in the water kills most ; and to-day the
happy consummation was
due to dogged determination, which so often wrings victory from
disaster.
The used in this neighbourhood are the ordinary claret, fiery

flies
brown, and olive, lightly dubbed, and lightly hackled. The only
thing worth remark about them is, that they are invariably tied on
hooks a size larger than would be employed by ninety-nine makers
out of a hundred in the manufacture of an article of similar dimen-
It is many years since I first noticed this
sions.
peculiarity, the
advantages of which were so obvious that I at once adopted, and
have never since abandoned, it.
A fly overtied never looks well, and rarely swims well ;
nor does it
appear that the fish object to the Kerry plan. Doubtless the salmon
sees nothing but the fly his vision is bounded by the tip. Coveting
:
the rose, he overlooks the thorn, like many a wise man. The pro-
understand their business thoroughly but amongst
fessionals here ;
them McCarthy enjoys a high reputation. Whosoever you select,

keep him in his proper place. It vnll be true kindness, as well as
sound policy.
On the shores of Lough Guttane stand two anglers, by the generous
pemiission of Colonel Herbert ; but alasthey have no bait, nor present
!
means of procuring any, for the

midge are left behind.
flies
Again
and again every book and case has been carefully examined not a
hook in the most remote degree suitable is there. In sheer vexation,
Willie stands sketching a fancy par on the lid of his tobacco-box
with the end of a file. Necessity is the true source of inspiration.
'*
Hand me a pin and the pliers." The head and point were soon off,
and the requisite length of wire remained. A
blow with a stone
16 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OB,
flattened one end, file, point and barb were cut, in

and with the
humble imitation that king of bookmakers
of O'Shaughnessj'.
Wax, silk, and hair were not wanting a little extemporaneous
;
dubbing from a Tweed jacket, and a few fibres from a drenched

feather on the shore, did the rest, and sufficed to procure plenty of
bait. But before we step into our boat, a word or two about the lake
will not be out of place.
Lough Guttane, nearly six miles in circumference, rests in a hollow

fonned by the rocky and precipitous sides of Mangerton and Crohare
and between lies the desolate Glen Kippock. This sheet of water
affordsgood trout-trolling in March, April, and May. Occasionally a
twelve-pounder may be taken, but fish of 41b. or 51b. will generally be
found on the top of the angler's basket. Any sportsman located in
one of the cottages on the south shore (some of my friends have tried
the plan, and found it answer) would undoubtedly kill, in the months
before mentioned, an enormous weight of trout, some of them heavy
fish but whether any of the eighteen-pounders, of which
;
I heard
frequently, would figure in his list, seems less certain.

In my opinion Lough Owel, Lough Arrow, Dereverah, Carra, Lough
Corrib, Lough Mask, and Lough Conn yield fish of a higher average.
Whilst visiting this district in fonner seasons, I occasionally devoted
a day to Guttane, though never with any remarkable success. I am,
however, bound to say I have often heard from undoubted authority
of other anglers having enjoyed admirable sport.
Possibly the explanation of my failures may be found in the fact

of my staying a long distance from the lake, and visiting it only
when brought to a dead lock elsewhere. Nevertheless, I should not
fear to locate myself during April and May on the south shore, in full
expectation of good sport, brightened by some glorious days.

Round the lake, across the lake, backwards and forwards by the
solitary islet, with its melancholy ruin, we pulled. A stiff north-west
breeze and an ever-changing sky did all that winds and clouds could
do. Guttane did not, however, respond very cordially, as our basket
only contained thirteen fish, the heaviest 31b., whilst two or three
others ranged from 3.-|lb.

to 2Ib.
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 17
CHAPTER IV.
Sporting Expenses What they aro, and what they might be A Dry Sketch
of the Lakes and Rivers of the District Trolling for Salmon, or much ado
about nothing Cross-linos Departure The Launo Killorglin to Carra.
FisiiiNO, like other field sports, has its expenses, but to state these
with any exactness is impossible, for one man will do as much with
50/. as another will with 100/. Every angler is intimate with one
or other of the gentlemen selected as an illustration.
The Hon. Charles Fever hurries to a good station, buys a stock of
flies sufficient to fill a portmanteau, and not succeeding at once,
abuses the water and starts for another. Here he fails likewise, and
again sets out in search of an Elysium where salmon can be taken
without skill or perseverance. At length, purse or patience failing,
he resigns the quest, votes salmon-angling a myth, and the whole
thing a humbug. On the following day Mr. Steady arrives, gets into
snug private quarters, makes himself at home, lands his hundred
fish, returns triumphant, and declares the cost a mere bagatelle.
The professional attendant may be set down from 15.9. to 205. per
week, and if a boat be required, from 20.9. to 30.9. ;

inn-bills about
105. per day, and wine, and travelling charges ad lib. But
ticket,
should the angler arrange his plans judiciously, and make a happy
selection of the district he intends to fish, his expenses would be
very moderate, and for three pounds a week he might travel like a
bagman I mean, commercial ambassador sport like a Nimrod, and
live like a gentleman. As the waters round Killaniey extend for
many miles in lake and river, a few words respecting them may be
useful. Into the lower and largest lake the Flesk debouches; at its
north-west extremity the Laune carries off the surplus waters of the
surrounding district, passing into the head of Dingle Bay at Kil-

lorglin. From this
point the angling extends to the head of the
18 A YEAR OP LIBERTY; OE,
lakes one direction, and in another for miles up the Flesk. As a

ill
rule, the lower lake offers the best sport in spring and summer, and
during autumn spates, the Flesk. For beauty, the country is an

Eden; but who dare describe what Macaulay has seen with a poet's
eye, and touched with a painter's skill?
The lower lake, at this season, would afford noble sport, were it
not for the cross-lines is, the professionals have put fly-fishing
;
as it
nearly out of the question, so the stranger had better content himself
with trolling.
At the present moment ten boats, and from twenty to thirty men,
are diligently working five cross-lines. These on the lake are what
''long-lines" are on the sea, and the owners, like other fishers, are
earning their daily bread. Just now they were

I heartily wish
seeking it in
any other way. It is difficult to say what a salmon
can see so attractive in these diabolical inventions come over him ;
with long and light casting, make the fly swim deep and fair, and
play never so seductively before his eyes, there he lies in stoical
indifference. A
couple of dozen flies, however, swimming, flying,
bounding, and splashing over his head, banish all prudential con-
siderations they bewilder his- judgment, and turn his brain.
;
It is
sad to think so dear a friend is only a frivolous weak-minded

individual after all.
When we pushed off from the little pier at Ross Island, it was
barely ten o'clock, yet our ancient mariner was somewhat testy.
"Gentlemen," he said, "should come early if they wanted sport;
them divils of cross-lines is raking the lake these two hours."
The wild woods, the fairy islets, green with holly, arbutus, and
laurel, the sparkling water and delicious air, were all charming;
and early in the day a run that sent the left-hand rod flying into the
old man's lap, filled up the measure of our content. lay on our We
oars to watch the struggle; but what chance has an unlucky fish
in open water with three of O'Shaughnessy's hooks in his mouth ?
Our prize weighed nearly lolb,, being, I fancy, rather above the local
average.
This success raied our hopes to an extravagant pitch, Round
SALMON ANGLING IN lEELAND. 19
islands and over reefs we pulled with determined perseverance, but

no further fortune and when we stepped out of the boat our friend's
;
" Be
parting words were emphatic early to-morrow, your honour
:
;
for your life be early!" The two following days we worked to the
admiration of our energetic attendant the reward, however, was by
;
no means in the ratio of our deserts, as we landed only one small fish
of 81b., and an ill-conditioned trout of about half that weight.
The omission was, perhaps, culpable ; but I breathed no benediction

on the cross-lines.
To the best of my belief I have spoken justly, though not flatter-
ingly, of the single rod fishing on the lake in spring. In summer

the lines are popularly supposed to disappear possibly they do, or ;
perhaps they rise very early in the lovely mornings of June and July.
Be may, the single rod grilse-fishing is veiy fair, and the
this as it
quarters, perhaps, more luxurious than any other in the island.

Beautiful Killamey, adieu! thy charms must no longer enthral
me ; yet where in nature shall I see a face like thine ? Glorious are
thy mountains, pellucid thy lakes, set with their fairy islets, draped
inmany colours, each one a marvel and a mystery. But, upon my
life, I can't stand it. The lines are too mighty to be resisted ;
and
as discretion is the better part of valour, we shall retreat to Lough
Currane (better kno^vn as Watemlle), and take the Laune and Carra
by the way.
The road traversed by the mail-car follows the course of the
Laune closely, at a Jikely part of wliich it
pulls up, and leaves us to
follow the river down Not knowing the water, we
to Killorglin.
worked over all the streams and pools that came in our way, asking
questions when opportunity offered. This, though a pleasant mode,

isseldom a profitable one, as much time is wasted on barren water.
However, we rose two fish ;
that both were fresh I should be
unwilling to assert, but the 7lb. salmon in the basket had, at any
rate, a fine batch of parasites near the ventral fin.
In a fomier chapter I hinted at the advantage of selecting a
central situation as a matter of economy. Killorglin is one of such,
for east, west, and jiorth are excellent waters, TlirougU the vjUjiga
P 2
20 A YEAR OF LIBERTY; OR,
flows the Laune, always happily unconscious of fixed engines ;

and
public conveyances pass every day, enabling a nomadic sportsman to
reach any one of the number for half-a-crown. Salmon are taken
in this riverby drafting, but Monday belongs to the rod, and an
angler would have reason to complain if he did not on that day
" make a death."
Though never an intimate, the Laune is a very old acquaintance,

and many a time in spring, summer, and autumn have we sauntered
together for a pleasant hour. The general character of the river is
particularly inviting neither timber nor scrub offers any impedi-
;
ment. The water is rarely discoloured, and seldom low characters

common to all rivers which drain large lakes.
Castlepool and GaiTynalanna it is pleasant even to write

!
your
names and I inscribe them here just as Hodge or Joe might carve
name on tree or stile.
his sweetheart's
The tide met us about three miles and a half from Killorglin, so
we put up the rod, and set off at a round pace, in hopes of gaining
time to get a crust and an "air of the fire" before our party arrived.
The Ventry Arms is comfortable, and the proprietor shows a due
appreciation of visitors, by reserving five pools for their especial use
and benefit. A
stranger to the country would do well to make
Killorglin his head-quarters.
KeiTy, as its name implies, is pre-eminently a region of rock and
water. Lough Currane, Lough Scall, Lough Carra, Guttane, the
lakes Killamey, and a host of others, whilst justifying the
of
nomenclature, offer no common inducement to artist and angler.

Few waters in this county are closed to the wandering sportsman
who asks pennission at least, I have found it so, and desire grate-
;
acknowledge the many courtesies so often received.

fully to
To conduct the reader to all the streams in this district would be
impossible ; we will therefore, as we jog along to Lady Headley's,
point out some of the best, premising that later in the season, when
the grilse and trout arrive, we hope (remember we do not promise)
to spend some pleasant days on two or three of them.
The rivers of Kerry are numerous, but of no great length. The

Maine debouches into the head of Dingle Bay, and offers excellent
grilse fishing ; it is a great matter

tolerahb/ independent of freshes
to an angler who has only a limited time. But few strangers find
their way to Castlomaine, the stream of tourists flowing on to Caira,
Waterville, and Glengariff. The Lee is a small river, rising a few

miles east of Traloe, and happy is he who stands on its banks after
a night's rain in Jul}'.
The Carra rises in the mountains of Dunkerron, passes through
Glencarra, and, after forming an extensive lake, falls into Dingle
Bay. The Fartagh and Inny rise in the Iveragh Mountains, and
flow westward, the foimer into Valencia Harbour, the latter into
Ballinaskelligs Bay. In this stream a friend killed twelve and

fourteen salmon, on the two last days of a recent season, with his
single rod.
The Roughty empties itself into the inner extremity of Kenmare
River, into the northern side of which the Finihay, lesser Black-
water, and Sneem fall. Most of these are little to be depended on

except in wet seasons, and, though admirable after rain, are apt
sorely to try a gentleman whose time or patience is limited.
CHAPTER V.
Rosbeigh The Bcigh Carra River Tho Lake" My Aunt's Legacy "Glen
Carra The Great Unknown.
Comfort and salmon-angling fine mountain scenery and good living,
are not necessarily united but at the Headley Anns they arc happily
;
blended. The time was, and that not long ago, when a night's rest
by a cabin fire, and a pot of potatoes, aided by the produce of his
creel,occasionally sei-ved the sportsman for bed and board. But

these days are passing away, and fair quarters are now to be found,
where some years since no accommodation could be procured. Yet
22 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
even now, on many mountain streams, so seducing in August and

September, if the angler wishes to be near his water he must expect
to rough it, nor hope to find all the blessings of Arcadia in a
highland glen.
Suppose us now, however, at our comfortable breakfast in Lady
Headley's Hotel. Above us towers a lofty hill, clad to the summit
with larch and Scotch fir round its base murmurs the little Beigh
; ;
from the window of our room Dingle Bay is seen in all its beauty,
and in front, the road only separates the house from the heather,
which stretches miles away, as far as the eye can follow it. In the
winter the neighbourhood offers good duck and snipe shooting, and
in summer, sea-fishing, boating, and bathing are perfect.
The angling is varied and extensive, and, from what I have seen at
different times,by no means crowded in fact, a man might work
here for a week and meet no face, except his own, reflected in the
grand mirror before him.

The lake is free Mr. Winn rents a portion of the river near the
;
bridge, and sub-lets it at thirty shillings per month for each rod.
Mrs. Shea is, I believe, in treaty for that portion of the river extend-
ing from the lake to Mr. Winn's right; and Corney Clifford and young
McCarthy are the professionals.
The Beigh it is but a brook runs close by the house, and
during autumn spates contains a capital assortment of trout, in size

rather above the average of such waters. Many a happy, careless
hour have whiled away on its banks. Now, this little stream holds
I
nothing but spent fish and brown trout, on which a good Catholic
might dine any day in Lent, to the certain mortification of the flesh*
A walk of twenty minutes in an opposite direction brings us to
Carrabridge. This water is said, and I believe with truth, to be one
of the earliest in the county. In November, December, and January,
clean fish enter in considerable numbers ; and, as all impediments to
their passage are then removed, they either settle in the upper pools,
locate in the lake, or lodge in the Blackstones river. In the latter
part of June come the grilse, which are soon followed by the trout
night fishing for which is much practised here in low water. These
SALMON ANOLINa IN IRELAND. 08
fisli however, very small.

are, There is some knack in casting after
dark the delivery must be particularly neat and clean, or the artist
;
will speedily find himself in a fix, with very little chance of getting
out of it. The lake holds brown trout of superior size and quality ;
and if, as Brother Michael maintains, "as is the redness, so is the
goodness," they must be good indeed.

At the present season the angler has to make his election between
the river and the lake between the fly and the troll. Although
often halting a short time at Eosbeigh, on my way to other stations,
I had never remained except once, and then during the latter part
of a season, about six years ago. True it is, every winter I vowed to
try the Carra in the spring, but never kept that vow until now. My
prime minister is violently anxious to try the fly, and, as he always
gets his way, we shall make our debut on the river as soon as breakfast
is over.
For two we flogged the uncomplaining Caita without

entire days
success. The
rocky pools doubtless held salmon, but we could
fine
make nothing of them, for, in sixteen hours' thrashing, we rose only

two shy fish, nor am I sure that either of these were fresh*
The lake is a noble sheet of water, and right glad was I to stand
on its shores. The wash of the waves on the strand sounded fresh
and musical after the monotony of the last two days ;
and with the
first roll of the boat half our vexations were forgotten.
The plan proposed was to pull in and out along the east and south
sides, and then fish as much of the west as we could. When we
reached the head of the lake we had three runs âll trout; and near
the outfall of Blackstones a small fresh fish, under 8lb., was added
to the stock :
but, like good simple souls, we were easily pleased, and
when the day was over, seven trout added to our salmon made us
as happy The lakers were by no means large ; the best
as kings.
only weighed 4^1b,. whilst the remaining half-dozen did not make
collectively 81b.
All the next day the rain fell heavily ; to go out would have been
worse than useless, so the hours were devoted to domestic felicity.
My dear companion had been busy as a bee. Con'espondence long

24 A YEAE OF LIBERTY ; OR,
in arrearhad been written up. Embroidery, crochet, plain work

why, the quantity got through was tremendous. There was nothing
more to do, so the stock-piece, which always seemed to take croon-
ing and purring over the quiet little events of the day was forthwith
put on the stage. Certainly it was very rude to sit in the window
with one's back to a lady, but the truth is, I was engaged on a very
interesting work of art.
'What are
you doing ?" at length observed my companion.
Finishing a minnow."
'
''Will you please to let me see it?" in the sweetest of voices.

'
With the greatest pleasure, as soon as completed. I am polishing
off the marks of the file, and the rigging won't take half an hour."
The what shall we call it ? the polite reply was so big that it
nearly produced a spasm of the glottis. Our good little maid opened
Please, ma'am, do you know anything about your spoon ?
'
the door.
I can't find it" with a wicked glance towards the window. At
that moment I knew exactly what a thief, in the hands of the police,
"
when the stolen goods are in his pocket. " Is this it ? I faltered,
feels
producing the shaft of a small embossed silver article. On cross-

examination I was obliged to confess that, wanting such an artificial
bait for to-morrow, instead of taking a common one, I selected what
suited me best, and that happened to be an uncommon one.
Vowing never
to offend again, I promised all sorts of things to
send the mutilated article to town to be reproduced to do to do
anything everything.
Fortunately, the opposite '-party" was as good and peaceable as
wise. " You know you might have taken the teapot, had you wanted
it ;
but why would you take my poor aunt's spoon ?"
There was a delicious spring feeling in eai'th and air, in body and
spirit, as we stepped out merrily for our boat. The rain of the
previous day had filled the bog pools, and the small rills, not yet quite
run down, were bearing their tribute of amber to the lake. The
west wind was hurrying along, waking up the last of the clouds
which slept on the hills ; in short it was just the kind of day that
you and I know and appreciate.
We commenced' on the west shore, and did so little that we deter-

mined to cross to the opposite side. Paddling and chatting, we had
done about half the distance, when a desperate run woke us up, only
it was diving overboard. In the
just in time to seize the butt as
hmiy, and
line rod had been giasped together, and in a moment
eight or ten feet of its length were dragged into the water quick as ;
light, however, the line was released, and away went the fish down,
down, down as if he never intended to stop. Ten minutes, twenty,
thirty passed, and still our friend was tugging away as hard
as ever
at the bottom of the lake. Willie, who in fifteen years, had seen too
much to be surprised at anything, was at last growing curious.
Laying the paddles over the gunwale, he crawled over the beams,
gaff in hand. Another quarter of an hour passed, and then
our fish,
slowly yielding to the heavy strain, came gradually nearer the surface.
Peering anxiously into the water, my companion leaned over the side ;
*'
He's uncommon short, sir," looking inquiringly at his master. The
fish was now perfectly tractable, the line being rapidly gathered in and
coiled on the beam, I actually felt the gaff tearing its way
rip-rip-rip.
out. The force brought the side more clearly into view ;
it was broad
as a plank. Whish, whish, shrieked the wheel ;
there was a slight
check and a snap and that was all I ever saw of
; my stout friend and
*'my aunt's spoon."
My faithful servant cast one imploring glance at the master ;
his
unlucky knee still nailed the line to the beam. In winter and rough
weather, in heat and cold, he had served me with a love and fidelity
seldom met with never before had he made a mistake. " Cheer up,
old friend it was far more my fault than yours ;
we shall both be
wiser another time."
Whether such a chance will ever recur remains to be seen but to
lose a Lake trout from 181b. to 201b. Bah I it gives me a pain in
the praecordial region even to recall it. As if to make amends,
fortune favoured us, for we carried home two fresh fish, 111b. and
12^1b. respectively; together Avith fourteen trout, one of which was

fine,and weighed 6lb. ; the rest were small.
We have closed our account with Can*a, and should have been
26 A YEAil OF LTiBEETY; OE,
well pleased to have spent this our last day on the Blackstones ;
but it cannot be, as the sporting rights are reserved. In such cases
I never give leave, except to an old friend ; so, of course, never ask it.
A walk through Glen Carra, however, may not unprofitably occupy

the time, for it possesses the gifts of grouse ; spring and summer
salmon ;
and for cocks, the covers of Lickeen are second to none in
the kingdom. Situated in an extensive basin, the moors rise gradually
to the summit of the mountains. On all sides the heather stretches
for leagues, and were it not for the
"
big house," with a few scattered
cabins near the bridge, the region might pass for a wilderness.
Fancy a bright morning in February the dead leaves filling the air
;
with their odours as they crackle under your feet the oak and holly
;
scrub full of cocks, and many a bright-eyed salmon waiting your

commands in the rocky pools of the Blackstones. I think we should
then deem Lickeen sufficiently charming.
At no great distance up the valley lies an extensive lake, which a
friend (one of the most accomplished sportsmen in the kingdom)
assured me holds noble red trout. It had been the chief object of
my walk to visit this water, but the time failed me. Hitherto it has,
I believe, been very little fished, as the situation is so remote. I think
Captain D told me, no boat but his own had ever floated on it.
Were I to become skipper of a curragh and master of a tent, I

should like to launch the one and pitch the other on the shores of this
solitary lake.
All the surrounding waters contain red trout, and here, doubtless,
undisturbed for centuries, they have reached a good old age, and
attained the maximum of size and dignity.
SALMON ANGLlNa IN IfiELAND. 27
CHAPTER VI.
Watorvillo Concerning tho Lake -How wo got there and what we did.
The mail-car from Killarncy to Watferville stops daily at our door,

and, barring accidents, will carry us this evening, the 1 3th of March,
to the shores of Lough Currane. This sheet of water, ending at the
west end of tho village, is fed by the Cummeragh river, which flows
from the smaller lakes of Derriana and Elaineane.
Lough Currane justly celebrated, not only for its spring salmon,
but for a run of trout greater, I believe, than any other open Elysium
Piscatorum in L-eland boasts two distinct seasons the first from ;
Febiniary to the end of May, the second from the middle of June to
the end of October, during which latter period the upper waters are
full of fish.
In the earlier months, for some unknown reason, the salmon, with
very rare exceptions, refuse all lures except the troll, which, how-
ever, they take freely; May a change for the better comes
but in
over them, and they rise sportingly at the fly. Spring trout also,
from 41b. to 01b., may be taken, but they are a wary race, which,
having lived long in this deceitful world, profit by experience. Eed
trout are not only numerous, but fine, and m
quality second only to
those of Westmeath. During the trolling season they add a weighty
item to the creel.
When I first visited Waterville, Jerry Quirk reigned in a gi-and

Hibernian hotel at the eastern extremity of the village, where many
a night I have gone to bed with the poker, as ofifering some slight
protection against the said Jerry's nocturnal pleasantries. But this

mode of exercising hospitality exists no longer, since Mr. Quirk
emigi'ated to the States, where, for anything I know, he enlisted in
M'Mahon's brigade, and there gained high renown for brewing
whisky punch and breaking heads;
Her Majesty's Irish mail-cars, though always appearing to do

great things in the way of speed, in reality do very little ; so, though
the distance to Waterville was not great, we took a considerable
time to do it. Our steed was a representative animal, with a high
irregular spinal ridge, a wonderful absence of flesh, and an eye in
which fun, pluck, and devilment were happily blended, whilst the
saucy toss of his head and general bearing said plainly, Here we '
are, full of life, and up to anything."

The road ran over a dull waste of peat bogs, at this season flower-
less and the black pools trembling as we drove along.
desolate,
Our conductor, however, took especial care that the silence should
*' "
not be oppressive. Ah, Barne}?-, ye divil ! (to the vicious, raw-
ye ashamed of yerself
'
boned horse) ar'n't ^whoop I to keep her
beautiful ladyship's honour here in the cowld ? Get along wid ye,
"
darlint (with a gay good-humoured glance at our little maid from
those sly, grey, inscrutable Kerry eyes). "And so yer honour is
come again to the ould country for spourt. And it's lots of it ye'll
have. There's lashings of fish in the lake ;

houl regiments of 'em.
Sorra such a season ever there was.'*
This sort of thing used to charm me a few years ago, for I heard
and believed, being thereby the gainer of many fallacious but pleasant
hopes. Knowledge may be power, but it is not necessarily happi-
ness. Now my humour hadgrown sceptical. I did not believe a
word of it (Wisdom was wrong for once) so I chose to feel sure the
;
speaker was talking bosh, and merely intended to say something

pleasant.
I was glad to scent the peat smoke in the sweet evening air, as it
showed we were near the end of our journey. Taken as a whole, the
drive had been a
success, the only accidents of the entire distance
being one broken trace and a fracture of the hind leg of a luckless
cur, who, in a fit of sudden insanity, challenged us to a race down
hill ;
and so we came to the Lake Hotel, to supper and rest.
Dear old Waterville March morning your mountains

! in this cold
show as clear and lovely, and your bogs rather browner than when
we parted. Perhaps, as regards complexion, you might say the same
SALMON ANGLING IN IBELAND. 21)
to mo. I should not bo hurt ; by lips we love,

truth, kindly spoken
seldom does wound ;
have passed so many
and with you, old friend, I
happy months, that, though an unusually shy man, I do not blush to

make the touching avowal I love you.
We made quite a grand procession at starting. John marched first
with the rods, followed by Tim bearing the net and gaff next came ;
"Willie with the basket and bag the former, as it contained raw
materials for manufacture, always looked prettier on his shoulder ;
next in order was your humble servant ; and last of all shambled the
waiter, with a small stock of preventives against cold and hunger.
Nor was our start on the lake less dignified ;
for Willie had extem-
porised two new cleats, and some thole-pins, so that we went off in
gi'eat style with four oars, the old boat groaning and plunging for-
ward like an overrun bison on the prairies.
I became acquainted with John something in this wise. A hun-
dred years ago, us say (one ought not to be personal), our
let
professional anglers wero rather naughty boys picking up, retain-

ing, and improving all the sad things so carelessly thrown away by
certain fast young gentlemen I have in my eye. Now my friend
John had rather an indifferent reputation in the village, being consi-
dered a poor mean-spirited fellow, who never drank whisky, nor
figured in a faction fight he was said, moreover, to be respectful

;
and quiet, so I took him, many a day ago, and stuck to him. But,
alas ! John had two faults firstly, being sometimes passive when
he should have been active, and secondly, having a sad constitutional
tendency to colic when the wind was ahead. Pulling a diminutive
oar, he placed himself in the bow, and when abreast of Church
Island calmly drew his paddle over the opposite gunwale, and produced
his pouch.
"Here's for luck, y'r honour, and plinty of it;" but whether
the latter clause was addressed to the pouch or myself seemed
uncertain.
I feel rather unwilling to say anything about the tackle we are
going to use doubtless you know it as well as I do but then, by a
;
sort oijictio legis, I am bound to hold you do not or what would

80 A YEAE OF LIBERTY ; OE,
be the use of my writing at all ? Well, then, on this thread of

single gilt are two treble hooks (not over large) an inch and a half
apart. Insert the end of the thread through the vent of the we
were going to say parr but that could not be, as the law is dead
;
against it and bring it out at the mouth. This small piece of lead
has, as you see, a brass pin at the bottom and a brass eye at the top ;
pass the free end of the gut through the eye, and bury the lead in
the mouth of the bait put a stitch through the loop, including the
;
upper and lower jaw then with the thumb and forefinger give the
;
requisite curve, and the business is done. Before you drop it over
the side, observe the length of the loop on the trace tight fits do
not answer for boat work on cold days in March.
As I said before, John stopped to light his pipe ;
the example was
contagious, and, with incense reeking from four altars, and zealous
invocations to Fortune, the baits were dropped into the water, and
the act on Lough Currane began.
first
We took two courses round Church Island, but did nothing, so we
proceeded to call at the best lodges on the eastern shore, where our
luck began to mend, and by three o'clock ten good trout were in the
bag but not a salmon, nor the sight of one. Another hour passed,
;
and the and men grew longer and bluer. To add to

faces of master
our John's symptoms pointed to a severe attack of colic. At

distress,
this critical moment both rods were run simultaneously. There was
no mistake about it we were fast in two salmon.

;
I believe, on my honour, that a Waterville spring fish fights more

desperately than any salmon of his weight elsewhere. In the pre-
sent case they fully justified our good opinion. Two fish hooked at
the same time require careful handling ;
and more than once, when
they crossed, we were obliged to pass one rod over the other, and
exchange, to avoid fouling. It cost us nearly half an hour before
both were secured. New remedies are brought to light every day,
but I first learned this afternoon that the struggles of an unlucky
animal were a sovereigii cure for colic.
In this benighted region, when a salmon dies, certain ceremonies
&re wont to be perfonjaed, the most imposing of which be
appefvrs to
SALMON ANftLINQ IN IRELAND. 31
"the libation," or grace cup. Although stoutly resisting such

heathen practices, on the present occasion I could hardly do so, as
to-day partook of the nature of a festival, not wholly unlike the
dies Jest i, on which Adams informs us '' there was a general cessation
of business."
When the funeral rites were duly solemnised, and the baits once
more spinning over the quarters of the boat, it was getting late, and
little chance of further sport remained. Still the spirits of my crew
did not flag, so we worked steadily homewards, and thought ourselves
veiy fortunate in landing another small fish of 81b.

If in the morning John marched in the van like a hero to battle,
you may be sure he held the post of honour when returning

victorious.
At the landing-place bright eyes awaited our return. As a matter

of course, my faithful follower walked up to his mistress.
"Come, Willie," she said, "turn out the bag. Ah! three nice
fish 91b., 111b., and 81b." And so ended our first day on Lough
Currane.
CHAPTER VII.
Waterville Derrynane Spring Equinox Below Bridge Lake in Summer

The Coach before the Horses "Maiden Trout" Qualms of Conscience-
Experience.
During the succeeding week the weather continued fine, and, for
the season, reasonably mild ;
so our excursions on the lake met with
no interruption, and we worked all day and every day with infinite
gusto. The year was above the average, and the sport, for a
moderate-minded man, excellent, our worst day being two clean
fish, and our best five. If to this the usual quota of brown trout
be added, X think we had sufficient reason to be s?itisf;ed, which,
believe me, is not always the case with gentlemen who travel for
amusement.
The principal scene of our week's happy toil was the eastern
shore of the lake, including Cummeragh Bay ;
so to-day we will
change our ground and visit the opposite side.

On the western shore the wild mountain range, extending from
Derrynane, rises abmptly, forming a grand and beautiful setting to
the silvery sheet below. But these mountains will never again echo
to the joyous hallo or cheery horn of the great Dan. Why here,
actually here, on his own happy hunting grounds, he is dead as a

door-nail. Such is fame. What a change this peaceful wilderness
must have been after the sweat and turmoil of '^ Conciliation Hall."
Surely he must often have quitted his home with shaken purpose
and sinking heart. Could he have gazed into the magic mirror
below, and seen things as we see them to-day, he -would have
remained with his hounds when " Emancipation," the great monu-
ment of his life, had been built up, and rested on his fame.
We cannot start till the bait arrives. John, whose business it is
to procure it, ought to have returned long ago. As he was nowhere

in sight, I strolled to the bridge to look after him. Lo there he !
was in all his glory. With his legs comfortably disposed on the
shingle, and his back supported by a smooth boulder, the wretched

man was fast asleep.
Across his knees lay the butt his hands had relaxed their hold,
;
and two-thirds of the rod lay quietly in the water no, not quietly
for an imfortunate eel was tugging at it with all his might, begging
" to
the inexorable sleeper get up and take the nasty pin out of his
throat, for it hurt him very much, and he was but a poor slimy
fellow after all, and meant no harm in tasting what Misther John
had so kindly placed at his disposal."
I felt seriously alarmed at this unexpected malady. I had learned
how colicmight be cured, but was fairly puzzled how to treat the
present crisis. It would be unsafe even to trust him alone in future,
as the poor fellow might, at any moment, fall into a state of coma.
The first thing, however, to be done was to rouse the sufferer, so

I administered a sharp counter-imtant on the spot, and then dosed

him \Yith good advice.
The oration was touching, and the pith of it was, that though
perfect quiet was essential to the success of bottom-fishing in clear
water, yet if I found him practising again in his sleep, he might go

to . I fear I mentioned a gentleman with whom I earnestly
hope poor John will never take service.
It was fully eleven o'clock when we set off, and as trout fonned
the main object of the expedition, we put out the baits as soon as
we had shoved off. How pleasant it was, sweeping round the little
bays, and doubling the rocky headlands, now playing a laker, and
then listening to the innocent kindly chat of the boatmen. John,
having no relapse since the morning, was rapidly recovering his

"a
spirits, and in full talk about mighty big fish he had once seen
caught at the Old Ship.*' Poor Pat had never read the fable of the
goose and the golden eggs, and, being only a simple uneducated
fellow, did not perceive that if greedy proprietors and bad bog-
trotting boys in the dark ages, of course had not so often

interrupted Mrs. Salmon in her household duties in dark November
nights, and slipped a neat wire grating over the eye of the cutts on
Saturday evenings, or sometimes in a fresh, let the breast of the
traps fall accidentally after dusk on Sundays, there might still have
been a fish as big as he remembers to have seen. In this lake, as in
all others, salmon either lodge on certain favourite shores or on
rocky reefs, and towards some of these we were slowly making our
way. A few fathoms to the south of an elevated rocky islet we had
some pretty sport for an hour, landing five r six very nice lakers,
and, returning by the Old Ship, ran the only salmon of the day.
On feeling the hook our new acquaintance darted towards tlie boat,
and then, with a vicious lash of his broad tail (which made an eddy
like thesweep of an oar), plunged headlong downwards within a yard
of us.
It was impossible to keep the rod in position, as the line would
not run ;
so with three or four feet of the top under water, and the
butt above my head, the reel all the time groaning as if

very bad
D
34 SALMON ANGLING IN lEELAND.
indeed, I let matters take their own course. It seemed as if the

salmon had made a perpendicular run of fifty yards ;
whether he did.
or only appeared to do so, I cannot tell. I remember having a vague
idea that my hooks might be fast in an ancient relative of John's

stout gentleman. However, he was a good fish, the best I killed
during my stay, and weighed a little over 151b.
The glass falling when we left home, but we found it much
was
lower on our return. The wind, too, was moaning and shrieking
over the mountains, and soon after dark the rain came down as only
Atlantic rain can do. There was no help for it we were in for the
equinox, and for the next day or two must give up all thoughts of
the lake. It should not, however, be supposed that Currane is at all
given to dirty tricks on the contrary, by its inherent good-

ness it soon purifies the nasty things thrown into it, and only
rises higher and purer from the attacks of its brawling and petulant
tributaries.
A few seasons ago, the kind old lessee, with whom I shall never
chat again, told me
that in the spring, the river was full of a small
silvery fish which he called '^maiden trout." These were said to be

brought down by the March and April spates. Whether this state-
ment was critically exact I do not know ; positively, I have no theory
of my own on the subject ; and being a member of the Society of
Friends, have no intention of doing battle physically or intellectually

on the question, and shall positively decline if summoned to
''
the
field."
As this was about the time, we made a cast of trout flies, and
strolled to the bridge. Before wetting the line I may as well say a
few words about this river. From the bridge to the sea the distance
may be two hundred and fifty or three hundred yards, the best portion
being that nearest the beach. This is indeed worth visiting when the
summer trout are in full run. Many a time have I stood by the old
creatures glistening in the pool,
peat-stack watching these beautiful
turning first one silver side and then the other to the smooth sand
no doubt thinking it capital fun to feel the dear
but troublesome
friends they brought from the sea growing more sick and brown
A YEAR OP LIBERTY ; OR, :..)
every hour in the fresh stream. I believe there are no better twenty
yards of trout water in Ireland than that space above the shingles :
there may be, I can only say I never found it.

Let no man Waterville in July with the hope of catching
visit
grilse. The a trout lake, and nothing more.

lake is It is only fair,
however, to say, that a friend, of whose skill and veracity I entertain

a high opinion, dissents from this statement, and declares he has
occasionally taken two or three peel in a single day on the lake. Of

course this may always be on the cards still the run of summer fish
;
is far too small to offer a reasonable chance of anything worthy the

name of sport.
In a previous visit we arrived early in June, and remained till the
end of September, and in that time I never killed one, nor saw
anyone else do so. On every breezy day, a red salmon or two would
come at the fly, just to say, " How do you do ?" and then, with a
scornful wave of his tail, depart as free as he came. I mention these
matters here, as we shall have no time to visit Ourrane in the

summer, though, if we pass this way again during the late autumn
rains, I hope to spend a day or two with my old friend the
Inny, and also visit Lakes Derryana and Elaianane. These two
musical words, are spelt, after the local pronunciation, and not
according to the Ordnance survey. All this, however, is in

advance of my subject, so we will try back, and look for our
" maiden trout."
My old friend's statement, that the water at times like the present
was full of these creatures, was soon shown to be correct. In the
flat,between the bridge and the weirs, I killed a score and a half,
and might have filled the basket had his theory been more conclusive.
In short, I was suffering from an unwonted attack of conscience, and
*'
was tormented with frightful suspicions of murdering water babies,'*
wândering from home for the first time.

Do men ever profit by the experience of others ? Not often, I
fancy, though they may
sometimes learn a lesson, when the good
fairies are pinching them for their sins. Now, gentlemen, after these
general moral observations, fancying myself once more seated in the
P ?
professor's cliair, I will finish

1113'
lecture with a story, every word of
which however, true.

is,
A
long while ago, a sharp, active, good-humoured young fellow, an
old schoolfellow of mine, made his first visit to this country. Of
course he took his tackle with him, and the entire stock might have
easilypacked into his waistcoat pocket. His enemies asserted that

he carried it in his aunt's snuff-box, but I solemnly assure you
gentlemen, that this was scandal.
Well, to Ireland he came, and having some common sense, soon
found that (piscatorially speaking) he knew nothing he ought to
know. And how do you think he set about his education ? "Why,
he went on his travels, and visited nearly every river and lake in the
island.
On arriving at a new station, his first visit was to some profes-
whom he put such questions as these " Have
sional, to you any
;
spring fish ? At what time do the grilse arrive ? Ditto white trout ?
What would you consider a good day's angling ? Is leave to be
bought, or had for the asking ?" Being rather a modest young man,
he did not put above a dozen or two questions besides. Our friend
believed about half he heard (which, as you will remark, was a very
liberal allowance), posted his books, and next set off for the river.
Here he hooked the unfortunate angler he saw, and put him

first
through the same examination. If prosperous, he said as little as
did he no terms were " The river was

possible ;fail, strong enough
a humbug there was not a fish in it never had been, he believed,
;
nor ever would be." Here, again, our judicious traveller struck a
balance, made up his notes, and hurried to the lessee, who, in turn,
submitted to the infliction as best he might.
Thus he went on from day to day, raising all sorts of
hopes in the
minds of professionals, and boring innumerable other innocent
people nearly to death. At length his journey brought him to
Dublin, and by this time he knew a thing or two. So he bought
three or four rods, lots of seals' furs, pig's wool, and no end of useful
things ;
and having done all this, went calmly home with a quiet
conscience, and waited, not too patiently, for the coming season ;
then lie returned, soon

gained practical skill, got into good company,
was often beaten but never disheartened, and during the next four-
teen or fifteen years held up his head with the best, and made a bag
as good as any of them.
In conclusion, gentlemen, let me commend our friend's example to
your notice, and advise you to follow it.
CHAPTER VIII.
I go, but under protest Cummeragh River Distant View of the Inny Lakes
Certain Local Matters the Reader ought to know Ogham Inscriptions
Limerick The Old Hookmaker Doonass How we got to Sligo.
March 24. Waterville.
Yesterday I promised to leave ; to-day I vowed to depart ; well,

there is But, indeed and indeed, I will positively
no faith in man.
go to-morrow, though under protest. The lake promises excellent
sport for the next month to come. Could I follow my own inclina-
tions, not a step would I stir ;

but there you are, my dear friend,
grimly shaking your paper-knife at a poor fellow, and saying in an

awful voice, which makes me tremble all over " Halloa, you sir, :
what are you loitering about for Come, be quick, move on, do you
?
hear?" Well, if we must, we must; but if all the bobbies in

Christendom are after me, to-day I will go to Cummeragh.
There was rain yesterday in the mountains, and the water is of
the true coffee colour ; so, if there be but a couple of salmon in the
river,we shall be pretty sure of one.

The Cummeragh, as I remarked in a former chapter, is the chief
feeder of Currane. It is a short
river, merely the connecting link
between the lakes. The best part of it does not exceed a mile or a
mile and a half, of which the first half is rocky, and the second
a dismal swamp.
Tim, Willie, and I pulled to the head of the lake, drew the boat
o8 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
up, hid the oars, and commenced fishing with a fly, I will try to
describe. Tip, silver twist ; tag, golden-yellow seal ; tail,

topping,
bustard, mallard, and ruff ; body, brightest scarlet seal's fur ribbed
wibh silver ; shoulder, golden-yellow pig's wool and jay hackle, ;
scarlet ; wing, two feathers of the jungle cock, rich but light
sprigging, topping over allhorns very long, crimson macaw.
;
In the rocky pools of the lower part we had one shy rise, which
I thought was made by a spent fish, the rather as I had landed
one of these sick people just before. By and by we came to the
dismal swamp, where for some distance the river was as dead as a
canal, but not so wide deep, and black as ink ;
but here, also, was
the part where we expected to succeed.
After landing another spent fish and half a score of foul trout,
we struck a ten-pounder and killed him.
I looked at Willie's face as he lifted our prize from the water, and
should not have recognised it. The salmon ran gallantly first up
and then down the river at a splendid pace of course w*e followed ;
in single file, up to our knees in slush, each man splashing his next
neighbour as far as was possible, till both became a deep maroon

colour. Had Tim and Willie been buried in the bog for a week, and
then dug up, they could scarcely have been more perfectly cased
with the solution of peat.
Finding we could do no more in this horrible hole, we rubbed
ourselves as clean as we could with dry heather, and having thus
completed our toilet, commenced fishing back to the boat, killing on
the way the salmon I had risen some hours before, which proved a
small fresh one of 7lb.
Many a time did we turn to look at the desolate Dunkerron moun*

tains, the birthplace of the Inny, and the cradle of Derriaiia and
Elaineane, and wonder whether Fortune or the rains would bring us

to either, late in the coming autumn.I have often spoken of our
boat and men to-day they
;
were paid thirty shillings per week
;
for all ;
but to this must be added whisky and lunch such is the
custom here.
Mr. J. P. Nunn. proprietor of the Lake Hotel, is willing and quite
SALMON AXOLING IN IRELAND. 39
able to make liis

guests most comfortable at 1)/.
per month up to
May. Those terms may seem a little high, but we must bear in
mind that, unless a man has the constitution of a buffalo, wet, cold,
and hard work require comfort that the season is very short, and
;
the accommodation of such a house incalculable to the tourist.

The present lessee of the fishery, with the most far-seeing liberality,
allows strangers to angle on the river below the weirs in fact, he
lays open to them his whole run of fish. All he asks in return is,
that any early salmon taken by the rod shall be placed in the
'pond," or, if retained, be paid for at market price. So he gives all

that a tme sportsman can desire, freely, and only requires that his
property and interests may not suffer for his kindness.

Once more we are at Killorglin, on our way to Limerick via
Killamey. Here I once asked a friend (a man of extraordinary
singleness of purpose) whether he had seen this view, or examined
that ruin. He replied, ''I came to see salmon, not archaeological
curiosities," Many men, however, have many minds, and the reader
might like to see some of these, though my friend did not.
The of antiquity scattered over the county are very
traces
numerous. do not pretend to be deeply learned in such matters
I ;
nevertheless, if wearied by hard work, or brought to a stand by bad

weather, I would pay a visit to the Ogham inscriptions, in the vicinity
of Kilmelchedor Church, near Smerwick Harbour. Prae-Roman
prae-Christian older than history, older even than tradition these
inscribed stones have still the power to cast a strange spell on the
beholder. do not understand the characters, and doubt whether
I
I should enjoy them half so much if I did. The key is said to be

found, but tome this revivification of dead symbols seems unsatis-
factory. Could we really get at the truth, what should we learn ?
Would these mystic lines speak of a life of triumph, or a death of
fame of love enjoyed, or affection slighted ? AVho can say ?
;
The
characters, however, stand eloquent in silence. Well may we moralise
with the banished duke
This is no flattery ;
these are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.
Thanks to tlie rail, we are in Limerick. The new town has

nothing remarkably new about it, and the old town on King's Island
looks as dismal and dilapidated as if, since the days of Ptolemy,
Dane and Norman, Edward Bruce and Ireton, William and Ginkel,
had been battering at it all day long. Perhaps severe recent study
had soured my temper, for I had huge tome touching
just finished a
the Shannon. The subject had there been considered in all its
branches ^historically, poetically, botanically, mythologically, tra-

ditionally, agriculturally, prophetically. It had been regarded as a
means of traffic and a means of salmon. Start not, reader ! If I
gained nothing from the perusal, my own sufferings have at least

else
taught me tenderness and compassion towards others. This morning,

however, we feel so much better so much less bilious, in fact that
we are able to invite our friends to a walking party to see a hook
made, and if
possible a 501b. salmon killed, at Doonass.
Amongst all the innocent enjoyments this beautiful world affords,
I know none comparable to the delight of a new place. The sun
seems more bright, the air more charming, than elsewhere and even ;
common things are invested with new sensations emphatically new,

for there is nothing old or effete about them. Travelling, as a boy,
was my passion ;
it is a passion still. It has never become flat, stale,
or unprofitable ;
and all it ever was, it is now.
In this city there is much to see, much to please. The lace manu-
factory is well worth a visit. I am sure it was beautiful. know
I
it was dear. The quays, too, are full of life and novelty. The river
had been most magnanimously forgiven, and we did all justice to its
Full of history (the guide-book was in our

grandeur and beauty.
pocket) we strolled over King's Island, fully appreciating the present
as compared with the past. Of course we went to the top of the

Cathedral tower. Below lay the city, every street, lane, and court
spread out like a map. Eastward the river came broad and shining
to the sea westward
;
it still rolled on, widening as it went. The
rich lowlands fell off on either side, leaving a broader channel, till
the half -transparent mist so mingled land and water, that the eye
strove in vain to decide where the meadows ended and the ocean
SALMON ANOLINQ IN IRELAND. 41
reigned supreme. All this, and mucli more, we saw from the tower.
Getting up was an easy affair, but coming down was altogether a new
sensation. I would not wish my worst enemy a worse cramp. I
could have outroared Caliban.
we must pay a visit to O'Shauglinessy.
Before starting for Doonass
A and pattern hooks had been sent to him, and
fortnight ago, sizes
the order must now be called for. K you never saw the process,
listen, and learn how to make one. We climbed the rickety and
dirty stairs, and in an upper room found the old artiste hard at
work.
On a table before him lay several fine triangular files, a few pairs
boxwood, and a tray divided into compartments,
of pliers, a piece of
containing small bars of Swedish iron, of sizes suitable for hooks of

every number. Now he takes one of the bars and cuts out the barb ;
then turning the iron in his hand, shapes the back. Again he turns
the half -finished hook, and carefully completes the barb, giving it a
spherical point as fine as a darning needle. Lastly, he puts on his

glasses, and carefully examines what has been done, adds a few
finishing touches, and with the pliers gives the exact shape accord-
ing to pattern, remarking, with a severe glance at the luckless
*'
innovator, Some gentlemen are a little self-willed, and like to
spoil a good thing by their improvements." Nothing now remains

to be done but the tempering. I have used these hooks for many
years, and have killed salmon with every size, the two largest and
two smallest excepted ;
as one fracture only occurred, I feel bound
to bear testimony to their excellence. price The
high, but when is
it is remembered they can be used season after season, in a series of

new they are cheap at any money.
flies,
Truly the Shannon is something like a river. " Its length and
size are unexampled in any island in the world of similar extent."
It rises in Lough Allen, runs a race of 240 miles, and is

navigable
for small craft till within a few miles of its source. Relatively to
the magnitude of the country it enriches and beautifies, it seems like
a giant bom from a dwarf like the dinornis compared with the Qgg
from which it sprung. Large as it is, mighty as are its lakes, innu-
merable as are its tributaries, I

fancy our good Salmon Act found it
bad enough, The labyrinth of stake-nets in the lower river, draught-
nets, bulging, and angling, had cruelly injured poor Mr. Salmon's
prospects. Now what the river can produce we shall see. In five
years' time, I believe, if men have one grain of common sense, for
every ten fish brought to market we shall have fifty, besides leaving
pretty pickings for honest men.

Tliere stands Castle Connell, nestling amidst demesnes and
pleasure
grounds, a very paradise for anglers. The glorious rapids, ever chant-
ing the same sweet lay, sing to it night and day now piano, now
till with the shout of ten thousand voices,
forte they thunder over
the ''Leap of Doonass."
From its source to the sea the Shannon is said to have a fall of
only 150 feet, more than half of which occurs between this place and
the city. These beautiful casts being all in private hands, or leased,
especially to the rod, you and I have nothing to do with them at
present, beyond envying a gallant officer, an especial friend of some
of my especial friends, labouring with his usual energy. We should
have liked to have heard his recent experiences, but as it is quite
as practicable to carry on a conversation across Niagara as across
these rapids, we did not attempt it. We watched him for some
time, but saw nothing of the fifty-pounder.
These rapids extend for miles, with here and there spots of sur-
passing excellence. What will they be in 1870 ?
We
must leave Limerick and Mr. Cruise's comfortable hospitium
early to-morrow, and try to find our way to Sligo, for we have much
to do before the middle of May* I certainly could not make out our
route satisfactorily that night. If the reader wishes to learn exactbj
how we got there the next day, I cannot tell him. At this moment
I retain a general impression, that between going up and down,
backwards and forwards, we wandered in an irregular manner over
about hcUf the island, and that is all I know about it.
CHAPTER IX.
Our HobbiofjJMorning Walk Sligo Mathovv tho Groat The Drought begins
to toll Waters of the Neighbourhood Going a-fishing Lough Gill The
Angler's Duty Advice to a dear Countryman Off for Lough Molvin.
March 3L
Every man keeps a liobby some men have a whole stableful so
I have as good a right to such an animal as my neighbour.
In all works on horsemanship, this humble quadruped is sadly
neglected. No writer has yet thought it worth his while to devote

even one chapter to its use and abuse, its treatment, management,
or mismanagement. Some day, when I supply this deficiency in
our literature, the following rules will be strongly laid down, and
considerably amplified ride your nag gently, and

: not too
frequently ;
avoid splashing your neighbour, and never wilfully
gallop over him.
Our present hobby is peep-of-day." To compare one's rising
'
with the sun would be absurd moreover, it would be taking a

;
monstrous liberty with that heavenly body. Fancy a poor ^vretch,

one day strong and gay, the next sick and sad, challenging him who
of old was worshipped as a god, to a race for the year. He would
lose to a dead certainty. However, I always try to imitate his getting
up as well as I may, and am now taking an early walk to the nearest
high ground to see all I can. In the face of my own rules, my friend
must not be worried into early rising I can only give him an occa-
;
sional hint, and set him a good example ;

one hour of sunrise such
as this worth half the day.
is
Far away to the west and the north, stretches the broad Atlantic,
sparkling in the morning sun below me is Sligo Bay and Harbour,
;
through whose sandbanks and shoals a steamer is carefully threading

her way. The town lies sleeping on the old waterwom level, and to
the east is the lake, second only to Killarney in beauty. The sun
44 A YEAR OF liberty; or,
looks full on the clear purple water, warming into life tlie insect
world, and casting here and there a deep shadow from mountain or
island. Water birds are chattering, making their morning toilet, and
giving good morrow to each other whilst many circles, widening as
;
they go, show that the trout are at breakfast.

These are some of the things which can be seen in the morning,
you lazy lie-abed. If you heard more, you would only yawn, turn
on the other side, and bid me begone. But to you who possess a
kindred taste, I will say stop, stop, or my hobby will be ridden to
death.
I walked home through the thriving, well-built country town, but
looked in vain for some monument recording Father Mathew's
labours and the public appreciation of them. Here, if anywhere,
one might have expected to see "a statue of gold on a pillar of
porphyry" raised in his honour ;

but no such thing. The good
father preached here the great crusade of 1840 ; nearly two-thirds
of the Catholic population flocked to his standard, took oaths of
service and fidelity, and better still kept them. What easy work
Peter the Hermit had, compared with Mathew the Great! The
former had only to launch semi-barbarians (fond of fighting for the
mere pleasure of the thing, and doubly fond when there was anything
to be got by it) against better men than themselves but our gallant ;
soldier had to fight against habit and inclination, confirmed by older

habits and inclinations in father and grandfather, back to the days of
Noah. Good man, true priest, he has long gone to his rest. No
cross on his breast, no palm in his hand, show that he reached the
Golden City. No matter :
His bones are dust, his good sword is rust,

But his soul is with the saints, we trust.
The first thing I saw on entering the street where our hotel stood
was a short, stout fellow in close conference with Willie, who, the
next instant, dived into the passage. He had secured a boatman,
and ^was gone to boil the inevitable egg, which he not only would
dress, but bring up, to the great scandal and wrath of all waiters.
Lough Gill runs through the town by a nan-owing creek, called

the river Garvogue here, an hour later, we embarked, and rowed
;
away to the broader reaches above, passing a long line of poor cabins.
In all old towns, poverty dwells by the water, and Sligo is quite in
the fashion.
The drought which distinguished the present season began now to
make its effects felt, in the temperature and lowness of the rivers.
These effects, however, must, of course, be greatly modified by local
peculiarities. Streams with a large outfall will feel it least. So
far as spring angling is concerned, the early run of fish (before
February 1) is certain to give a reasonable stock to the rivers, and

the high water and freshes of that and the succeeding month will,
in nine seasons out of ten, constantly add to the stock.
Should such a river flow from a lake, the want of water will not
be felt as an inconvenience, the fish being certain to run into it, and
consequently a long spell of dry weather will interfere less with

angling in spring than in summer. Nevertheless, a drought is our
greatest enemy, except perhaps in such rivers as the Erne and

Blackwater below the weirs, where it must be greater than I have
ever seen it, to injure sport materially.
In Lough Melvin, which will be our next station, its effects must
be more felt, for although the Bundoran river the little Drowse
(the word is spelt as pronounced), enters the sea in a narrow and
approaches the lake, the shallows in dry
sufficient stream, yet, as it
weather are so low, as to offer an almost impassable barrier to the

farther advance of the salmon. In such circumstances they have no
alternative but to drop back into the deeps above the village, lie like
logs at the bottom,and pray to Jupiter for rain.

Instead of dragging out the reader this morning, to see only
perhaps one or two fish killed, it appears more advisable to devote ag

much of this paper as possible to a desciiption of the waters of the
neighbourhood, and thus give him the means of performing this

most agreeable part of an angler's business for himself.
Sligo forms excellent head-quarters for the tourist. He may take
his ease at his inn, or, if economically disposed, can secure comfort-
able lodgings and make himself at liome. This is my plan, when-

ever such a plan is possible. Then the lake is at the door, and this
is no small advantage.
Five miles west of the town is the village of Ballysadere, through

which flows a river of the same name. This stream is formed by
the imion of the river Awinmore and the Unshin or Arrow, near the
town of CoUooney, and falling over a ledge of rocks, which crosses
its entire bed, thunders into Ardnaglass harbour. Here the angler
may look for sport in the late spring and summer freshes.
What shall we say of Lough Arrow ? Why, simply this that the :
man who cannot be satisfied with this sport in April and May,
either with fly or troll, and will not laud it to the skies in June, when
the green drakes hover over it like a cloud, must indeed be hard to
please.
Lough Tult, imbedded amid precipices, abounds with trout ;
Lough Easkey and Lough Glencar well deserve a visit. If to these
attractions be added the on the high road to the

fact that he is
Drowse, Lough Melvin, and the glorious Erne, I think the tourist
will admit that Sligo forms a centre of
operations not to be
despised.
Should our friend be a botanist, Benbulben will cheer him : if he
be painter or poet, he will feel a still deeper delight on the breezy
summit of that noble mountain and, on his way home, should he
;
pace the ruined cloisters of the fine old Dominican abbey, I doubt
not he will return a better and a happier man.
We have reached Lough Gill at last, and are gliding along its
southern and most beautiful shore. If the lake looked lovely in the
early morning, it looked not less lovely now, as we stole over its
curling waters, between islands of all sizes, beautiful with rock and
wood and shadow.
The lake, though by no means in the first rank for size, is yet six
miles in length by two in breadth, and boasts twenty islands, the
largest of which (Church Island) reckons 42 acres, and Cottage

Island 14 acres ;
both are inhabited, which must prove of immense
importance to the hungry angler, Our broad-shouldered guide

SALMON ANGLINO IN IRELAND. 47
declared the fly to bo " the thing wherewith to catch the conscience
of the king," so we tried the scarlet, donkey, parson, green, olive,
claret, and fiery-brown and did nothing.

As each was sliown in turn for his approbation, the stont man
shook his head oracularly, and observed, *'
It
might do, yer honour,"
intimating clearly that in his opinion, unless the salmon were hope-
lessly lunatic, not a tail should we see, and 1 am bound to say he
was right.
Perhaps thinking our obstinacy sufficiently punished, the honest

fellow drew out from the depths of his coat pocket an ancient and
tattered song book, from between the leaves ofwhich he produced a
ragged and faded fly, of no definite colour, having very much the
appearance of a decayed gentleman who had known better days, and
to this I added a pair of dark small flies. After this our fortune in
some sort began to mend, and we soon killed a nice dish of trout ;
still not a salmon could we see. In this extremity, Willie proposed

a spoon and minnow, which were presently spinning over each
quarter of the boat.
Passing Culmore Point we had a smart
run. The fish felt light-
too light, I thought, for a salmon,
though the boatman of course
was positive, as boatmen should be. Whatever he was, he gave us
the slip but to this day, no doubt, Mr. Gallagher maintains that,
;
''Bedad, the obstinate gintleman hooked a splendid salmon

wid a spoon off that Pint divil a lie I'm telling ye." Presently,
however, near Church Island, we did hook a salmon. There
was no doubt about it this time, for in five-and-twenty minutes
we had the satisfaction see a neat thirteen-pounder
to
crimped,
*'
making the green one red," as he soaked and stiffened over our
stem.
What would it avail to say that we gave the lake little rest that
Dromohair, Connoi-more Stone, The Eidge, Pigeon Point, The Hollow,
Culmore Point, 0"Rorke's Castle. The Shell-house Shore, Church
Island, and Castle Point, were tried again, and again ? Few readers
would be much the wiser, and when they visit the lake I promise
that Pat Gallagher shall them
faithfully exhibit all.
After working steadily for the next five days, sometimes with
salmon and trout flies, at other times with the troll, we bagged six more
fresh fish and about forty small lake trout. The salmon were of fair
average size, from 81b. to 111b., none coming up to our number one.
A gentleman's first duty is to ask permission. I avoid names,
since even those whose whose daily acts to strangers are all kindness
might not desire such publicity. I may mention, however, that
application to the courteous owners of Newton Manor, Hazlewood,
Killery, and Olaveragh House will make the angler a freeman of the
lake. My dear friend and countryman, the recipient of such liberality,
when yon go home I hope you won't put bad boys in the stocks for
looking after
your roach and dace.
At the end of our week we packed up, and drove merrily away for
Lough Melvin. Before evening we sat down to dinner in the unpre-
tending hospitium of Garrison; watched the sun go down too large
and red for our wishes, yet went to bed to dream of fresh triumphs
on new fields.
CHAPTER X.
Lough Melvin A Week

at Garrison What the Drought did Permission
Irish FoUowei- Advantages as a Station Head Waters Inhabitants of the
Lake The Great Middle Class Trying our Luck De Omnibus Rebus
Leaf from an old MS. We cry for Mercy.
April 3.
If a man could
ever hope to find Peace in this troublesome world,
he might reasonably expect to meet that sweet saint somewhere about
Garrison. Preaching night and day, the gentle lake is for ever and
for ever giving good advice, mingling with our waking thoughts and
slumberous fancies. The mountains are like sober " friends in
council," and the islands ought to have at least one hennit, to preach
a homily, De solitudine.
The power to wander over this beautiful world, with free limbs
gAX^MOlf ANGLING IN IRELAND. 49
and a light heart, is an inexpressible delight. It seems to bring

back the innocent patriarchal days, when the strife and turmoil
of busy life were well nigh unknown, and now, after the lapse of
thousands of years, men still turn to the old nomadic life, as to a
normal state ;
and in after years remember their too brief wander-
ings as the brightest period of their existence.

William Scott, the straightforward and intelligent proprietor of
the hotel, shook his head mournfully, when consulted as to our
prospects. The di'ought formed the burden of his song in fact,

made up the greater part of it, and, like the ancient chorus, he
denounced all kinds of disagreeable things. " Of course the first
'*
run," he said, was safe and snug enough ;
the high waters of
February had increased the stock nevertheless he wished them

;
fresher and in better spirits for his part, he liked to see the
;
orathers fierce as blazes tearing away like mad ;

but there was no
help for it, and gintlemen must do the best they could." Then came
the argument. Latterly, few or no fish were able to pass the shallows
on the upper portion of the River Drowse in short, the supply was ;
cut off, and we were likely to be starved out. However, there was
balm in Gilead, for we, being early in the field,
might hope to fatten
where later comers would run short.
On the evening of our arrival we found letters containing most
kind permission from the three noblemen and gentlemen to whom the
shores of the lake belong, which, we may add, is never refused to
strangerswho apply for it. Moreover, Archy Cathcart and his mate
were selected as our boatmen, at the reasonable rate of 24s. per
week, and hardier fellows or more zealous anglers it would be
difficult to find.
Your Irish attendant is a man sni generis ; at least, there is nothing

likehim in our own land. Compare him with an English game-
keeper be that functionary land rat or water rat Pat is as much
like him in body and mind as he is in dress, and in this particular
there is no great degi'ee of comparison. Our well-fed friend in neat
velveteen, gaiters, and boots, stalks solenmly after you, as though he
had reluctantly made up his mind to do a disagreeable duty. He
shows not the smallest interest or pleasure in the business neither

exults at your success nor commiserates your failure, and pockets his
half guinea with a silent touch of his hat and an aspect of being the
most ill-used man in Christendom.
Nowlook on this picture of rags, hearty interest, indefatigable

zeal, and active good humour, all for two shillings a day. If he
cannot show you sport (and you may take your corporal oath he has
done his best), he will tell you what might, could, would, should, or
ought to be done some of it truth, more, probably truth embellished.
But with all his failings and poor Pat is only a man after all ^he is
the best and pleasantest attendant, through heat or cold, hunger or
thirst, in good fortune or evil fortune, that can be found out of his
own tight little island.

With your florin in his hand, he bids ''yer honor the best of
sleap," something hopeful about to-morrow, and with his

says
duddeen in his mouth, and very little under his waistcoat, talks by
hour together of what you did,
his bit of smouldering turf for the
he and they did.
did,
Archy and his mate have been standing this half-hour under the
windows with rods and gaff. There, too, is Willie, critically inspect-
ing the boat, hammer and bradawl in hand one of his eccentricities
;
being a delusion (of course it was a delusion) that all the craft which
float on Irish lakes required repairs, and that it was his special mission
to execute the same.
As a station Garrison is perfect, all the best casts being close at
hand. No comfort can compensate for want of proximity, and here

the one and the other go hand in hand.
*
I have little to say about the waters of the neighbourhood," as
they have scarcely any connection with the angler, if we except the
river Drowse, the outlet of the lake.
Loughs Macnean and Melvin stretch along the north-eastern

boundary of the county of Leitrim, separating it from Fermanagh,
in which, however, they may be said to lie partly. These lakes are
connected by the Kilcoo river, and, with Macnean, form the head
waters and chief breeding grounds of the district. I never fished
either, asthey were not in order duiing any of my visits, but believe
they are of very small accomit till the late autumn freshes at all ;
events the Kilcoo can hardly be of importance until the grilse arrive
in July, nor even then, except after heavy rains. Lough Macnean
is a good-sized piece of water, having a circumference of ten or eleven
miles.
Spring salmon, like early spring flowers, are only to be found in

favoured localities. Lough Melvin being, of course, one of these.
Besides the Salmo Salar, the lake contains other inhabitants. Not
''
to mention the swinish multitude," such as eels, perch, and the
like, it boasts (over and above the aristocratic visitors drawn hither
for change of scene and au') a large number of resident gentry, of
three orders the gi-eat laker, gillaroo, and brown trout. There is
also said to be another class, shy, modest, and retiring, by no means

easily brought under public notice, the pullan, or fresh-water her-
,
ring. These fish, I was informed, are tolerably abundant here, and
in Lough Neagh, and are only taken by netting. To the best of my
belief,the large lake trout are not trolled for with any system or
perseverance ; still they are not unfrequently taken in a chance

kind of way, as the angler who is not too lazy to change the fly foi-
the troll, passes from one side of the lake to the other. Should any
one, however, diligently cultivate the acquaintance of this great
middle class, I doubt not he would gather round him a very nume-
rous circle. That they run large here is certain, for I saw one in
the hands of a Ballyshannon professional, which he told me was
171b., and I am sure he was that weight, if not more.
The gillaroo rise well at the fly, but are far smaller than the pre-
ceding. I do not remember ever seeing one exceeding 41b. Highly

favoured are these creatures, combining as they do beauty with good-
ness then, they may eat what they choose
; They might begin !
with fish, and end with pastry and cheese, without being the worse
for it. Oh that excellent gizzard of theirs ;
as a digestive
apparatus,
it could convert tenpenny nails into chyle.
''
But it is time to leave off talking shop," and be up and doing,
for a west wind is curling the lake, and the boatmen, together with
B 2
52 A YEAR OP WBERTY ) OH,
our prime minister, are waiting on the strand, doubtless wondering

what has come over " the master."
We pulled direct to one of the best casts -the high rocky bluff
on the eastern extremity of the lake where we remained for some
hours trying it over and over with fresh changes, and were not dis-
satisfied with hooking two fish, one of which was landed, and weighed
a little under 101b.
Shifting the ground, we continued our pleasant toil by the rushes
under the Priest's house, and then round the pretty bay immediately
above. These throws (the best on the lake) proving blank, we
stretched over to the north side, and, keeping slow way on the boat,
fished the rocky shore as we proceeded.
Finding the fly unavailing, the troll was set to work, and as we
came abreast of a bold bluff, half a mile or so below Bilbury Island,
had the good fortune to run and kill a small salmon of 6 Jib. From
the island we worked our way home with small flies, taking three
or four gillaroo, and a score of pretty little brown trout. This, as
far as salmon were concerned, proved the best day of our week's
sojourn. Instead of wearying the reader with hopes disappointed or

toilrewarded, it will be better to speak of matters more generally,
and thus enable him to gain a few facts for his own use. Lough
Melvin is by no means the worst of Irish waters the station is con-
;
venient, and the salmon and grilse fishing generally good. The
spring fish run from 7lb. to 111b., though of course these figures are
not to be taken absolutely, as larger and smaller are occasionally
killed. The gillaroo, if nothing better is to be done, are always to
be taken on any day suitable for angling ;
and systematic trolling
would produce good results, as I hope to show and for smaller
;
game, the shores yield plenty of bog-trout, and, to the best of my

belief, charr. In the spring and summer there is something to be
done in the lower part of the Drowse and during the late autinnn
;
spates, excellent sport with salmon, grilse, and gillaroo is to be

found.
Not a hundred years ago, after, as I thought, winding up the
season in the Bosses, we chanced to reach Bundoran on the 1st of
BALMON ANGLmO tN IRELAND. 53
October, intending to botanise from thence to Benbulben. But it
happened that the little river was clearing, after prolonged rains ;
the lake was high, and of course so was the Drowse. Under these
circumstances, another rare specimen had never been added to my
if
hortus siccus, I should not have cared. So I unpacked a rod,

engaged an old fellow as guide, whom I subsequently learned was
the very worst in all Ireland, and set off for Mellinaleck Bridge.
There was, at that state of water, a lovely stream just below the
bridge, where we commenced with an olive half-way down, I found
;
him, and a capital salmon he was. From thence we worked up the

water. Before evening, the basket contained three stout fish, two
grilse, thirteen gillaroo, some brown trout, and, if
my memory is
correct, two or three white trout.
This leaf from an old MS. may seiTe as an illustration of the

remark that during the late autumn spates good sport may be had on
the Drowse. I do not pretend to be an authority on this subject, as
my experience is too limited. I only visited the river once or twice

in each of the many happy seasons spent on the Erae, seasons which
have a pleasant place in my memory, recalling many kindnesses and
many friends. I feel bound, however, to say, that the visits above
referred to seldom proved satisfactory perhaps they were ill-timed
; ;
perhaps all my luck had ended with the first speculation

there ought, ;
" some-
however, to have been ample compensation, as I figured in
"
body's black books a long time after, and was always considered a
defaulter from the tranquil pursuit of botany and the picturesque.
In the next chapter we shall go back to the lake and narrate our
small experience of the Salmo famosus. I hope, however, no very
learned person will expose me for calling the large trout of Lough
Melvin ''names;" I care little what their scientific appellation
may
be ; ignorance profound as mine is hardly worth so large a waste of
wisdom.
54: A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
CHAPTER XI.
Why The Lake Islands Woodcocks and Ducks

certain People are neglected
Our Last Day History of the Week The Camp is broken up,
Trolling
and we march on Derry Willie goes Home Lough Swilly.
April 7.
"
I WISH to know how you, sir, would like to be called "fierce," lusty,"
"cniel," "crust," "surly," "insolent," "huffish," and "headstrong;"
yet all these comfortable words belong to the adjective Ferox, and
my friends in the lake object to such language, and beg me to say
so. To remark to one of these gentlemen who had just made his
best bow on the floor of my boat, " I rejoice sincerely to see you,
Mr. Ferox," would doubtless be equally correct and equally
S.
" Do as "
insulting. you would be done by is a favourite maxim of
mine ;
unfortimately, memory is defective, and it
goes out of one's
head sometimes when it should not.
The reason these fine fish are not more looked after is this the
society they move in is too good for them.

"
If you Look, there is President Johnson, and the
said to me,
gentleman half a pace behind him is his secretary, Captain Bobadil,

a man who must have distinguished himself at the bloody battle of
Tiptree Farm, had he not been knocked down, out of hand as it were,
"
by a nigger at the commencement of the fight îf
you said this,
I should pull off my hat, do homage to a great and self -built man,
and probably forget all about the pseudo-general half a pace behind.
No doubt Captain B. is a sparkling luminary, but then unfortunately
he istoo near the sun.
In is remarkably like our poor friend Splendidus.
fact, he I see,
my a
dear
very proper
sir, amount of virtuous indignation on your
handsome countenance at this hero-worship yet, if you were at ;
"
Lough Melvin, I'll be bound you would say, Hang your trout, and
SALMON ANOLINO TN inKLAND. 55
hurroo for the salmon." But no, you could not be vulgar. You
would lay a hand on your waistcoat, and murmur softly " Believe
"
me, my dear Mrs. Salmon, yours faithfully, till death
And quite right too. But most vows are conditional. For the last
four days I have fished slaved would be more correct from 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m., with certainly not ten minutes' rest, and for these forty
misspent hours have only two fish to show. Well, there is no

knowing what a man may do when he is vexed. I am vexed, and
shall go trouting. This was resolved on last night, but there was
a little difficulty about bait, which we overcame in this wise. Archy
and I set out in the twilight to look for a boy, and soon found one.
The "
negotiation was left in his hands :
An-ah, Patsy," to a shoeless
mass of rags, " come here. Is it a throut ye'd know, if ye seen it
as long as this ?" Here Archy marked the exact length of the animal
required, with the end of his pipe, on the knuckle of his forefinger.
Patsy felt hurt by the implied doubt, so he did not answer, except
"
by grinning from ear to ear. Hurry, ye young villin hurry off ;
wid ye at the fust light, and be shure ye come back before the
master's up ;
sorra a cross yell get else, and Holy Peter, won't I lash
ye ; mind, I'm telling." At the conclusion of these energetic
instructions, Patsy made his bow and departed, to meditate on the

doctrine of rewards and punishments so forcibly laid down.
The young scapegi-ace returned in time to win his sixpence, and
escape a "lashing" and brought twelve or thirteen baits, so with
these we started The reader knows, of course, he is at
"
Lough Melvin, but, from any description of mine, he has not the
"
least idea in life what sort of place that may be, except a kind of
debatable water between the counties Leitrim and Fennanagh.
Wonderfully lovely is the lake with its sparkliug wavelets breaking

in the sunshine, and its islands tinted with the green and pink, grey
and yellow, of the coming spiing. How charming these little worlds
look in the undress of this morning of their immortal lives nor is ;
for our lake is rather more than seven miles Jong by

space wanting,
three broad. Of course it is not a first-class water, for, comjjared
with its neighbour Lough Erne, with Lough Neagh, Lough Corrib,
and Lough Mask, it is but a baby even as Gulliver amongst the
Brobdignags. Nevertheless I wished it no larger this morning.
The plan proposed was to pull in and out along the east and north
and " do" the island on our way back. Now this aiTange-
shores,
ment had one or two advantages first, we should go over all the
best salmon lodges, and by keeping well on their outer edges were as
likely as elsewhere to find Splendidus at home and ; next, by dodging

off the Fermanagh side, our baits would be trailed over all the ground
which promised best.
Near the Point we soon had a run. The fish felt heavy on the rod,
but, after two or three weighty lunges, broke away. Of course, it
was my fault ;
it always is the angler's fault in the eyes of his
" Fortune had deserted us that
zealous attendant. day for good and
all." "Not a taste of luck should we have ;
not the least in life
and him the first!"
The prophecy proved false, as abreast of ''the rushes," rather

outside the cast,we had a second run, and landed a fine stout trout
of 6lb.This was quick work, and promised well for our last day.
The blind goddess, however, deserted us for the time, leaving us to
prove by perseverance that we deserved her favours. In the middle

of the lake, when the sun was far in the west, we again got a run.
This time Willie laid his pipe carefully between the knees of the
boat, as if he thought it might be some time before he wanted it again.
In pure love and charity we had shipped a new hand, who expressed
"
himself *'kilt entirely by setting potatoes. Nobody wanted him ;
but I was unwilling to refuse the poor fellow a day's amusement.

He was the queerest, most tattered, and most impulsive party ever
seen. Watching the fish like a hawk himself nearly as wild he
sprang on the beam just in time to catch a glimpse of Splendidus, as
he reeled over on the surface at least fifty yards off, in a very
Intoxicated manner.
''
Holy Mary ! what a baste. Hand us the gaff quick there I
Is it deaf that ye are ?"

With freezing dignity, without moving a muscle, the gentleman
thus addressed made answdr i
" I land for the master !"
No wliit affronted, tlie excitable party by this time was about on

a new tack.
''
'
Hark till it !" meaning perhaps the wheel ;
he's at it agin, as
mad as blazes ; hurroo, hurroo! Nicholas mend him." Whether
thisdevout ejaculation had any effect on his wild courses, or whether
he was done in the regular way, seems uncertain at any rate, it was ;
the last despairing rush, and when he again rose near us, on a short
taut line, Willie executed him
secwiduvi ariem, with a sidelong glance
" I've
at his master, which seemed got him this time, though
to say,
I did make a bungle at CaiTa."

That there were scores of stouter individuals in the lake cannot
be doubted, yet the present one gave lO^lb. on Salter's balance.
Nor was Fortune yet weary of us, for she gave us another three-
and-a-half-pounder, and a small recently-run salmon of 71b.
Thus
ended our week at Ganison five fish and two good lakers were not
;
much ^may I never do worse.

to boast of
The cock shooting in the Marquis of Ely's islands is something
marvellous to Saxon minds. The ducks are now building or laying ;
household cares probably keep them at home, for we see little of

them. In July and August, however, the long strings of babies
paddling about after their mammas show there is no fear of the

race
dying out.
That stupid almanac says it is Friday, April 7th. My ticket for
the Bush commences on the 15th, but do what I will it is impossible

to be there on that day. Lough Fern for a week then two
There is ;
or three days will be lost on the way however, we shall reach Deny
;
to-morrow by noon, and crossing Lough Swilly gain Eathmelton

before night, and no man can do more.
Brave old Deny seated on your hill, and crowned with your grey
!
cathedral spire, you look like a queen and a very sensible queen,
too. There is no nonsense or frivolity about you. You have accepted
your position, and feel that even Gosnell and Co. cannot make old
men or old cities young or new. Rowland's Kalydor cannot preserve

" The United Semce " will not
our bloom and smoothness. give to
58 A TEAR OF LIBEETI ; OR,
hair youthful gloss or beauty; the wrinkles are there; and for old
citiesthe only cosmetics are fire and powder, too costly for general
use.
Londonderry has strong claims on the stranger, and as you and I

have a reputation for paying our debts, we will stroll round the
ramparts, which, in fact, will be giving an I U for the amount. I
wish my tailor's little bill were as easily disposed of.
Externally, at least, the walls of Derry are as sound as when
Hamilton, defeated and disheartened, fell back towards Strabane.
Doubtless the good citizens are proud of their city, and take all care
of their time-honoured ramparts. Had there been rents in the old
garment, so carefully were they darned that I could not find them
out. Here, in the principal battery, stands a handsome pillar crowned
with a statue of the dauntless Rector of Donaghmore, and below are

the old guns his hands pointed so often against the foe his especial ;
*'
pet, roaring Meg," seeming still able to shout as defiantly as ever.
But ladies, we have heard, are adepts in getting up ;
so perhaps
"
"Meg is neither so sound nor young as she looked.
It is a spirit-stirring place, this old battery, for here, in the plea-
sant month of April, commenced a sensation drama, which has

enjoyed a long run, even to-day. Faint with famine, weary with
till
wounds and watching, dwindled to a handful, the defenders of the

maiden city stood where I now stand, in an evening of July, wildly
looking for succour long delayed. The sermon was over not one of ;
your fifteen-minute affairs, but a good old-fashioned article, with its

"twenty-thirdly," "lastly," "to conclude," and the "yet one word
"
more ^these stout hearts liked such things, and found they could
fight their daily battles all the better for them ; well, the seraion
was and the congregation, with haggard faces and tottering
over,
steps, but with spirits unsubdued, remembered

that by no art
could even their loathsome food hold out two days more. The
tide was at the flood it was now or never.
;
On comes the Mourdjoy,
Micaiah Browning, himself a "Derry boy," at the wheel. Will
chain and boom at Culmore stand the charge ? For an instant
the smoke of the guns hides the headmost ship, it clears, and blank
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. f)^
reels back from

despair darkens those famished faces, as the vessel
the barrier. But another, with a freshening breeze, and the last of
the flood, comes on Will she, too, fail ? No the stranded
gallantly. ;
leader has done her work, and that wild shout, '-We are saved,"
tells the triumph.

The tide flows as far as Strabane, through a rich, reedy, alluvial
flat, so sleepy and quiet that an alligator or hippopotamus dozing on
the mud would hardly be out of place. The rivers Finn and Moume
flow into it at Lifford, and ought to be capital angling streams. I
never fished either the one or the other.

Below Culmore point, Lough Foyle spreads out her waters
gloriously. On the western shore, the Innishowen mountains (whose

inhabitants formerly drank their com instead of eating it) rise in
magnificent confusion almost from the water's edge. Handsome villas

speak well for honest Derry. Fast little cutters, gay with bunting,
flit over the tide, and at the mouth of the lough, where the entrance
is scarcely wider than half rifle range, stand the ruins of Green
Castle, once an important place, now solitary and deserted, but very
beautiful. Dear old ruins, from which I can see my own cottage,
near the Giant's Causeway. Well, home is home, after all if
you
don't have too much of it.
We shall go to Rathmelton with a diminished party, as Willie
leaves us here to fit out our little schooner, and see that she looks
her best when we amve. The Pet is the pride of his heart, and he
is chief mate. I do not like to part with him, even for a day;
something is always wanting, which no one else can do as well.

Man and boy, we have roamed about the world many a year
together.
Well, faithful friend, good bye. The poor fellow looks as if he
had a bad cold, for his eyes we must not disgrace his manhood, as
he wears a beard they are usually weak at such times and so it;
came to pass that we trotted off towards Lough Swilly rather
dolefully.
This noble sheet of water always strikes me as inexpressibly
solitary and desolate. Large enough to hold all the war fleets of
60 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; 0%
the world, they would only agree to live peaceably together, its
if
present navy boasts only a few fishing-boats, hauled on the strand,

some half-dozen hookers, and now and then a schooner bringing
Scotch coal and carrying back Irish meal. As soon as the stranger
lands on the western or Donegal shore a marked change for the
worse is
everywhere apparent. The land is more peaty and wet, the
farms are small and poor; in fact, from hence to Donegal, via
Gweedore, Glenties, Guibarra, and Ardara ^three sufficiently long

summer days' journeys the whole country is made up of mountains,
morass, lakes, rivers, and bog. Man seems merely allowed to exist,
so ungenial is the soil, so capricious the climate. "We must not abuse
it, however, as we have spent many, many happy months in the
district, and intend coming autumn. If the

to visit it again in the
climate be inhospitable, it seems to have ripened all hospitable
virtues, for the fairest land under the sun cannot show warmer
hearts than are there to be found. Dear friends, believe me, your
kindness is fresh in my memory.
This chapter is as long as the road, but, thank heaven I here is
Rathmelton.
CHAPTER XII.
What's in a Name ? Walking in the Mist, and Floundering in the Mud A

very rough Sketch of the Capabilities of Donegal Not knowing, can't say
Lough Fern Grand day on the Leannan Greenon Hill Doings for the
Week.
Friday, April 14.

What's in a name ? has been asked on
very high authority. The
answer is, that it depends entirely on circumstances.
"
If a pair of blight eyes, with lips to match, said, Ah, you
rogue," even a gentleman from Gal way would hardly think of
calling out the brother but " Ah, you rogue
; here, policeman,
;
SALMON ANaÎNO IN IRELAND. 61
take this fellow in charge, my pocket is picked," would bear quite

a different value, and place a strain on your Christian charity
sufficiently strong to test its quality.
Now, they tell me Rathmelton is a town. I should not have
thought so, since it does not look at all like one ;
but then, you
know, it depends on circumstances, for a village in any other country
would be a capital city in Donegal, and a Donegal village in another
land would be a a curiosity.
For an idler, Eathmelton would prove a first-rate station. The
man does not live who
could stand at that inn-door for one morning
watching the rain-drops gather on the eaves, with now and then the
excitement of a draggle-tailed cock slinking under a cart, and trying
in vain to look comfortable. The laziest Saxon on earth would seize
his rod and sally forth in the drizale, as I did.
Donegal is a remarkable county in the matter of rain. Should a

cloud from the Atlantic hold but a quart of water, this favoured
region is sure to get a pint ofIn point of fact, it has " first
it.
choice," and, as the wind blows from the west for nearly half the
year, that "first choice" is worth something. A man in a dropsy

is always drinking ;
this land is anasarcous, and does the same.
In most of these papers I have endeavoured to give some account
of the streams of the neighbourhood but Heaven help the man who
;
undertakes the waters of this county. Why, it is all water, except

some parts, which are a mixture of water and vegetable mould iu
about equal proportions. All the anglers in Britain might here
have a station apiece, if they wished it ;
there need be no jealousy,
gentlemen, I assure you. For several years past I have spent a

portion of each autumn in this thirsty land, but know no more of
the lakes immediately beyond my route than I did years ago. As
his car rolls along through heathery wastes, pieces of water of all
sizes meet the traveller's gaze, laying solitary, tempting, and deserted.
The majority of these have, probably, never been fished, unless
by
some chance grouse shooter or a peasant in the \acinity. If the
length of the line between Eathmelton and Gweedore, and thence to
Donegal, be considered, the number of these lakes is great iijdeed,
b:^ A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
From
the summit of Muckisli, as far as the eye can range, silver
pools dot the brown expanse. Mountain streams connect many of

these with the sea, and probably afford a passage for salmon to reach
their lonely winter quarters. That many of these lakes hold large
red trout, I know ;
what the majority are worth I do not know ;
but
if local accounts are to be trusted, the
sport in the north, west, and
south of this country must be excellent. Some ardent spirit, stimu'
latedby the difficulty of the enterprise, will doubtless start up and
astonish the world piscatorial with his discoveries ;
but such an
explorer should possess a rare combination of gifts. Imprimis, a
waterproof skin, like a seal, or one of Mr. Oording's best boots ;
secundo, a stomach that can digest anything, or thrive on nothing ;
tertio but a truce to nonsense. This country I believe contains

unknown to the outside world. They are awfully out
lake treasures
of theway in countless cases too remote from anything deserving
;
the name of accommodation, to be available except to the neighbour-
ing cottar, who, being destitute of a boat, can only paddle about on
the margin.
What Lord George Hill's country was some years ago, anyone who
reads "Facts from Gweedore" may see. No roads, no resting-place ;
only a few panes of glass in the whole barony, one or two flannel
petticoats amongst all the ladies, and so on. It is now some years
since I read the pamphlet referred to, but the facts are much as I
have stated them. At that time nothing but a seagull or a wild
duck could have visited the district and made himself at home.
What that region was ^before the good man who tried to culti-
vate the soil and those who dwelt on it other parts of the country
are now, wild, desolate, and inaccessible ; but, as we shall see more of
it in September, enough has been said for the present.
We have been flying over the country as if an excursion-ticket
were in our pocket, whereas a tour de ma chamhre would have been
better; so perhaps the reader will please to remember we only amved
last night at Rathmelton.
This frontier town of Donegal dozes
away its existence on the
banks of the river Leannan. The seedy, disconsolate
aspect of the
SAI.MON ANGLING IN IRELAND. Gli
place would lead a stranger to imagine it had taken to drinking and

lost all self-respect. . Before a box had been taken off the
. .
host infonned " there had not a been

car last night my me, of drop
rain for the past five weeks, and the river was as low as it could be."
He repeated the same statement this morning, though the draggle-
tailed cock at the door flatly contradicted him. Drizzle in Eath-
melton must be a synonym for fine weather. This, however, was a
matter of little moment, as here the salmon ascend to the lake at a
very early period all through the winter, in fact at which season,
at least mDonegal, there i* sure to be no lack of moisture.
After an early breakfast we set off for Lough Fern, following the
course of the Leannan along a shallow boggy depression, which here
passes for a valley, in which I believe conscientiously every species
of uncus figured by Hooker find a " local habitation," if not a
j
name. A short drive brought us to the cottage of the resident

professor, when, leaving our horse happy in munching some sour
hay, we walked to the lake, baled out the boat, and commenced
operations with two trout and one salmon-fly. Round the sedges,
at the south-south-west extremity, we fished, rising and hooking
respectable trout at short intervals, changing the trail again and again
without changing our fortune. The guide paddled and paddled in
ghost-like silence, which was only broken by my inquiring "What was

to be done next?" Resting on his oars with the aspect of a deeply
" it would have been as well
injured man, he observed, to have
consulted him sooner," and next pulled from his pocket an article,
the prevailing hue of which was whitey brown, the gut and hook
thereto belonging being sufficient to fill an angler with despair.
Madame, with great zeal, instantly commenced what she had the
assurance to call an improvement on the pattern with which, alas
;
!
it was destined never to be compared, as before its

completion a fine
fish earned off the antique, to some subaqueous museum. I might
have said with Paulina

YHiat's gone,and what's past help,
Should be past grief ;
though I fear I did not utter anything half so reasonable.

64 A YEAR OP LIBERTY !
OH,
Charon was unmoved, even by the loss of his property,

Silent
Whether the abnormal spell of sunshine and dry weather had
withered his spirits, whether that morning he had been requested
to pay a " thrifle on account of rint," or whether a solitary life had
impaired the flexibility of his vocal organs, is uncertain. It might
have been either, neither, or a little of each but whatever the

;
cause, our pulling machine no more resembled an ordinary Celtic
boatman, than a modem perfumer in Eegent-street resembles Da

Ponte's Figaro.
'^The improvement" did not for soine time mend our broken
we neared the upper end of the water, a
fortunes, but at length, as
deep eddjdng swirl gave promise of better things. What children

we are, when a bubble on the surface of a small boggy lake can set
our hearts beating, and make us oblivious of cold, hunger, and disap-
pointment ! A fiery brown, and next an olive, were offered and

sullenly rejected then came the rising fly.
;
A bright flash through
the rippling water acknowledged the attention. For an instant the
line is strained, by compression between the hand and the butt, and
then " away for life he springs." The prolonged screech of the
wheel bespoke an able and vigorous adversary. Now to the bottom,
right below the boat, he dives then once more tries his speed. The
;
line, with wonderful velocity assuming the horizontal, shows what

is coming. Low stoops the rod, just in time to meet as desperate a
leap, in the direct course of his headlong race, as ever salmon
achieved. The guide casts a quick glance upwards at the rod its ;
curve satisfies him that nothing has given way, and now on one
palm, now on the other, he tests the shai-pness of the gaff. The
examination seems satisfactory, for with a grim smile he lays the
weapon across his knees, ready for instant use, and proceeds to light
a pipe, his glance never for a moment quitting the spot at which
the line cut the surface of the lake. Shorter grow the runs the ;
airy somersaults now exchanged for feeble plunges a few

are ;
minutes more, and we are admiring the first prize drawn from
Lough Fern.
The shores of the lake offered no temptations to wander away in
search of the picturesque, so we stuck to business with considerable

''
perseverance, and by closing time" had every reason to be satisfied
with the amount of patronage bestowed on us. In the till we found
two score of trout and a salmon of 141b.
Many reasons combine to render Lough Fern an aqua incognita to
the sporting world. It lies in a remote part of the country, which,
possessing few attractions, is not often visited by tourists. The art
of puffing seems little understood in honest Donegal, and the sport is
best in spring, when boat-fishing is rather cold, uncomfortable work.
Moreover, the quarters, though sufficient, are not splendid ;

the town
is
poor and uninviting, and, on market-days, may my good genius
preserve me from Rathmelton. Nevertheless, if a man desires to kill
salmon, him go to Lough Fern in the spring.

let
Yesterday, as we drove to the lake, along the banks of the river, I

noticed some deepish stretches of water, and this morning there was
a fine south-easterly breeze. On mentioning my intention to the
he his " if exercise were neces-
landlord, shnigged shoulders, saying,
sary, I could not do better ;

but as for catching anything, the road
was as good as the river.'* On close inspection, it did not look so
promising as from a greater distance nothing but small flies would
;
do, and as none of the requisite size were in the book, we manu-
factured a dark claret, with orange tips, black hackle, jay shoulder
and mallard wing, on a medium grilse hook. Whenever a cloud
came over the sun, I worked as men do whose time is limited. When
the sky was all blue, I set to at the junci, with every chance of
making a good bag. Were the family tree at hand, on some important
branch unquestionably the honoured name of Porcas would be seen.
What a fool was I to go on such an errand What an obstinate pig,
!
to remain against conviction ! Yet on the whole, perhaps, it was not

an unsuccessful day. In the morning, the tail of my self-conceit was
over my back in the evening it was so tight between my legs as to
;
impede locomotion but I brought back a basketful of good resolu-

;
tions, much
respect for local opinions, and an appetite that would
have done credit to a wolf.
We remained here a week, fishing for six days, in which time we
F
bagged eight good-sized salmon, and about half a hundredweight of

trout.
In bidding adieu to Lough Fern, the reader takes his leave of the
last of the spring lakes which lay in our proposed route. Hitherto
the drought had injured us but little in the coming summer, how-
;
ever, the evil will be found great, so great indeed as to make the
season quite an exceptional one. It seems wiser, therefore, to
represent the sport such as it really is in average seasons ;

this
plan will also be more instructive to the stranger, as well as more

generally correct. I have avoided all "tall talking" about large
bags, and have purposely painted that part of my pictures in very

sober colours indeed.
Well, then, we have taken our leave of spring lakes, but before we
part, the reader will yet float on three or four summer seas, and
how different will he find them Instead of cutting wind and
!
driving rain, there will be flowers and rustling trees, the song of
birds, balmy airs, and islands whose delicious beauty would have
made the poets of old days fix on them as the abodes of the blessed.
These bright days and pleasant things will all come in time at ;
present the car is at the door, and we are bound once more for
Derry, via Greenon Hill.
Along the shores of Lough Swilly and over heathery swells we roll,
till before us stands the mountain, on the summit of which is the
Grianan of Aileach, the most remarkable piece of antiquity in

Donegal. Here was the palace of the northern Irish kings, from
the most remote antiquity down to the twelfth century and what ;
a picture of the time does this place afford. Fancy his Majesty
Donnell Mac Loughlin, the last monarch of Ulster, by right of his
august title, taking up his quarters for the night on the lee side of
the Cyclopean wall, " which served him for parlour, for bed-
room, for kitchen and all." This al fresco sort of thing might do
very well in the Friendly Islands ;
but his majesty and court
must have had a damp time of it on Greenon Hill. In the
*'
Memoirs of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland," there is a minute
description of this interesting ruin, together with an ancient poem,

SALMON ANOLTNO IN IRELAND. 67
wliich bears undoubted evidence of having been written before

A.D. 1101.
The view from the summit is exquisite over lough and heath,
mountains, and the broad Atlantic. It comes back to me now in
its wondrous beauty, as fresh and bright as when I turned my steps
down the hill to mount the car, and continue my journey to Derry.
CHAPTER XIIL
The Bu3h Dulce Domum From Derry to Portrush What the Birds said
We sail Home, make Casting Lines and Flies, mend Rods, go to the River,
and get paid for the Job Pounds, Shillings, and Penoe.
Friday, April 21.

Men seldom love but once in their lives ;
that is, love really and
truly in the most exalted sense of the word. There are of course
no end of shams and make-believes, to which all kinds of fine names
are given, but these are counterfeits, and won't wash.
Now as with persons, so with places. We have all " a first
is it
love." It may be some country village where our childhood was
passed, and where our mother lived ;

it may be at home, it may be
abroad ; mountain, valley, or stream, may be the charmer ;
but
somewhere or other, to all men there is one spot dearer than all
others in the world. I know there is to me, and thither I am

flying.
All the stations hitherto visited have been favourites ;
but what
are they to Ballantrae ? We are speeding along the shores of Derry
Lough, and each moment some well-remembered object comes into

view. On the left the Inishowen Mountains rise peak above peak.
Yonder glides the swift river steamer, from Green Castle to the
Maiden City. The curlews, the graceful cranes, the little clouds of
sandpipers, all seem to cry "Welcome home, welcome home I"

p 2
68 A YEAR OF LIBERTY) OR,
The matchless strand of Magilligan, where we have bo often trawled,
liessleeping in the sunshine there is Down Hill, and here is the

;
Bann, one of the monster rivers of the dear little island, flowing
broad and majestic through Coleraine, "famed for lovely Kitty," as
poor Thackeray sang. A few minutes more, and the scream of the
engine announces our arrival at the Portrush station.
Foremost amongst the little crowd stands a neat figure in white
canvas shoes, blue trousers, blue jersey, and white hat, on the band
" Pet."
of which, in gilt letters, is the word Very busy is he with
the luggage, handing out of the van (such liberties are allowed in
the north) boxes, portmanteau, carpet bag, and rod case, to arms
eager and willing to receive them. Many a hand, hard and brown
with honest seafaring toil, was outstretched to welcome us. Dear
honest fellows! little had I ever done to gain their kindly hearts
now and then a dose, advice, or a lecture, with which last a dram
was usually ordered, to take away any unpleasant flavour. Had
there been a dozen trunks, instead of the five or six vanishing out of
the station, there would have been a hand for each.
Carrying the cloaks, the chief mate was in close attendance on

his mistress and what a running fire of hurried questions and
;
replies.
" "
How is the dog ? Was Jenny M'Oafferty's leg better?
Every-
thing on board the Pet was, of course, as it should be perfect.
In a whisper: How was the master's cat was the stump healed ? "
'
;
Three parts of his tail, I heard afterwards, had been cut off in a
rabbit trap ; but this was a profound secret, not to be revealed till
the last moment.
''
The river must be very low," &c., &c.
The baggage was on board when we arrived at the landing-place.
The commissariat, for once in the history of nations, was up to the
front, and the shape of a hind quarter
ver}' satisfactory it looked, in
of beef,wrapped something that
in appeared wonderfully like a sheet ;
together with a couple of hampers containing various fluids. Good

eating, itis said, requires good drinking.
To
carry animal food with us was a necessity, for the Bushmills
cows, though excellent animals in their way, have one remarkable
SALMON ANGLlNa IN IRELAND. 69
and very disagreeable peculiarity the horns are the tenderest part.
I do not believe, on
my honour, a tiger could digest beef such as
that pleasant town produces.
The ladies of course in a hurry stepped into the punt, and were
incontinently sculled on board ;
then the beef, bottles, and skipper
pushed off.
How beautiful the graceful little schooner looked, as she lay at

anchor ;
her long sharp wave bow cleaving the green swells as they
rolled towards the strand. The mainsail was set a few pulls at
the hawser "She's over the kedge, " with the
sir." Up jib, then."
The main sheet is eased off, the fore sheet hauled to windward, her
head pays off in comes the anchor, and the little craft gathers way
; ;
the thickening eddies at her heel show increasing speed, and, with
the foresail set, she bounded close-hauled down the sound of the
Skenies, at a good eight knots and something over.
A boy just out of school, a bird in full song, are held to be
emblems of happiness ;
but neither bird nor boy was half so joyous
as the skipper. The very touch of the tiller seemed like the kindly
greeting of a friend ;
with childish pleasure his eye ran over the
snowy canvas, noted the spars, and the rigging tight and true then ;
watched the foam which marked her path, as his favourite, bowing
easily to eveiy freshening gust, sped along like an an*ow. The
strand (whose old brown face the playful waves are decking with a
" the white
snowy beard) is past. Tliere are the chalky cliffs
rocks" full of galleries, and pillared chambers, into which
halls,
the breakers, like lusty revellers, are reeling, to shout and sing the
livelong night.
As we open '*
our bay" the cottage is hailed with a shout ;
in two
stretches the little Pet gained her moorings one touch of the helm,
;
and her head is in the wind ;

down come the sails her way lessens
;
and lessens ;
and then she is at rest under our windows.
I now found time to ask the chief mate about our fishing
" There were lots of fish in the river," he
prospects. said, "but the
present warm bright weather precluded all chance of catching

them ;
the glass and barometer, too, were very high, and promised
to continue so." Now this state of affairs did not suit the Bush,
that excellent lady being rather choice in the matter of weather ;
nothing pleases her except the united homage of wind and clouds.
Then there is no end of her goodness.
Our stock of tackle consisted only of six or eight flies none
suitable for the water and one casting line, which had seen service
at the Cummeragh, Lough Gill, and Lough Fern. In fact, the
season's fly-fishing was only now about to commence, and we had
everything to get ready. We never keep old stock, so next morning

were wonderfully busy. The first things to be made were half a
dozen single and two or three treble casting lines, and this is the
way we proceeded. Eight or nine threads of gut were selected with

some attention to graduation these were thrown into a basin of
;
tepid water. Then a similar number were chosen, and rolled up to
keep them distinct ;

then another and another
fastened up in lot, all
a different way. By this time the first were ready for use. At the
end of each thread a small loop was made, the spare parts clipped
off, and the strands laid one after the other on the table. When all
were thus prepared, the line was finished by each loop being passed
into the next.
So this first part of our business was done. For "the trebles"
we set to work in a different manner. First, three suitable pieces of
gut were knotted together at one end and thrown into water;
then other lots followed, till sufficient were collected to make a
total of 6ft. One set was now taken out, and fastened through the
knot by a pin to the table. Between the thumb and fore finger
one strand is slightly twisted and laid over the next, which in turn
receives a few twists the third undergoes the same treatment, and
;
so the first stage is completed. The same manipulation continued to

the end of the threads, finishes the first length and by degrees the ;
whole were made, spliced, varnished with copal, and hung on pins to
dry. Before going to bed a dozen and a half of flies, on medium
gi'ilse hooks, were finished and thus an impracticable day was

;
turned to account. The following morning was as unfavoui'able as

the preceding, so all the rods were overhauled and put into working
order. Some day, when there is nothing else to be done, we will

show how easy it is to jnake one. Something may be learned from
all this detail.
Single lines made as above described are stronger
than any others the goodness of the gut being equal and are
quite as neat in the water. In the ordinary method knots mean

weakness ;
here the strength is uniform. This mode may be
common, but, to the best of my belief, I never saw a line of this
kind except on my own rod. The finer the gut, the more necessary
to employ every aid to give it
strength. By following this course
many a fine fish is secured which would otherwise be lost. There is
no law in operation to make it penal for a salmon to take even
the smallest trout fly; last season I landed one of 17^1b. on an
O'Shaughnessy one size above the smallest, the casting line being
the finest gut procurable. In the case of the trebles we have
endeavoured to show they can be made without a machine. The
less
unnecessary baggage a tourist has to carry the better. He must
take his fingers with him, and may as well make them useful,
The third morning after our arrival the quiet of the cottage was
rudely dispelled cups and saucers clinked up and down the stairs
; ;
the poker in the little breakfast room had an insane desire to make
war on the coals there was whispering, and the sound of feet. I
;
wanted to sleep. I could only turn from side to side and groan in
despair. This did not suit the conspirators. "Hui-ry, Mary, wid
the tea the master will be raging mad this minit if he hasn't his
;
wather." Here the hall door swung open I knew the keen ;
blast well.
" the wind is north, and lots
whistling right By Jove,
of it." You may believe breakfast that morning was a short cere-
mony in less than half an hour we were tearing along the road for
;
the Bridge Pool. This wind is the best that can blow for the Bush ;
the long broad sheet of water, from the old bridge to the Carry, was
sparkling with ten thousand crisping wavelets. In less than a
quarter of an hour after our anival a beautiful ten-pounder lay

crimped on the grass another soon followed, and near the bottom
;
of the pool a third came to hand. " the Willis we

Change fly, ;
will try it again." This time, however, we did nothing ;

more
72 A YEAR OF liberty; oil,
correctly, worse than nothing, as we hooked a nice fish and lost him.
Then it was time to move on. The Lilacs were too low ;
next in
order is the "turn hole," the lower part of which lay in the full
sweep of the wind, and seemed full of promise. Nevertheless, we

passed four flies over that cast in vain. Now we
reach Olatty Hole.
Three parts of this long reach were also too low, but still there
remained ten or twelve yards of excellent water. Here we succeeded
again, landing our fourth fish. Next in merit to the Bridge Pool is
Island Fad ;
but here the river makes a sudden bend to the west, so
the north wind did not avail. The Colonel'sLodge was in a similar
evil case,and we speed on to Skelly's Lower Holm. Over this the
keen breeze blew fresh and fail', and, as we expected, another salmon
was added to the basket, which, however, long since too heavy, had
been left behind ; so, "being added to the basket" was a figure of
speech, importing that the last captive was bound head and tail, and
thus carried. The Brambly Comer, the " the Stone
Ford, and
Throw," were all in excellent order, but not in a charitable mood.
The day was wearing late. Should we go home ? No, by no means ;
so we trudged back to the bridge, and fished all the

pools down
without moving another fish. The last cast on the river was the
lower island, and here, after much flogging, we whipped up another
twelve-pounder and killed. The six fish weighed 671b. the ;
smallest 91b., the largest 151b.

It was late when we reached the cottage, but not too late to
exhibit om' prizes on the grass-plat. **You would have done better
had you stuck to the old river, instead of running half over the
country," observed Madame and I was much of the same opinion.
;
Nothing has been said regarding pecuniary terms on this river. The
omission is intentional, as I have no warrant for promising that the
price of one year will

be the price of another. As a general rule, the
market has an upward tendency. Whether it has reached its highest
quotation may be a matter of doubt.
Our glorious fishery law, by
I believe, lessen the
improving second and third-rate streams, will,
value of those whose reputation has hitherto been of the
angling
highest. This silence on the money question is no injury to the
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. ^3
reader, who, by applying to my old and valued friend the lessee, may
learn all he wishes to know ;
and I will venture to promise that the
be as as and
reply he receives shall courteous, straightforward,
explicit.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Bush From the Sea to the Leap -Rod-making Headlands We row up
the Bann Three Days consecutive Angling at Spring Tides Laggandrade
Letter from Lismore We go to Lough Iêagh.
Saturday, April 29.

Rising at the foot of Knocklayd Mountain, the Bush pursues first
a westerly and subsequently a northerly course visiting one or ;
two small hamlets passes Buehmills, and enters the sea close to the
it
little village of Port Ballantrae. Owing to natural and artificial

causes, this river holds a large quantity of water, and is probably,
on rain than any stream in the three
for its size, less dependent
kingdoms. For a considerable portion of its course the Bush passes

through a flat marshy valley, and then thunders over a cascade,
known " the From thence to the a distance
locally as Leap." sea,
of about two miles, are several weirs, which prevent the water falling
below a certain level. Let there be clouds, and wind from the north,
north-west, or west (if rain, all the better), and I will ensure the angler
sport,be the drought what it may. Warm, bright, and still weather
put an absolute stop to fishing in this stream. Of coui'se if a man

wants exercise he may thrash away, but by so doing he spoils his
chance ;
it would be better to practise gymnastics anywhere than on
the still, unruflled pools of the Bush. The fish get sick of the flies
as you, without appetite, would of panada or jelly. If a lion is
wanted to roar outrageously at feeding-time, let his beef be a
novelty.
After the change recorded in the last chaptor the weather became
" too "
bright, too blue for our purpose to-day forms no exception.
;
SO we will walk the river from the sea to the Leap and carry a rod
pro forma.
Over the firm strand flows the Bush, and just above high-water
mark is Welland's Pool. Ah me if I had as many guineas in my
!
purse as I have landed salmon from this spot it would be far heavier
than it is. Next come the Upper and Lower Islands. These are but
indifferent lodges, yet always worth a trial with the wind in the north.
"The Throat," "The Stone Throw," and "The Ford," are con-
tinuous, each nearly commencing at the point where the other ends.
''The Brambly Corner" is excellent for 15ft. or 16ft. also "The ;
Holms," upper and lower. The good in high water

latter is very
" "
or a sharp breeze. MacLoughlan's Ford seems shallow, but is a
here " Island
very pretty run. Now, flourish trumpets, for is Fad,"
a long reach of dead water. It is hard to name the best part, where
" The " The " The
all isgood. Clatty Hole," Turn," and Lilacs,"
us to the " the best stretch in the river. Above
bring Bridge Pool,"
the little town of Bushmills are "Jamie's Dam," " Laggandrade,"
"Langtange," and "The Leap."

Here we wiU pause and put on the casting line, for the sun,
hitherto cloudless, has sunk behind the wooded heights which at
this point surround the stream, whilst a light easterly air, the only
one which strikes, gains strength as the heat declines. In the rocky
and foaming basin under the cascade, we killed a fourteen-pounder,
and in the neck of Laggandrade landed another fish of less weight.
Such unexpected good fortune rarely falls to mortal lot.
As we shall want a very light rod for green-drake fishing, we will
devote this glorioas day to making it. Nothing can be more easy
or simple than the whole affair. This slender bit of lancewood, about
1ft. in length, is reduced to the size required. A few strokes with a
plane form a 3 J-inch splice then another and another similar piece is
;
treated in like manner, and glued. The lower part of the joint is
formed from one length of seasoned hickory, sufficient to make the
whole 6ft., for the article we are working at is to be 18ft. in three
parts. Next, another piece of hickory of the required length is put

under the plane, and brought down to its due proportion. Here,
too, a long splice is cut, and glued to the first part. The spring,
straightness, and balance are now carefully examined, and any fault
corrected. Lastly, the butt is made from clean ash, and glued.
The rod being now roughed out, we will next suppose it perfect, so
we put on the slides for the wheel.
The finishing is done by rasp and glass-paper. We must now
stain shall it be yellow or black ? If the former, the wood must be
brushed over with diluted nitric acid, and heat applied. If the latter
be preferred, treat the parts with a strong solution of nitrate of

silver, and afterwards with hydro-sulphuret of ammonia. Glass-
paper is again wanted, and now our work is smooth as ivory, and
round as a ruler. We
have spent so much time on the job, that it is
not worth our while to omit French polishing. Eings are put on,
and top splices finished. The lapping must be perfectly smooth and
even. Copal varnish for the silk, and a lignum vitae button, the size
of a five-shilling piece, for a rest, and you have an article our friend
in Jermyn-street need not blush to own.
The coast scenery round the cottage is perhaps the most beautiful
in Ireland. Within half an hour's the Giant's Causeway.
stroll is
The mountain cliffs of basalt extend for miles, terminating at Fair-

head ;
and happy is the man who has yet to see for the first time the
glorious beauty of that scene, extending far and wide over land and
water, mountain and island, bays, harbours, and hamlets, beautiful
in detail, and as a whole almost without a rival.
As everybody has at least half a dozen stereoscopic views of the

Causeway, we will climb the Giant's path, and walk along the
furze-clad headlands, which, in my humble opinion, are worth all
the Hexagons in the world. I felt disappointed on first seeing this
wonderful piece of crystallization, and the feeling has never left me ;
compared with everything around, seems insignificant.

it Well,
there is here beauty to please every taste but the breezy mountain
;
rocks for me. Shall I tell you what may be seen from their summits?
Far away to the north, clear, blue, and beautiful, lay the Hebrides,
the sun shining brightly on the cliffs of Islay, whilst the peaks of
Jura mingle with the clouds. At our feet the Causeway slopes gently
7^ A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
into the ocean, beneath whose clear blue waters the columns can be
seen trending off in the direction of Staffa and the restless heaving ;
Atlantic stretches away, away, bearing many a homeward sail down

the Sound. So close, that it seems but a step, is the rocky isle of
Rathlin, haunted by traditions of the Bruce. To the north-east

still
bonny Scotland shows fair and clear, whilst the glorious columnar
rocks sweep in gi-aceful curves to Bengore-head. What poor words
of mine can paint their beauty of form, their infinite variety of colour,
from layers of ochre, earths, and lichens ? They must be seen, not
told. To
the south-west, bright reaches of strand, basaltic rocks,
peaceful Lough Foyle, and the Donegal highlands, complete the

view whilst landwards, the storm-beaten fields and wastes of Antrim
;
roll, swell above swell, to join the lofty range, of which Knocklayd is
the king.
All this is veiy fine quite touching ;
but what has it to do with
fishing Nothing ? all. But, my dear friend,

nothing at can't we
have everything we want in this life. We can't make clouds, or
bring wind and rain. Look at my diary Monday, blazing hot. :
'
Tuesday, ditto ditto. Wednesday, worse than ever." Well, take

comfort ;
the glass is
falling, and to morrow is the first of the
springs ;
so if we have any luck, there will be sport yet before the
week is over.
Barometer but not a cloud in the sky or an air on the

still falling,
water. Nothing can be done here, so we will go to Coleraine and

take a look at the Bann.
On this noble stream there is a boat club, and a good one too.
What a treat to set foot in a light wherry and feel one of Searle's
oars in your hand. With the sunshine glittering through the woods
on either side, and gilding the windows of many a villa, we steamed
up a river, wide as the Thames at Hammersmith, with a head water
like an inland sea. At present we will confine ourselves to the
Bann, as we hope to be tossing on Lough Neagh within five days.

The water from the sea to the weirs at Castle Roe is free to all rods ;
above, rented by a club, the terms of which are very moderate.

it is
The run of salmon is late, and little can be done till June the ;
trout, however, aflford excellent sport, and range from 21b. to 91b.
Hauling our boat at the weirs, we launched her again, and pursued
our way towards Kilrea. Here and there on the broad bosom of the
too tranquil stream we met a cot,holding an angler or two, some of
whom had five or six trout.
They were remarkably well-made fish,
but I do not remember seeing one above 41b., whilst the great
majority did not exceed 2^1b. The day, however, was as unfavour-
able as could well be imagined. All parties, if agreeing in nothing
else, seemed unanimous in the opinion that the Board of Works,
whilst improving the navigation, had injured the fishing by removing
or altering the fords nor could I leani that a single salmon had yet
;
been taken by the rod. In point of size, the fish rank next to those
of the Erne and Shannon. Taking a hasty lunch, we pulled down
the river at our best pace, and were just in time to catch the mail
car back to Bushmills The glasses kept their promise, for on
the following morning the sky was covered with misty clouds.
There was a smir of rain, too, and a soft west wind faintly ruffled
Island Fad as we on " the scarlet." Cast after cast fell
slipped light
and but not a fish stirred. The soldier gave place to
" the
true,
body," which in tmn yielded to the golden olive ;" next

'
silver
came " the parson," but he preached in vain and last of all a small
;
dark claret was tried, with which, in about three hours, four salmon
were landed. The upper pools lay still and unruffled. The west
wind could do nothing for them, so we followed the stream down to
the Stone and the Throat, where, after doing all we knew for four
hours, we succeeded in killing two Thus ended the day,
fish more.
which was highly satisfactory, considering the small amount of air.
The next that followed seemed far more promising. There was a
spanking west wind over Island Fad and the lower water. We went
to work early, but did nothing till after four o'clock, when we rose
five salmon, killing three of 81b., lOlb., and lO^lb. respectively.
And now our last day has come, and with it clouds and a keen
small north-east breeze. No questions were asked ;
no consultation
was needed ; Laggandrade was our mark, and to Laggandi-ade we
came.
78 A YBAE OP libeety; or,
This long deep sheet of water

is the beau ideal of a "lodge." On
all sides black basaltic rocks, clothed with tall furze, all
rise
golden with ten thousand blossoms, whilst bluebells and primroses

make the dark glen glittre like a garden. The river here is wide,
and, as may be imagined, the angling difficult, for each cast must be
parallel to the bank, and sent by a turn of the wrist in the direction
required. At the neck of the pool huge boulders rear their bald
heads, among which I rose, hooked, and lost two fish. A few yards
below lays a flat rock just submerged here the sport was admi-
:
rable, as in the shortest time that such a thing could be done,
three salmon were landed and a fourth bungled. Over the rest
of the throw the fish rose at intervals till evening ;

two more were
pricked, and three played close up to the gaff and lost, at which you
may be sure fearful growls were uttered nor were we consoled by ;
the seven salmon, which made our backs ache horribly before they
were laid out for inspection on the grass plat of the cottage.
Cruel fate had still something in store for us, as the evening mail
brought a letter from a friend at Lismore, an admirable angler, and

a gentleman whose word is better than the bond of most other men.
It ran as follows :
" dear old fellow, You ask me what we are doing here. Here, where
My
you vowed to astonish the natives, and where you certainly distinguished your-
self in a remarkable way during the late blessed month of February, we are
doing nothing ;
but didn't I tell you they would have a glorious time of it in
CO. Cork ? Between this place and Mallow the river swarms with fish, the best
streams are very strictly preserved. Cross-fishing is practised to a large
extent, and some weeks much as fourteen salmon per day to
the average has been so
each rod on some of the flats near Fermoy. I only give you this information
from hearsay, but I consider it reliable. Some of the stands are rented from
the farmers on the banks, and on others, the holders employ men for cross-
fishing as a matter of profit."
Hang the letter. It was gall and wormwood. Fancy twenty-

eight salmon per day to a cross-line. Why, it would at least equal
twelve or thirteen to the fair anglerand such fish. Unwillingly I
;
left the Blackwater, and would have remained, had not inexorable
fate driven me half over the island. But, if I live till next spring,
SALMON ANGLINa IN IBELAND. 4\i
" a stand.'* are

Bee if I don't rent what my friend calls Lucky dogs
the rising generation ; they will skim the cream without the trouble
of milking the cow.
Early to-morrow we go to Toom Bridge, for a few days' fly-fishing,

but without the smallest expectation of slaying any of the mighty
men of Lough Neagh. Neither do we propose to show this vast
water. As well might Mr. Cook undertake to "make up" his happy
family of tourists, in the geography, statistics, history, botany, and
conchology of the entire MediteiTanean seaboard, between Saturday
and Monday, as I to conduct the angler round the coasts of this
inland sea in a paper 18 inches by 3. No comprehensive picture
"
can here be painted only " a bit from the north-north-west
comer. A
sketch, however, may sometimes give a good notion of
"
the subject, like one of Mrs. Snarley's hints," or Maurice Ritch's
immortal "lines."
CHAPTER XV.
In which there is not a word about Salmon Fishing Toom Bridge ^Lough
Neagh Antrim Two Days' Trouting Business calls me to Dublin Old
Lodgings Tackle Shops The South Wall We arrive at MuUingar Fine
Weather not ruinous to Belvidere The Lake District.
May 8.
How are the mighty fallen ! Where is Babylon the Great ?

Hiding
under a few mounds of earth and sand, of bricks, bitumen, and
pottery, till some Layard takes to digging, and sends home a bull or
a sphinx, a tea-cup or a tobacco-pipe when the learaed with one
voice exclaim, " Wonderful wonderful this dead nation knew !
China and Virginia ecce signum : from this cup they quaffed from :
this tube they smoked lo there is nothing new under the sun."
;
!
Long ago Tyre laid aside her purple and soft vestments, her jewels
and golden wine cups yet she does to dry nets upon and Carthage ;
would have been forgotten, had not a love-sick queen required " a
80 A YEAB OF LIBERTY ; OB,
"
local habitation for her name. Thus are the mighty fallen ;
and
can Antrim keep her feet ? Poor, dirty, tattered old dame yet she !
was a sovereign once, till the quiet, orderly republico-aristocratie

BeKast took the crown from her brows, and employed, I must say,
the usurpation nobly.
Fancy this long row of cabins with here and there a wretched
huckster, selling everything on the earth and under the earth, in a
space 9ft. by 7ft., sending two members to Parliament Your I
splendid premises, Mr. O'Dogherty, and yours, Mr. M'Manus, are of

course excepted. Then, too, she had a mayor, who was admiral
over hundreds of miles of coast, and rode in plate and mail, like a
good knight as he doubtless was, to collect his dues and astonish

the natives. But, apart from history, Antrim has a special chann
for me.
How well I remember my last visit, when you, dear lady, in hat
plume and riding whip, walked by my sidewith a step more light,
free, and elastic than ever trod on earth. Do you remember,
brightest and pleasantest of companions? For the sake of those
days I will the " Bound

visit if Tower," only to stand where we
stood, and once more make the Past present after which we will ;
swallow our grief at the '' Antrim Anns," even as you did the fine
lake trout, by way of a light refection before dinner. Dear old
happy days Ah Time, you are a sad thief. I wish from my
! !
heart the autocrat of Bow-street would stop your proceedings, and
sign a warrant for your committal usque ad cetemum.

Did you ever see a round tower ? Here is one, perfect as the day
on which it was finished. But who shaped this graceful needle ?
for what purpose was it erected ? Ah, there you are with your
questions, Mr. Brown. On my word of honour, I know no more
than the chairman of the Pre-Mediseval Society in Piccadilly. In a

legendary land like this it must be old indeed to have outlived
tradition. There must have been a sanctity about these mystic
towers, since no ingenious monk ever hatched a new old chronicle to
tell us all about them. The one before me is 95ft. high, and
scarcely greater in circumference than the trunk of many an old
SALMON ANQLINQ IN IRELAND. 81
oak. These tilings aro pleasant to look on, perhaps all the more
pleasant for our ignorance.

Wo have come a little out of our way in order to row back to the
**
O'Neil Arms," at Toom Bridge, on this fine Saturday afternoon.
Willie has been left behind to lay up the Pet, and his sister remains
to take care of him, with special orders to bi*ing him on to Mullingar
by the 8th. So the scribe and his fair companion strolled to the
side of *'
Six Mile Water," took boat, and pushed off upon the broad
bosom of the lake.
On the shore we had often been ;
on the water, never. Some
chapters back, when citing several spots where larger trout were to
be found than in Lough Guttane, I omitted Lough Neagh, which
holds better fish than any other in L'eland.
On my first visit to Antrim, I had a very natural wish to see what
the lake produced, and called on a professional for infoimation, who
promised to gratify m}^ curiosity as soon as he could. Late one

evening he came it was after dinner, and a pullan had formed part
of it, which fish you should know bears a very drowsy reputation.
Now whether it was that fresh-water herring or a twenty-mile walk,
I cannot undertake to determine, but certainly no yomig gentleman
was ever more awfully sleepy. Hardly awake when we reached the
"
cottage. I yawned out '"Where is the trout? "Your honour is
standing on the same." The floor was thickly covered with flags
and rushes, which, when partially removed, showed a sight that
made me broad awake in a moment. There were fish of 41b., 8lb.,
121b., 151b. in dozens and dozens. That night my nervous system
received a shock so severe, that I did not get over it for a week.
How plainly that night comes back to me now thin sti ipling ! A
the farthing candle my poor comrade the wretched hut the
flags and rushes the dead bodies laid out in decent order, like
"
heroes after a ''stricken field you must admit the sight was very
touching.
Not being anxious to gain a reputation for "tall talking," it is
right to say that at this time I was not a very correct judge of
weight ; besides, my head was off, and the light bad. Nevertheless,
I remember perfectly my companion telling me that in the previous

season a trout weighing 311b. had been sent as an offering to Shunes
Castle. It is hardly necessary to say this nice little lot had been
netted for the Belfast market.
To-day the lake was without a ripple the highlands of the ;
opposite coast looked as mountains look from

the sea, faint and far
off ;
and well they might, for this vast sheet of water is two or three
and twenty miles long, and nearly half as much in breadth. It is
said to be little less than the Lake of Geneva, and with this excep-
tion is only exceeded in Europe by Ladoga in Eussia, and Vener in
Sweden.
The shores, though flat,looked very lovely in the misty light of a
scorching sun. The rich woods of Lord Massereene, and the
grounds of Shunes Castle, were all in keeping with the scene, so

peaceful, that it seemed like an idle legend to tell how
the good old
earl, shot to death by the rebels, was borne through these grounds
to take a last brief possession of all that an hour before was his. So
we chatted and floated lazily along, our boatmen taking their time,
like the ducks and coots, who hardly thought it worth while to
hurry themselves on our account.

Our host at the O'Neil Arms, well skilled in the gentle craft,
gave a cheering account of our prospects engaged Edward Mac ;
Ilroy as the best guide ;

and added, that if we did not kill 201b. on
Monday, we ought so to do. With the fly, the largest fish are of
course rarely attainable ;
the troll would, I feel sure, reveal greater
mysteries.
Mr. Mac Ilroy was punctual as the clock, and discoursed at length
'
on the merits of the cross line at say." Wasn't there room for
all ? and shure, gintlemen here should do as they plased." Had he
affirmed there were whales in this Mediterranean, perhaps I might
have believed him at all events, the space was large enough.
;
The usual style of lake angling was the order of the day a pair
of flies, sometimes three claret, fiery-brown, orange, black and
olive ; quite the ordinary mode of doing business.
The breakwater was first to be tried, and as there was plenty of
SALMON ANGLING IN IBELAND. 83
wind, our chance was good. All change is agreeable, even if it be

from better to worse ;
so we
high hope and spirits.
set to in
"There's a rise I doubt your honour didn't see him." His honour
;
had seen him, and struck as hard as Mr. Mac Uroy himself would
have done at some dearly-beloved neighbour in a scrimmage so
hard, indeed, as to leave half the light casting-line in his mouth.
The damage was soon and at it we went " There's
repaired, again.
another." This time it was all right. How stoutly these Lough
Neagh men fight it cost full ten minutes to get a 2^1b. fish into
the net certainly the sport here is very pretty. Now we got a
small one of 12oz. or 14oz. by and by, another of three times that
:
weight and
; by dinner time had nearly satisfied the expectations of
the chief of the O'Neil Aims. Perhaps the reader would like to
see the slain. WeU, here they are :
Sjlb., 31b., 2:ilb., 21b., 21b.,
21b., 21b., fib.

Let no stranger pass Toom Bridge in the season without
trying his fortune. The following day we were not quite so
successful, yet we got one four-pounder, and five or six more from
21b. to|lb.
I had for some days been expecting a summons to Dublin on
business, which might detain us a few days in the capital. This

it came, and we started in an hour after in Belfast,
evening slept ;
and reached Gresham's in good time. Happily, the cause of the

visit was a pleasant one merely to receive a small legacy of 50/.
All old towns look especially interesting by night but, owing to ;
the extent of the squares, the remarkable beauty of the public
buildings, and the crowded quays, Dublin is particularly charming.

Strolling down Sackville-street, after a friend's good dinner and
better wine, I felt to the full how beautiful the old city was. The
moon was high, and shed a glory on the noble column of the Hero
of Trafalgar. The Post-ofiice, the river, the Bank of Ireland, and
the College, each and all looked their best.
Stephen's-green and
Merrion -square showed charms, whilst the witching light
all their
concealed some of their defects. So near was it, that I could not
choose but turn to the left, into Erne-street, to look at the place in
G 2
84 A TEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
which was passed the most miserable year of my life. There it was.
Even the kind moon would do nothing to cheer it, although she
smiled benignly on its
opposite neighbour. Shall I ever forget that
great gaunt room on the second floor, where I had come to study
medicine in the early winter of 1849 ? How vividly that first day
came back to me now
For the previous year I had been free as a
!
bird then I could only brood over lost liberty and present drudgery.
;
What was the price of a donkey-cart and tinker's stock-in-trade ?

With this at least one could wander at will. Or a pedlar's pack ?
that might do anything seemed better than the present lot. That
day two books had been purchased the nucleus of a future library:
Quain's Anatomy," and
''
Muller's Physiology" comfortable little
works of about 1000 pages each, large 8vo. The miserable pseudo-
physician did not know a muscle from a tendon, the os frontis from
the occipital bone. Unable to comprehend a single line, he learned
ten pages by rote, laid aside the book, and meditated a last pipe and
a pan of charcoal. In occasional hours of moodiness, that horrible
room has often appeared before me. Now, having paid it a visit, I
hope the ghost has been laid for ever.

Of Dublin we shall say nothing; of its beautiful surroundings,
little. The Wicklow mountains, the Dargle, Killiney Bay, and
Howth, have been described a thousand times already ; moreover,
we are out of spirits, like Kingsley's lobster my Fifty is already in
;
course of transmutation, for here is the door of a poplin manufactory

in the Liberties.
This part of the city is to Dublin what St. Giles's is to London ;
yet some of the streets are

wide and the houses large, and probably
knew much better days " when George the First was king." One
of these we entered. The stairs were carpeted with venerable dust ;
unmolested spiders' tapestry dimmed the windows the looms seemed ;
of the rudest kind yet here were produced the fabrics which queens
;
are proud to wear, and tourists unwilling to buy.
My old acquaintance, Mrs. M., presented me with a bundle of

'*
thrum silk" for fly tying purposes the best material ever pro-
duced, as it can be employed nearly as fine as the thread the spiders

SALMON ANGLIKG IN IRELAND. 85
were weaving, and, doubled or trebled, proves equal to any work an

angler requires.
A stranger strolling along the quays east of Carlisle Bridge feels
at once he is in a land piscatorial. The number and excellence of
the tackle shops is extraordinary. From Martyn Kelley's, at the
comer of Sackville-street, up to the Four Coui-ts, on either bank of
the Liffey, an angler can hardly go wi'ong in search of good things.
Poor Ettingsall's place knew him no more the shutters were up, ;
and the old house wore a mournful and desolate aspect. I trust the
good fairies have taken my old friend to Shiny Wall, a place where
honest anglers may hope to rest when their work is done.
The Dublin gut always struck me as remarkably good and cheap ;
for dyed hackles, seals' fur, and such like, this is the market for the
world.
Our last day shall be spent on the South Wall a humble name
for a great work. Everyone has heard of the beauty of the bay ;
and this pier runs far out into its centre 17,754ft. commanding
one of the finest was built for the purpose
views in the world. It
of increasing the current, and

enable the Liffey to do its
so to
own scavenger work. Nearly half-way down this vast mole is " the
Pigeon-house," no longer a packet-station, but a great artillery
depot. Passing through small mountains of shot, and guns lying
peaceably side by side, we reach the longer and outer portion, at the
end of which stands the lighthouse. How fresh the sea-breeze felt
after the breath of the great city !
Yonder lays the ragged hill of Howth ;

there Kingston and its
noble harbour. Cutters and schooners, barks and steamers, were
beating in or running out with the last quarter of flood. Behind

lay the great Babel, still and quiet under its canopy of smoke the ;
infinite variety of the Wicklow mountains completing the picture.
Let no stranger depart without seeing what I have feebly tried to
paint. He is safe to be sent to gaols, hospitals, squares, cathedrals,
and penitentiaries but if he

; desires to gain a just idea of Dublin
and its lovely suiTOundings, let him take my advice and come
hither.
It is only a short run by rail to

MuUingar, on the platform of
which two smiling faces greeted us. Little Mary had taken a lodging,
and Willie had engaged a boat the fly was ''up/' and all promised
;
fair for the morrow.
The Green Drake lakes are arranged into two great groups in the
counties Westmeath and Sligo. In the former are Belvidere, Lough
Owel,, and Dereveragh, cum multis aliis ; in the latter, Loughs Arrow
and Gara, and in Roscommon, Lough Ken. It is not asserted that
these are the sole waters on which the fly appears very far from it ;
but only that they hold a prominent place. For the Sligo lakes
Boyle may be considered a central station for Belvidere and Lough
;
Owel, our present quarters for Dereveragh and the more northern
;
ones, Castle Pollard not that either Boyle or Mullingar are in close
;
proximity to their respective waters, for Belvidere, on which the fly

rises soonest, is above two miles from the town, and
Lough Owel, on
which the drake appears latest, is still farther off. This, however,
is of small importance, as early fishing is useless, our fair friends not
being up and dressed for the fluttering, flirting business of the day,
before 10 a.m. Nor am I prepared to say the distance is accurately
stated, though I have walked it morning and evening some score of

times at any rate, the stroll is a pleasant one on a bright morning
in the merry month of May.
Here, fine weather will not ruin us ; nay, more, in some sort, it
may do us good, by bringing us larger flights of the beautiful

creatures on whom our sport depends.
The mode of angling with the "blow line " is so delicate, natural,
and deadly, that the trout have no means of judging between what
is digestible and what injurious. Even you, my dear sir, if six
inches under water, taking your morning meal, would be quite as
likely to select the wrong dish as the right one.

8ALM0N ANGLING IN IRELAND. g7
CHAPTER XVI.
He gets his leg over the traces Mullingar Its market population Walk to
the Lake The size of its fish as compared with those of Deroveragh and
Lough Owel The blow Mode of using it We drift, and what we do
line
Cooking A dead calm Improving the occasion We talk generalities, take

to roach fishing, and determine to go to Dereveragh next morning.
Tuesday, May 16.

The scribe and his friends have now travelled together from extreme
south to extreme north, and thence half-way down the eastern side
"
of the island, yet "never a word has been said about the health,
bodily and mental, of the country. Silence more often proceeds from
indifference than reticence, yet Heaven knows indifference has
nothing to do with my silence.

" a
am bound
But I speciality," and fear, if my tongue is not
to
always in the water, there will be a fearful shout,

*'
The dog is mad !
"
mad dog! mad dog! hang him, drown him, stab him, shoot him !
Still to-day, as half his work is done, the animal feels disposed for a
'
"
run, and will range a little wide, if the whole field cries out
'
'ware fence."
"
'
Ireland, considered Morally, Socially, and Politically this title
looks awfully heavy

*'
A Brief History of Erin, from the Days of
Japhet to the Days of Julius Caesar." I fear the
public won't stand
it. In these light sketches there is no room for vexed questions, nor
has your scribe the least notion of sticking himself in the mud, if he
knows it.
Great has been the improvement in this kindly country within the
last fifteen years. Poverty and ignorance, wretched wages, bad
tenures, and worse tenements, at that time had reduced her to a
melancholy condition. Thank God, these are matters of history ;
and each year now adds to the material prosperity of the people.
We have better houses and superior food ; wages are more than
doubled, tailors have hecome a necessity, education lias made

great strides, the wild rollicking days are gone, a more healthy
"working spirit has taken their place, and sobriety, order, and
industry can not only look up. but even walk about without fear
of being knocked on the head. To say there is not still much
want and misery would be absurd ;
but Eome was not built in
a day, nor can the most Utopian political economist reasonably
expect in a few years to turn poor Ireland into a first-class European

swell. Still there is a vast improvement everywhere and in all
things ;
even when we get up our little drama of treason, the
actors are poor and below their parts, company un-
and the
commonly short-handed. Undoubtedly the mother of our adoption

has recently been a little indisposed with a slight attack of Fenian
fever but there is something hopeful even here, for had not the
;
old dame been sounder in wind and limb than heretofore, she would
have been uncommonly ill, with a frightful amount of constitutional
disturbance. This malady, has tested her strength, and proved her
sound at bottom. Long may she continue to grow better and
stronger, more happy, and more wise !
In small Irish towns there is

always a chronic eruption of market
folk, and morning the street was vocal with the quacking of
this
juvenile ducks, and a constant inquiry from pretty peasant lips,

" Is "
it
eggs ye are looking for ? Every place does its own business
in its own way. Here one man drives a solitary little pig to the
fair, and wastes the whole day looking after him another pushes ;
a calf along, born since midnight, yet evidently bound for the butcher ;
whilst a third sits leisurely down on a bale of home-made freize, and

waits patiently for an offer. Along the side-walks coarse delf and
crockery arranged themselves barricade-wise cabbages, rough smith's ;
work, and manifold varieties of the lollipop species making the

market complete. Through all this we made our way, and padded
along the white and dusty road towards the lake.
Though not yet "in the leafy month of June," Belvidere presented
as pretty a piece of greenery as need be. The low rich shores were
fringed with fine trees nearly to their edge ;
cows stood amongst
SALMON ANGLING IN IBI5LAND. 69
the sedges gazing sleepily at their own shadows ;

and the birds a
countless choir were in each one telling his tale of love.
full rivalry,
The first thing to be done was to collect siiffici'^nt bait for the day.
Basket in hand, our boatman walked up to some small alder bushes,
and began to select the flies which sat in hundreds on the leaves.
Those rough fingers of his, how delicately they lifted the beautiful
creatures, depositing the brightest-coloured ones each after each
under the lid of his littlewicker cage then we sat down under a
;
tree to an'ange the tackle. The small hook was

neatly tied to a
strand of the finest gut, which in turn was fastened ô one end of a
skein of floss silk, the other being carefully spliced to the light
running line. There was nothing more to be done on shore, so we

pushed off, rowed well to \vindward, and commenced our first drift.
There is some little skill required in this mode of fishing. The fly
must sit naturally on the water the long sail of soft silk, bellying
;
out before the wind, should keep the gut perpendicularly above the
fly not an inch of tackle ought to be in the water.

; Supposing
matters to be managed according to description, the fly sailing along
foui-teen or fifteen yards in advance of the boat, whilst neither sound
nor motion gives warning even to the most wary old stager I say,
all things being secundem artem poor trouty has no standard
whereby to detect the thief from the true man.
'"
Dear oh dear oh-o-o Was there ever the
'
! I like ? This doleful
soliloquy caused me to look towards the bow there sat Willie (he
;
had asked for a holiday), his rod straight upright, with the straw-
coloured floss floating in the wind, without fly, hook, or gut. The
disconcerted professor had one weakness he was vain of his skill :
it was necessary, therefore, to account for the accident.

" " the
Master," he said, with true northern solemnity, gut's
rotten ; you should look to yourn."
A quarter of an hour after this there was a light splash ;
this time
the weed was sound. The game little fish,

barely l^lb., fought
to the last, and could not be persuaded to enter the net till quite
helpless. This, our first prize, at once attracted attention by its
great beauty. Belly and sides were of the richest golden hue, and
if we add that the

gi'eatest possible breadth and depth were com-
bined with the least possible length, the reader will have a fair
idea of a Belvidere trout in May. Then the stern got a little job ;
by and by bow was again fortunate and ;

so we fished and floated,
every now and then pulling to windward for a fresh drift. About
half -past two an excellent " rise" came over the lake ; opposite a low-
wooded point on the eastern shore I struck a fish, evidently a good
one,and in a second after Willie's turn came. The difficulty was
to prevent fouling ;
so long as skill could do it, they were kept
apart ;
but after ten or twelve minutes' manoeuvring, a cross became
inevitable. One fish was raised as much as the delicate tackle would
afford rods were exchanged, and the danger was over
; but half an ;
hour expired before both were on board, and they proved by far the
best we took in Belvidere during our stay, the pair weighing nothing
less than 101b. Soon after this success the ''rise" fell off, and
before five o'clock had But we had not yet done with the
ceased.
trout, as the chef requested permission, or rather announced his

intention of dressing a fish dinner for '' the mistress." About seven
p.m. getting savagely hungry, the cook's proceedings became of
considerable interest. Before the fire, on a spit, one of the big ones
was roasting, and at the moment of my entrance was being basted
lavishly with butter, without the least regard to the price of that
article. In a kettle on the hob, the other was boiling in water,
judiciously flavoured with salt and chili vinegar on the gridiron a ;
two-pounder, split with masterly smoothness, was done to a tuni.

Though not fond of fish, and hating fish dinners, it was impossible
to deny that the chefs performance was admirable, and that for
colour and flavour a Belvidere trout is a marvellous
dainty. So at
least thought the cook, who that night went to bed at an early
hour, much indisposed ^the prominent symptoms being nausea and

suffocation.
At the usual hour we were again by the side of the lake ; not a
breath of air stirred its glassy surface ;
but as wind and water are
uncertain to a proverb, we gathered bait, pulled into the widest
part, and waited patiently for what might happen. Nothing, how-
SALMON ANOLINO IN IRELAND. 91
ever, occurred to better our condition, so having beached the boat*

we lay down under a Had
a Cuyp or Sidney Cooper
tree to lunch.
been there, he might have stocked his portfolio for life. How
exquisite were the colours,
By Nature's own sweet and cunning hand laid on !
how deep the tranquil enjoyment of such a time and place Does !
this feeling arise from the possession of simple habits and tastes,
mere idleness, or dislike of restraint; or is it that, getting out of the
world, we get out of nine-tenths of the annoyances, vexations, shines,

rows, scrimmages, and infernal hullabaloos that sour our tempers
and bring on the gout ?
Perhaps a little of each made up the sum of lazy delight with

which I flung myself down in the fragrant fern, and listened to the
drowsy song of ten thousand gnats, and the more drowsy hum of my
companions.
Several boats were floating idly on the lake, at least half of which
contained one or more of our countrymen, with whom Mullingar is
a favourite haunt. No doubt it is an excellent quarter, though
personally I should prefer the quieter waters of Sligo and Roscommon,
and make Boyle head-quarters during the too brief reign of the
Drake.
The trout in all the lakes differ widely from each other, in colour,
size, and shape. Let us compare for a moment those of the water
before us with the denizens of Dereveragh and Lough Owel. The
fish of Belvidere are smaller than those of Dereveragh, which in turn
are less than those of Lough Owel, but in my judgment they excel
all others in form and flavour. In the clear springs of Lough Owel
the trout are silvery and very fine one weighing 12-^lb. being killed
;
in our boat, as will be shown hereafter, and another as large or
larger as was asserted by competent authority hooked and lost.

Li Dereveragh 41b., 51b., 61b., and 71b. are figures not uncommon, and
in colour and proportion they hold a medium position as compared

with their kinsfolk in the two lakes so frequently mentioned, being
less brilliant than the one, and less heavy than the other.
92 A YEAE OF LIBEETY ; OR,
All this time we were lolling lazily in tlie sweet green fern, whilst
the gnats sang to the accompaniment of Willie's bagpipe but now;
another sound, compovmded of sucking, sighing, and splashing, made

itself heard among the sedges. Curious to see what was the matter,
I walked quietly to the margin ;
there hundreds of roach were
swallowing the Mayflies, gobbling the caddis, and amusing them-

selves in various ways, every now and then flying off at a tangent as
a perch sailed past, with his bright mischievous eye, and spears set
ready for battle. A trace was rigged, for bottom-fishing by the time
our quiet steady guide had scratched up some woims, with which we
stepped into the boat, and pushed a few fathoms from the shore,
leaving Willie, who had a mortal aversion to the whole family of the
Lumbrici, to do as he pleased. Twick, twick, twick first enters a
small perch, next a smaller, then a fine one over a pound. The
deserted professor, too, thought it worth his while to be up and
doing. Eoach were a new study, and he set to work zealously, in

order to improve the occasion, by dapping or sinking and drawing
with the Drake. His acquisition of knowledge was rapid every ;
two or three minutes a silvery flash showed how well he was getting
on. A
couple of hours at this style of thing was enough to give a
dinner to twelve little boys, at a rate of eight per head. This lavish
extravagance brought its own punishment henceforward we were

;
regularly waylaid on our return by the entire youthful population,

who seemed to consider your scribe as a keeper who was bound to
" the house." Ambushes were artfully constructed in
supply
unexpected places, and on several occasions happy was I to escape
utter spoliation. In these moments of peril, our boatman was a host
in himself a finer or more sturdy fellow you could not find between
the Land's End and Cape Wrath. He spoke honestly, reasoned
correctly, wrote a fair hand, and, what is more, spelt well an
accomplishment by no means necessarily attendant on caligraphy.

He was not one of your plastic Larrys or Micks drawn by writers
of funny Irish stories ;
he was something much better a brave,
straightforward man, and, I believe, a fair specimen of his time and

class if so, the land has reason to be
; proud of her sons. The witty,
SALMON ANQLINO IN IRELAND. 93
careless, improvident animal, who makes you laugh in books, or

gi-ins and roars his brief hour behind the footlights, is not generally
met with in common life.
Among the car drivers of Dublin, Cork,
and Waterford he is still to be seen, as also among the guides and
boatmen of Killarney. With these the science of chafif is parti}'
traditional, partly acquired ;
they are actors, and. like other
perfoi-mers. earn a salary in the ratio of their merits.
The glorious sun went to bed with a very red face : the clouds, his
gentlemen ushers, clad in crimson, bowed low in the west, and the
night was waim and calm from all which signs any baby could tell
you how small was the chanco of wind on the morrow. So before
" we
decided on an early start for Castle Pollard, and
turning in,"
hope to find a change for the better when we return.
CHAPTER XVn.
Contains nothing about the Killing, though a good deal concerning the Curing
of Salmon The Day ends better than it promised.
May 17.
L'homme propose, Dieu dispose. We are but poor creatures. Last
night it was determined to make an early start for Castle Pollard ;
this morning a crushing headache put such a move altogether

sick
out of the question. Fortunately, my present disagi'eeable inmate

seldom pays me a visit ;
but even twice in the year is more often
than I Of course he will keep me at home
wish to see him. all day.
Well, if he does, we'll be even with him, and dish up a blue pill and
a black draught, instead of soup and fish. What a bore it is to be
laid up in a country town ! I have sent out to forage for books, and
the messenger brings back an ancient number of the Gentleman s
Magazine, with the martyrdom of St. Anthony, of some place which

did not exactly appear, the title-page being considerably the worse
for wear. Since there is nothing to read, we must try to write.

What " the waters of the United
shall it be ?
May we assert
Kingdom are capable of producing a weight of animal food equal to

"
the land ? The very thing such a theme will do exactly, as it
:
will not take us much out of the road we are bound to travel.
Some years since this text was one on which I often held forth,
till at length my small congregation would stand it no longer. The
'
hearers, less polite than sincere said, Come now, old fellow, don't
bore us any more ;
we all know there are a good things which
many
ought to be, and are not, and this
amongst the number." Occasionally
I took up my parable, but it would not do, for my friends, driven to
frenzy, were becoming dangerous. Silenced, but not convinced, I
held my tongue and retained my opinion. Fortunately, these insane
animals are the other side of the water now, so I am safe, and need
not fear either horns or hoofs. Well, then, our waters ought to
yield as much good food as the land how shall we set about their
cultivation ? The farmer's maxim is, "he is the best beast which
attains the largest quantity of flesh and fat with the least food in the
''
shortest time." Now, the salmon fits into this definition of the
"
best beast exactly, for he costs his owner not a penny for
provender of course he must be taken care of, but the outlay is

:
nothing in the ratio of the profit. It is not all aqueous farms,

however, that can be thus stocked. Those only which have a
reasonably good outlet can be so dealt with other waters must be ;
filled as the Acclimatisation Society deem best I hope they won't ;
insist on too many Siluri.
What a comfort it is for a poor fellow to find a great man patting

his hobby. Now a very great man, in his book on the salmon, writes,
'
''
The weight produced by the Spey is equal to the weight
of
'
fish
of mutton annually yielded to the butcher by each of several of the
smaller counties." If the Spey supplies the mutton, would not the
other rivers and lakes more thanmake up the beef, veal, and pork ?
Of course they would, for in this calculation the king of fishes is
alone taken into account and it must be remembered that the
;
water, unlike the land, can bear two crops at one and the same
SALMON ANGLINQ IN IBELAND. 95
time. Even his worst enemies cannot charge him with stealing the
bread from the mouths of any of his relations. They (unnatural
beasts as they are) eat up as many of the children belonging to our
harmless silvery friends as they can catch but poor Salmo does not
;
retaliate he humbly asks to come with his wife during the period
of her lying-in, promising to return to the great city from whence
he came on the convenient opportunity.
first In due time his
children follow, grow to be men and women, and do as their
forefathers did. But here we meet a difficulty, the half-and-half *
" At what
theory," which arises out of the question, age do the pan-
"
put on their gala dress and set out on their travels ? One man,
after diligent investigation, finds they migrate at one year ; another,
after equally praiseworthy labour, learns that they depart at two.
Something is to be advanced in support of each opinion ; so, by way

of smoothing down contending parties, a peaceable Christian observes,
" much
Well, well, it doesn't signify you need not quarrel about it;
some shall go this year and some the next." All the little boys and
girls in my street (your pardon, my children young ladies and
gentlemen) number, perhaps, two hundred. When one hundred of
these at twelve or thirteen years become adepts in geography and
Greek, music and the fine arts, plain work and etiquette, and are,
in fact, really fit for the serious business of life, whilst the other
hundred are dressing dolls and playing marbles when I see this
unusual state of things, then, and not till then, will I believe the
"half-and-half theory." Nature is guided by one invariable law.
All my young ducks are feathered about the same time. Our dear
mother does not ordinarily work by miracles, and it would be
miraculous indeed ifhalf the paiT in any river, exposed to the same
temperature, bom about the same time, and fed with the same food,
were to dress like young beaux and go forth into the world, whilst
the other half were content to stay at home in the nursery. Would
itnot be better to suppose even the ablest observers in error, than to
adopt an opinion which requires for its support a violation of well-

known natural laws ? But all this has little to do with our thesis.
The rivers will not give us their beef and mutton till cultivated, and
talking will not stock them. There has been too much of this
already. Theory is an excellent thing in its place, but, if exceeding
due limit, it fetters practice ;
in which case philosophy does more
hann than good. A gamekeeper might not be able to say exactly
how many cocks are required for a given number of hen pheasants,
in order to produce the best results ; yet, if the coverts were
unstocked till the question was settled, we should be obliged to pay
more than 7s. 6d a brace for our birds.*
Let each owner of a river set to work himself, instead of watching
how some more enterprising neighbour fares with Mb undertaking ;
then theory will soon be corrected by practice ;

out of work will come
experience, and from experience knowledge. The whole thing lies
in a nutshell. Stock the rivers there are plenty of ways in which

it can be done ;
let a sufficient number of fish pass up to the
spawning beds ;
take care of them when there ;
and see that the
littleones are not hurt as they toddle downstairs in search of the
hall door, and from thence into the high road of nations. When
this is done I think it will be found that the parr enter into
society at two years old that they return as

; grilse the same
autumn ;
and in the following spring or summer
(as the case may
be) come to pay us a visit and leave their cards as Mr. Salmon.
There we have put our foot into it with a witness, and shall
;
possibly receive a rap over the knuckles for having an opinion. If
we must, we must but believe me, gentlemen, you will have all
;
the switching to yourselves. I shall bear with patience, and suffer
without retaliation. Let us return to the starting point once more

for a moment. If the Spey produces as great a weight of salmon as
some of the smaller counties do of mutton, what would the whole
county in which the Spey wanders produce, if all its rivers and
lakes rendered their due proportion ?
Why, a great deal more. But
* Since the above was

written, there is every reason to believe that this
argument, however specious, is incorrect. In fact experiment, so much more
potent than hypothesis, has proved the ''half-and-half" theory to be true;
still as the doctrine is not yet generally accepted, the text (though in our
opinion erroneous) has been allowed to stand.

is it certain that even the water in question can give no more ? If
to this be added the consideration that salmon constitutes only one

crop, and that these water farms are capable of producing two crops
at the same time, may we not say of our thesis, Q.E.D. ? The
question of the age of the smolt, and the time of the return of the
grilse, are matters in no way affecting the success of the fish farmer.
The one go down, and the other will come up, in his season
icill ;
vet that the adolescent salmon returns to the rivers after an

uncertain period, ranging from five or six weeks to three months
is, I believe,
indisputable.
In "mine own" especial water, about the last week in May, small
grilselets (from one pound to twice that weight) appear. These
gi-adually grow larger, till about the 10th or 12th of June they begin
to be stopped by -'the breast" of the cutts. Previously they were
able to slip through the opposing bars. Does not this seem to
favour the idea of a rapid but continuous growth ? The average
weight of grilse may be taken at from 5-|-lb. to 61b. had they been
;
roaming the seas for fifteen months, would it not be reasonable to

suppose they would have attained a more uniform size in fact, have
reached their majority ? We certainly see some men of six feet,
whilst others are only five feet seven inches but, taken as a whole,
;
men are pretty uniform in height, and all the inferior animals
race, food and temperature, being taken into account are likewise
unifonn but
why one young gentleman salmon should be five or six
;
times as big as another of the same age, I cannot understand. The

lifference may be accounted for if we suppose growth to be at the
rate, let us say, of one pound per week, and the difference of time
between the capture in the same ratio but hardly if we accept the
**
two years theoiy."
This paper
is so thin that
anything heavy would make a hole in
it.
Philosophy must be written not on straw, but extra fool. Should
any reader, however, desire wisdom, let him read the second chapter
of Mr. Russell's admirable book, where he will find wit and wisdom,
kindness and good temper happily blended into a very pleasant

mixture. If there is a dash of the lemon, there is
plenty of sugar-
H
and as the spirit comes from his private still, we may be sure the
author of "The Salmon" has provided "the material" in full
quantity and quality to wash down his fish.

If there be one thing I hate more than another, it is argument.
It may make enemies, but never yet cemented friendship and as for ;
conviction, who ever was convinced by it ? The rule is, argue with
a doubter, and you make him an infidel bother a man who has no
;
opinions,and you make him as obstinate as a mule. Oh, I hate

arguing! and if anyone said, '"Pray allow me to convince you that
the moon is
composed of green cheese," I believe I should make him
" am
a bow, with Sir, I entirely of your opinion."
With
a sigh of relief the pen was here laid aside. I was on the
point of meditating a pipe, so of course felt better. Through the

window came a pleasant air, rustling the white dimity curtains.
Outside the door, too, there was a whispering, but not of the summer
air. With a light knock, Willie entered. " There's a nice breeze
a-just springing up,"
he said, " and a light bar of clouds to the
windward maybe, master, it would do you good to see them, and
;
Michael has a prime basket of drakes." Fully calculating that the

invalid was hors de combat, he had doubtless intended to enjoy
the day in a private piscatorial manner but the unexpected ;
rising of the wind and clouds brought the faithful fellow back to
seeif his master could be tempted.
Vexation on the score of Dereveragh was nearly over so was

the argument so was the headache and by the time we reached
;
the shore the vapours grew lighter and lighter, and so faded away
out of sight.
Till after midday the lake had been impracticable, and now this
marked and unlooked-for change evidently made the fish in a most

obliging frame of
mind. They received, as it were, an unexpected
windfall, and seemed disposed to make the most of it. Near our
end of the lake three boats were drifting, into two of which trout
were lifted as we approached, whilst the third appeared more heavily

engaged with the enemy. We had been watching this one perhaps
for twenty minutes, and -ten more elapsed before we came within
hail " have got a splendid trout, and

Pray keep farther off, sir
; ;
I
would not lose him for the world." We lay on our oars, and shortly
**
after saw a very nice I have to beg your pardon,"
fish secured.
said my new
acquaintance, whose neat dress and neater appoint-
ments savoured strongly of dear old London, " for calling to you just
now :
pray excuse me ;
in the excitement of the moment, I may
have been a little delirious. But dodid you ever just look here ;
see such a beauty?" It was certainly a capital

specimen of a
Belviderian, weighing from 4^1b. to 51b. Never but once before had
I seen mortal creature so happy. He trembled all over with
pleasurable excitement, and his voice shook whilst inviting me to
admu-e the goddess of his idolatry. Had I at that moment announced
him heir to 1000/. a-year, I do not believe he would have cared one
farthing for the intelligence ^he was so full of joy, there was no
room for more. I was reminded of my first
salmon, which, speaking
coiTectly, was but a miserable grilse of 41b., yet the world never
held such a glorious creature. I dared not touch
my prize, lest I
should defile it. Shape, colour, all came back to me now, with the
happy exaggeration of that hour. The pocket handkerchief was again
wetted, and the immortal one carefully swathed therein. No young
mother ever carried her firstborn so tenderly as I bore that wi'etched
little brown fish home. Placed in the largest dish the house con-
tained, I worshipped him. Had a painter been near 1 0/. would have
been cheap for his likeness. I wanted to have him embalmed. I

longed passionately to take him to bed. Ah me ! I shall never
again meet such another. The redskins in their happy hunting

grounds enjoy for ever and ever the zest of the first chase,
and now here, in this work-day world, stood a man feeling what I
once felt.How I envied him yet had ;
his story been known to me
then, perhaps my envy had been less.

That night, over a quiet cigar, he told me that ten years had
elapsed since he had touched a rod. "I was in Cumberland then,"
''
he said, with my brother ; over-fatigue brought on fever,
which ended fatally, and then I lost the dearest friend I ever had,
or ever shall have. Till to-day I never dared to look at it,
H 2
" "I
and now with a smile on his lip and a tear in his eye
am half ashamed of being so happy. Poor Ned, had he only been
here !"
Asto numbers, this proved our best day on the lake for three ;
hours " the rise

'
was incessant twenty-three fish came to our lot,

'
the odd one falling to the share of the professor, who noticed the
fact with a solemn countenance and an ill-concealed triumph.
CHAPTER XVIII.
We go to Castle Pollard Fish Dereveragh for two days Return to MuUingar

and Belvidere Visit our old acquaintance Lough Owel And set out for
Boyle.
May 29, 6 a..m.
This morning our little household is in a high state of

activity.
Madame femme de chamhre, in full travelling costume, are hard
et sa
at work, cramming into a cai-pet-bag articles which by no possibility
can be required. Such an opinion being expressed, the cry, " Turn
him out, turn him out !" is too unanimous to be resisted objector
instantly silenced. Willie, too, is there, locking the basket which
holds our manufacturing treasures. " You are
all surely not going
to drag that to Castle Pollard, when all we can want will be a few
small hooks and some light gut !"
" Sure and I
am, though," said he, deliberately placing the strap
" How much would we
over his shoulder. expect to see else when
we cum back ? May be, if an honest gintleman looked thim things
over,we might find the kiver, or even the bottom sorra a thing
;
else."
No larks in the world are so light-hearted and vocal as those in

the dear island ;
the whole summer business of their
happy lives
seems to be singing from morning till night, and now, having break-
fasted, they were up in the blue sky carolling gloria in excdsis. I
SALMON ANGLINQ IN IBELAN. 101
rather envied those birds. No morning meal for me, nor any imme-
diate prospect of such a thing ;
the car is safe not to be at that
wretched roadside station to which we are bound ;

should it by
any extraordinary luck be waiting, a trace may break ;
then the
driver must stop at least four times to light his pipe whilst the ;
landlord will not suppose we want anything at such an hour then ;
perhaps, I shall remember being coughed down, and growl at being

twitted with always wanting food at inconvenient times. Now, this
is one way in which good people get into a pet before there is any
occasion for the car did meet us, breakfast was ready, and the
;
account of the fishing highly favourable. Yesterday several six and

seven pounders were bagged, and one rod was reported to have killed
sixteen fish. For the next hour it will be useless to embark, so we
may employ the time in taking a more extended view of the
lakes in Westmeath, Sligo, and Eoscommon than we have hitherto
done.
Hitherto they have only been considered with reference to the
drake, which in general is supposed to be the Alpha and Omega ;
but, like many other ai-ticles of popular faith, this is an eiTor. Nor
am I quite prepared to admit that the May-fly fishing offers the best
sport these waters can show must be remembered that, with

;
for it
very few exceptions, they hold pike and perch, as well as trout, and
that the Percidcp here run large, three and four pounders being
nothing remarkable. It is not difficult, therefore, to imagine how

excellent the trolling must be, either before or after the
reign of
Prince Draco. With the trout are of course only to be taken,
fly,
but in spinning, the angler goes in for all far heavier bags are to
;
be made, and, besides, there is the charm of variety. You get hold
of something heavy, and for ten or twelve minutes are in a delicious
state of uncertainty as to what you have got. I have heard several
gentlemen, whose property lay in the district, and whose opinions
might well be considered conclusive, say they preferred April, July,
August, September, and October, to May. Of course the blow-line
will always have warm advocates its delicacy, deadliness, and the
;
skill required in using it

successfully, deserve all that can be said in
its praise ; yet still, you may take my word for it, the early and late
fishing on these glorious lakes is not to be despised.

If poor Mac's politeness, not to say his reason, is to be preserved,
we must huiTy to the shore, and Willie must be informed that he
has no right whatever to improve another gentleman's property
against his consent. 'Twould make any Irieh saint swear to see him.
He has positively turaed Mr. M'Cutcheon's yacht bottom upwards ;
probably, too, has called her '''an old basket," and, with a stone
for
a mallet, and an old knife instead of a caulking-iron, is actually
hammeiing "lint" into the seams. That fellow's impudence

"beats all."
Castle Pollard is situated about the same distance from Dere-
veragh as Boyle and Mullingar are from their respective lakes
that is to say, about three miles. With such charming sites at
command, it seems strange that neither of these towns should have
availed themselves of the advantage. In the good old times, when
every man brewed for himself, water, perhaps, was considered a

dangerous element. K this be not deemed a good reason why the
towns above mentioned were placed as far as possible out of its
reach, I regret being unable to offer a better. Dereveragh, seven
miles long by three broad, though not possessing beauty of a striking
character, is yet well worth a visit for its quiet loveliness so, at ;
least, I thought, as we ran our boat over the pebbles into its clear
waters, smiling and dimpling in the summer sun.

With a long drift before us, my Jidus Achates seated himself on
" I've
the bottom boards, and commenced a fly for the Erne. got
"
him !The artist merely glances at the eddy caused by the
descending fish, and then, for more correct information, at the curve
of the rod. "He won't be ready these ten minutes." Neverthe-
less, the handle of the net is brought across his kness, and the
golden hackle wound with admirable precision at the front of each

roll of tinsel. Then he looks about him once more, and selects four
toppings of the exact length required, and sets them carefully on.
Shall he produce any further ? He is doubtful as to the propriety of
opening a paper containing sprigs of bustard, mallard, ruff, and the

6ALM0N ANGLING IN IRELAND. 108
like. This should be done carefully, especially in the wind; so,

at
placing the half-finished parson between his lips, he gets up just
''
the right time, and does his work with the usual neatness. Nigher
six than five and a half/' he observes, when calmly crimping the
unfortunate, "and the mistress shall have him roasted for lunch."
The sport grew admirable no quarter of an hour passed
soon
without some event. Three were lost in succession by the mouth
giving way next five were secured without accident, of 21b., 31b.,
;
S^lb., 51b., and o^lb., and then the best fish of the day was hooked.
How he laughed at the gossamer thread which held him it seemed ;
mere pastime to dart off with fifty yards, and throw a somersault
that would have made Blondin sick with envy but we must all die,
;
even as this strong and beautiful creature, who was put out of pain
so suddenly by a judicious rap on the occiput as not to hear the
executioner remark, "'Deed now, master, but he draws eight and
a half." About midday the breeze fell off, and the trout, after
" " the
tiffin," lay down for a siesta under glassy, cool, transparent
wave," as Milton sings. The chef had not forgotten his gracious
promise, and proposed landing and lunch, an offer the entire ship's
crew hailed with three cheers. Did you never see fish roasted sub
Jove ? Well, I hope you soon will, of your owncatching too ;
meanwhile, allow me to tell you how an experienced cook did it :
From yonder cabin some live coals, supported on an armful of peats,

are brought there are plenty of stones on the beach for our fire-
place the glowing cinders are piled in the centre, the turf arranged
on end in contact with them, and some bits broken to fill up the
crater. The mess consists of five, and the caterer serves out a
six-pounder and a four. The fish is ready as soon as the fire, cut
in slices, with a peeled osier inserted into each. These are placed
upright before the fire (supported by a long sod cut for the purpose),
and dexterously turned by the forefinger and thumb of the accom-
If this meat be eaten, as
plished chef. good old Izaak says, with a
thankful heart and good appetite, in my opinion it won't disagree
with you.
The boa, after sucking down a sheep, requires forty-eight hours'
repose before again feeling comfortable. Some of the crew felt

exceedingly like boas after dinner. But the breeze was once more
pla\ring a of romps with the lake before going to rest, and two
game
heavily-gorged animals had to be roused into what was unquestion-
abty a painful state of activity. Again the sport brightened up as
before, but in a couple of hours the wind sank for the night, and we
pulled for the shore over a long stretch of water, whose surface was
smooth as polished glass. Ten fish lay on the grass, two more were
chiefly carried by parties whose names are sacred one dozen in all.
;
Well done, Dereveragh !
If required to name the day on which the May-fly makes its first
annual visit to this lake, I should fix on the 18th of May. Of

course a long and spring retards the development of the
cold
caddis, in the same degree that warmth and sunshine contribute to

its more early maturity. No season could be more genial than the
"
present, and as a consequence the drake "was up some days prior
to the date above mentioned. Indeed, these beautiful insects had
flutteredaway half their bright brief lives when we anived; but
the sport had reached its climax, for the trout, fully alive to the
dainty, were not as yet surfeited with it.
A
twice-told tale grows wearisome, however well narrated, and
must especially be avoided in a work so unpretending as this.
Suffice it, then, to say our second day proved less productive than
the preceding, both as to number and size, for out of eight fish
brought to bag, one only reached 5^1b. And now standing, perhaps
for the last time, on the shores of Dereveragh, I could not but turn
to take one long lingering look at the place where two such happy
days had been passed. In this uncertain and anxious life who would
not feel grateful to a spot where he had found such wealth ? Then the
" Shall I ever visit it
thought so common to man rose within me,
again, and will there be no one of the dear faces now round me
absent for ever ?" Instinctively I drew closer to them, as if
(idle
dream proximity gave security.
!)
In sober mood I drove back to
Connel, paid our moderate bill, and set off for MuUingar as the
shades of evening began to gather round us.

SALMON ANOLTNO IN TBELAND. 105
The reader may like to know that he can be boarded at the

Pollard Arms for 21. lis. per week, which includes car-hire to and
from the lake each morning and evening. When it is considered
that for this sum he has first-rate fishing, bed and sitting rooms,
three meals a day, and twelve drives, I think no reasonable man
would object to the charge.
Beautiful Belvidere lay sleeping lazily in the sun, as fresh and fair
as when I left her, and as she will do a hundred years hence when
some stranger comes to say farewell, as I do now. We have an
affection for this water, for it was the first on which our blow-line
ever sailed. Often,when hundreds and hundreds of miles away she
has visited me, smiling as she now smiles, and that dear familiar
face has comforted me in anxiety and soothed me in sorrow. What
could a friend do more ? True, like many other early companions,
" all
she has not proved my fancy painted," for I have since found
many more trustworthy. But pray, have not you, sir, some early
acquaintance of whom you feel rather ashamed, and long since
acknowledged undeserving your regard, to whom you cling, never-

theless, merely for the sake of old times? Such weakness is
doubtless im worthy a philosopher; but then I make no pretensions
to so high a caste, and without shame ?ay, the memory of " young
love" is very sweet. After Dereveragh, my quiet friend seemed
tame and dull, and at three p.m. I bade her adieu, leaving the men
" the
to take the boat to Lough Owel, and bring back game" eleven
head, no one of which weighed 31b.
Lough Owel bears little resemblance to her sisters, being sur-

rounded by shores far more bold, broken, and bare. Lying in a vast
rocky basin, composed probably of limestone, its clearness and
purity are remarkable. Over its entire surface myriads of bubbles
rise from unknown springs, and, in fact, the lake is one vast fountain
of delicious water. This, combined probabljr with the clean bottom,
gives the trout the peculiarly silver}'- character that distinguishes

them from all others with which I am acquainted. We found our
boat drawn up on the south-east comer, near a circular fairylike
island, planted with larch and flowering shrubs, and, launching,
pulled for the western side, in order to make our first drift towards
a high headland on the opposite side. Lough Owel was a special
favourite with Willie, being, as he said, a place where a fish in
earnest might be killed," so I gave him a day ; nor was it long

before his line was sailing gracefully, far in advance of our humble
bark. Here and there, at long intervals, the small circling eddy
of some was seen as we glided on but nothing came in
rising fish ;
our way within two or three hundred yards of the rocky shore,
till
when a trout sailed up, dexterously sucked off my fly, and dis-
appeai'ed. There was a momentary glimpse of a very broad tail.

"
"Out with the paddles, and over him again but before the words
!
were uttered, the folly of the order became apparent. The first dip
of the oar would have driven the fish from his ground, so the boat
was allowed to float silently on ;
accurate marks were taken, and on
reaching the cliff, we pulled cautiously along its base before again
taking our station far above the spot where the charming vision
faded from our eyes. Every moment made me feel more and more
certain of being in the exact line. Now the fly must be within five
yards of the place now within two ^now. within one. Can we
have passed him ? There is the smallest conceivable rise a back-
ward motion of the rod, and such a swirl " He's got what he won't
!
get rid of easily. That's fine! Och, but that's beautiful! Ah,
master! sure there's nothing like this in ould Ireland, any way at all."
Thus spoke my faithful servant, instinctively charging his pipe,

whilst a faint smile stole over his honest and sober face. Now
rooting at the bottom, now and again
rolling over the surface, again
flying as if life depended on his speed, what a gallant fish it was !
Little by little his efforts grew more laborious and less effective.
Presently the broad tail which led to his destruction, scarcely

possessed the power to keep that small head under water. More
faintly still he fluttered from the fatal net, now it is over nature ;
can do no more, and like a log he is drawn slowly and steadily

towards the boat another foot and he is safe and on board.
;
I
would have walked all the way from Dublin for that one fish. " Ten
pounds and a quarter !
No, not quite a quarter (our clerk of weights
SALMON ANGUNG IN IRELAND. 107
and measures was very him ten pounds lucky. That's

precise) call
something Over and over again the same course was
like a trout."
tried, in the hope of meeting another of the same class, but in vain.
At length we resigned it reluctautly, and commenced a fresh drift
over the broadest part of the lake in a line with Church Island.
Half way down the shore of that low rocky reef a good fish rose
right ahead. Slowly the fly sailed straight towards him. "What's
"
that ? My first thought was that Willie, who just before was
sitting on the gunwale, had tumbled head-over-heels into the water.
But no there he sat, composed as ever. " He's an awful
; monster,
master ;
as big as a salmon." To jerk the line out, reel sharply up,
so as to ensure my companion fair play, was but the work of an
instant. Had
not been for that startling plunge he might have
it
been fast in a rock for anything I could see to the contrary. Fish
have temperaments various as their captors they are shy, bold, ;
cowardly, volatile, sulky, or determined, and the one now under

treatment combined the latter qualities in about equal proportions.
For a full houi' we saw nothing of him, and all this time had been
drifting deeper into the rocky and shallow bay beyond the island.
'
Pull, pull, I'm fast ! He's sat down. Oh dear, oh dear ! what
"
will I do ?
your lives
Pull, puU A few dashing strokes
for !
brought the boat over the exhausted monster the line was free, ;
and the battle over. There he lay on the bottom, with his great
side leaning against the rock that refused him shelter. The water
was barely 5ft. deep ;
off went the net, on went the gaff, and then
we found leisure to admire our prize. Perfect in make, exquisite
in harmony of colour, in weight 131b. truly he was a picture ;
glorious in life, beautiful in death, it may be long before his fellow

is hung with such a thread. As may be imagined, all that occurred
subsequently was tame. Two more, however, of 31b. and olb.,

wound up the best day I ever saw with the blow line.
We lived on the lake for the remainder of the week, meeting with
fair sport, and on Monday set out for Boyle, where, from intelligence
received that morning from Sergeant Nameless, of the Greens, great
things seemed to await us.
10$ A YEAR OF liberty; 0%
CHAPTER XIX.
Irish Ruins Church Islands Things in General Boyle Lough Gara

Lough Key Lough Arrow Prophetic of Good We go to the Erne.
Boyle, June 8,
Ireland lias been called ''the land of ruins." Poets have employed
the theme to make us sad orators to make us savage. The former
asked only a sentimental tear, but the latter, by party legislation,
senseless clamour, abuse, and bigotry, for many and many a year
raised men's blood to the boiling point, and scalded poor common
sense and charity nearly to death. No one need deny Ireland to be
a land of ruins, but this is a far different thing from a ruined land ;
and that she does not present this mournful spectacle is

certainly
not the fault of the oratorical quacks, who not so long since under-
took to cure all her earthly ills. She is pre-eminently' a land of
ruins, and possesses monuments as old, if not older, than any other
country in Europe, which, could they be deciphered, would afford

marvellous ethnological interest, and throw a light on peoples and
races whose origin, civilisation and habits are now lost. Pictorial
blocks, inscribed stones, Cyclopean forts, graceful towers, tumuli,

earthworks by lonely strands and stormy headlands, ecclesiastical
ruins, military ruins, and, worse than all, clusters of roofless cottages
swept bare by emigration, famine, and fever, all

in deserted districts,
justify her claim to the mournful title. These deserted dwellings

fill the stranger with horror, for they force on his consideration
fearful pictures of want, sorrow, and suffering, endured before the last
miserable creature passed from the spot where so much wretchedness

must have been undergone.
Whilst we renovate and investigate ancient ruins, may Heaven
avert new ones from the land ! There is one order, however, which
more constantly comes under the angler's notice than under that of
other men remains of ecclesiastical edifices on the lakes. Few of
these waters are without a Church Island, where roofless cells, soli-
tary and cnimbling, set us thinking of the dark days which made
Buch situations necessary. These lonely spots are singularly inte-
resting and suggestive, and without wandering into dreamland the
Btranger will be apt to draw two conclusions from their number :
that prodigious efforts must have been made to introduce the only
true civiliser ;
from their situation that the state of society was
considerably woi*se than that which existed in New Zealand forty

years ago, where the amiable natives did nothing worse than cook
a curate occasionally. I do not say that these deductions will be
accepted, nor have I any authority for asserting that they are
correct but if a man locks and bolts his door, puts up iron
;
fills the moat, and hauls

shutters, up the drawbridge, it looks as if
he rather mistrusted the character of his neighbours, and leads to
'
the belief, that his exhortations to "do as he would be done by

fellon the wayside. The lot of these poor preachers of peace and
goodwill seems to have been cast in evil times doubtless, they ;
sowed diligently and reaped a scanty harvest attempted much, but

effected little, save to themselves.
A writer whose wisdom has stood the test of centuries, and will
" There
last whilst the world endures, says :
nothing new under is
the sun." Our application of electricity to a few lines of wire is

that new ? 'Tis as old as the hills, ay, and a good deal older than
any with which we are acquainted. Why, the day when the
hills
blessed sun first shone on Eden he managed more miles of telegraphic

communication than man ever made or willmake. Each morning
he sent a message to Adam and Eve to rise and be thankful every ;
moment he forwarded orders beyond the most advanced pupil

teacher'spower of numeration, to flower and tree to put forth bud,
blossom, and fruit. Well, perhaps, there is nothing new, and we
lead a sort of horse-in-the-mill life ;
but these animals, being popu-
larly supposed blind, fancy perhaps that they are always going
straight on. Some of us, too,may be blind and fall into a similar
error. We have quitted Mullingar, and are now in Boyle. We have
left one set of lakes where we sat all day in the sun and wind.
110 A TEAR OF liberty; OR,
reddening our noses and otherwise injuring the complexion, and are
we intend doing the same. There
conae to another set of lakes where
does not seem to be much novelty in this, but for the life of me I
cannot get my rebellious members to agree with the dictum. The
feet will speed lightly towards Lough Gara, the hand will grasp the
rod more eagerly, and the eyes will grow brighter. Bah Family !
quaiTels are intolerable. Peccavi ! peccavi ! There, rebels, will that

content you ? and if the plain truth must be spoken :
'
Gentlemen
of the opposition, I most heartily agree with yoa."
How joyously we stepped out of Boyle side by side with the
strapping sergeant. Names are not things to be lightly mentioned.

He might have been sergeant of militia, sergeant of marines,
sergeant-at-anns, or our honourable friend Serjeant Buzfuz ;
at
any rate, he was Captain of the Guides, and ought to have been
Marshal of the Lakes. As we have recently seen a good deal of
fishing with the green drake, it will be more advisable in this
chapter to take a general survey of the waters of the district, and
say as little as may be on the more pleasant subject of practice,
"
remembering the proverb that Too much, even of a good thing, is
good for nothing."
Eoscommon bounded on the north-east by Leitrim, and on the

is
east by King's County and Westmeath, from all which it is separated

by the river Shannon. The area is estimated at 609,405 English
acres, of which 131,063 are unimproved mountain and* bog, and
24,787 lakes. The interest of the sportsman may therefore be

considered as fairly represented by these freeholds of nature. The
general surface of Eoscommon is either flat or
gently undulating ;
there are, however, some mountains, the principal groups of which

are the Braulieve and Slievh Curkagh, The county belongs to the
basin of the Shannon, except a very small portion at the western
extremity, which is drained by the Moy. The Shannon, about five

miles from its source, enters Lough Allen, flows through it, and
forms the north-eastern boundary of the county breaking from this;
lake, it runs along the edge of Eoscommon to Carrick, where it

receives a stream from Lough Key ;
from Carrick the great river
SALMON ANGLINQ IN IRELAND. Ill
pursues its course along the border, passing through Lough Corry,
Lough Bodarg. Lough Boffin, and Lough Forbes, to Lanesborough,
below which Lough Eee. The extent of some of the
it enters
principal lakes is as follows Lough Allen, seven miles long by three

:
broad Lough Bodarg

; and Lough Boffin, forming one continuous
sheet of water five miles by seven Lough Forbes and Lough Eee,
;
seventeen miles long and seven broad Lough Qara, five miles by
;
three ; Lough Key (otherwise called Rockingham), about three and

a half miles and Lough Oakport, smaller, which communicate with
;
the Shannon by a stream called Boyle Wat^r. Seven or eight others
might be mentioned, but enough, in all conscience, have been

enumerated. Here, indeed, is Vemharras de richesses, for all hold
fine red trout ; and, as no one mortal man can fish them all in the
month which divides the salmon from the grilse season, it behoves
him to take counsel and select the best. It has been shown how we
have spent the interval, and the line of march we have taken. Others,
holding some of the waters above mentioned in great favour, will,
perhaps, maintain we might have chosen more wisely. Very possibly ;
but they are pleased. I am content.

if Having skimmed like a
swallow lightly over the waters of the district, we will perch on the
church tower of Boyle and look nearer home. This town lies on the
"
high road to Sligo, on the Boyle Water," which flows from Lough
Gara into Lough Key, and, in the reign of John, a Bernardine abbey
of great wealth and importance took the place under its wing. If it
continued to grow from that time to the present, it must, in the days
of thegood friars, have been much too small to go alone. The older
portion of the town stands on the northern bank of the river the ;
more improved part on the southern but, notwithstanding the im-

;
"
provements, a very matter-of-fact writer observes, out of about five
hundred houses three-fifths are miserable thatched cabins, and half
the remainder are
little better." The stranger, however, need not be
alarmed on the score of his comforts, as he can either stay at an
" hotel " not
sufficiently comfortable, or procure lodgings where, if
too luxurious, he may feel at home.

I fear my friend the sergeant will be wroth, for he bas been kept
1X2 A YEAR OF liberty; OB,
waiting an unconscionable time at the outskirts of the town, whilst

I have been flying over the country and twittering on the parish
church.
My friend thinks we shall find matters rather dull on Gara, as it
is the earliest lake in the neighbourhood. Nor do I doubt the

correctness of his opinion, for the fly rises on this extensive sheet of
water about the 8th or 10th of May, so that by this time the fish are
sure to be suffering from indigestion, the product of over-indulgence.
Nor, indeed, is Gara, under even the most favourable circumstances,
comparable either to Lough Key or Arrow, as its trout are com-

paratively small, and suffer much both from nets and cross-lines.
Still I was anxious to spend one day on its broad bosom, visit the
islands, and make its beauty mine for ever. A pleasant walk of
forty minutes brought us to the lake, where we launched, and
paddled off to the best fishing-ground, some two miles lower down.
There is to me a peculiar charm in all islands, for they seem to
possess peace without dullness solitude without desolation not to

be found elsewhere. Derrybeg, Annough, Mackmoragh, Inchmore,
and many others all tempted us, when sport failed, to land but ;
the sergeant was of a temperament so hopeful as always to be

convinced there was a flaw of wind somewhere else, the consequence
of which was, that no sooner had I begun to get cool and com-
fortable than I was hurried off in doubtful chase after some fugitive
breeze. All that men could do, we did ;
and whilst a chance existed,
persevered and when compelled to desist could only count between

;
us seven fish, not one of which exceeded 31b.

has been already observed that the drake does not appear
It
simultaneously on all the Mullingar lakes, but, obeying some invari-

able natural law, rises first on one and then on another, which, by
the way, is an excellent arrangement for the angler. Here also the
same mysterious order is observed, the insect coming into " mid
air" first on Gara, next on Lough Key, and lastly on the Arrow,
where it remains nearly to the middle of June. To attend the
funeral obsequies of fair May-fly is impossible, as we have made
an-angements to be at Ballyshannon by the 7th or 8th of the month.
The short time left at our disposal, therefore, must be divided

between Key and Arrow, probably the two best waters in Ireland
for blowline fishing. Whilst strolling over the pleasant mile and a
half which separates Boyle from the former water, I re-read a note
received on the morning of our leaving MuUingar, which, being
pre-eminently practical, is here presented to my friends :
Boyle, May 25, 1865.
My dear Sir, You ask me

you an account of my proceedings on
to send
Lough Key. I do so with pleasure, but pray come and see for yourself. Let
mo, however, first say a few words about one day's angling there in the season
of 1864. My attendant was William Ross, an exceedingly intelligent and able
man, and with his help we killed (on the occasion referred to) five-and-twenty
trout, eight of which were above 71b. each, and twelve others over 41b. each.
This was, Ross said, one of the best bags almost ever made.
"
''
Never mind the rest of the note
crushing it into my pocket.
''
A
great achievement has been wrought what was done once, may ;
be done again and who knows, eh Willie but that we may be the
;
!
fortunate individuals ?" With a longer stride I hastened on ;

there
stood the field of battle, and we resolved, if possible, to go in and
win. Unlike Lough Gara, the water on whose margin we stood is
private property, and, as neither cross-lines nor nets are allowed,

it is indeed an angling paradise, where no evil thing comes. The
drakes had been "up" about ten days, and were now sitting on
almost every leaf, or sunning themselves on nearly every stone. The
excessive heat which cheered them chilled our hopes to-day would ;
not see the crowning victory. Well, life may not be one long
triumph, and the best soldier can but do his duty. Over the blue
waters we drifted with a lazy motion, passing many a lovely island
whose name should not be unrecorded here ; Church, Orchard,
Sally, Stag, and Crane, and many others, were noticed (I like to be
accurate), for we did not land on any who would, with such a letter
:
in his pocket ? But we must not linger on description. Considering

the weather, we did wonders, two rods taking twelve good fish, the
three best being a trifle under 191b. Two more happy days were
spent on Lough Key, during which the sun forgot himself, and
behaved as he ought to have done in the tropics. Of course we
I
fished under unfavourable circumstances ;

but the blow-line when
properly managed rises above most of the difficulties created by
weather. With tackle any other description sport would have
of
been almost an impossibility but with this, should there be only

;
the lightest conceivable air, a man will seldom return disappointed.

]\Iore favourable atmospheric conditions will of course largely
contribute to the chances of success but the day in which an angler
;
writes in his diary the ominous word ''blank" must be bad indeed.
During the past season four or five salmon were taken on this lake,
and one or two during the present but as yet the numbers are too
;
inconsiderable to make this fish of any importance.

Within the next few years, perhaps, some future chronicler for
''
The Field may have to record, splendid grilse fishing on Lough
Key;" everywhere our wise law is
producing fruit; good streams
are becoming better ;
bad ones becoming good ;
and rivers, now
exhausted, or by natural obstacles out of the reach of the most
adventurous salmon, here and there begin to show the first promise
of the coming harvest. Not only will that Act increase the number
of waters for sporting purposes, but it will do far more, it will
decrease the heavy rents hitherto demanded from the angler not ;
that I would be understood to imply that such charges were or are

exorbitant far from it the goods were exposed in a fair and open
; ;
market, and the prices asked cheerfully paid. Local reputation will
in many cases keep up for a time foiTaer terms but as in general ;
society the poor far outnumber the rich, so amongst the brotherhood
of the rod those who with difficulty make both ends meet greatly
exceed those who can bring the ends together, and moreover find a
good piece to lap over ;

thus men who are unable to pay large sums
for their recreation will gradually hunt up new quarters, meet more
fortunate friends and proclaim their success, when it will be found
that many an impoverished lake and river has suddenly grown
wealthy, and is entitled to take rank with the best. The conse-
quence of these changes is sufficiently obvious ;

there will be more
goods in the market, and the value of the stock must diminish in
the ratio of its quantity.

SALMON ANQLINQ IN IBELAND. 115
I linger over the sheet as loath to leave the subject ;

but the best
friends must part, aild we have come to that inevitable hour, on the
shores of Arrow, the last of our green drake lakes. This sheet of
water, without presenting any striking beauties, yet has charms of a
**
pleasing kind there are sloping, green, and cultivated, banks,
;
finely wooded promontories, low, but stretching far into its bosom,"
with many an emerald isle sleeping on its blue surface. This
morning, when we left we

quitted it for the season, and
Boyle,
looked our last on Lough Key the splendid sun-ounding woods of
Lord , and the venerable ruins of the Abbey one of the most
beautiful in Ireland. Nor did we pass the comfortable but unpre-
tending inn without a sigh, hoping devoutly that during the remainder
of our journey we might always find one as good.
It is needless to record our sayings and doings on the silver
Arrow they have been already told at Belvidere, Dereveragh, and

;
Lake Owel. Sufiice it to say the sport was excellent, and that in
four consecutive days thirty-one trout fell to my rod. In point of
size they were very fair, the largest weighing rather over eight
pounds and a half

The day is over, and we stand on the hot and dusty road looking
up the long slope which leads to Boyle.
" Here "
they come, sir At that moment I did not feel as a
I
model family man ought to have felt. The occupants of the
rapidly approaching car seemed not so much friends, as savages

about to tear me from what I held so dear. Whilst we drove away
I watched the lake as if it wore the form of some departing friend.
I was very dolorous, and looked so.

"
Come, cheer up What would you have ? "
!
"I would have the lakes."

"What ! and give up the Erne?"
" No."
" But You must
you cannot have both. renounce one."
" I cannot "
!
**
What is to be done ? Don't threaten to shoot yourself like
Scythrop Glowry. There, light your pipe already you have

: One '
I 2
116 A TEAE OF liberty; OR,
auspicious and one drooping eye.'

You will forget your lost love
to-morrow, when you stand once more on the dear old bridge of
Ballyshannon."
CHAPTER XX.
The Erne Early morning ^The Bridge A "great" misfortune Subsequent
success The Colonel discourses ^Draughting under the Falls.
June 12.
The church clock struck three as I lay broad awake in my com-

fortablechamber in the Mall, waiting the expected signal announcing
that Pat and m.y Jichis Achates were at their post :
yes, wide awake,
for could sleep on such a morning ? Through the open window
who
comes the balmy breath of the sweet summer, and the minstrel
thrush is humming over the song he will sing so soon to a drowsy
world. Beautiful Erne, I cannot see you yet I feel your bright
;
face will smile a welcome to an old adorateur. Queen of streams !
thou art peerless amongst the waters. A very Phoenix of rivers, you
burst in your might from the parent lake, and after a too brief race
of four miles, die in your prime, and drop into the eternity of Ocean.
No dull stagnant life is yours, but onward, ever onward, in beautiful
variety your streams, deep and wide in your pools, grand

splendid in
in your falls. Many a happy day have I whiled away on your banks,
sweet Erae!
Time did not, however,
Keep pace with my expectancy and fly.
Four was the hour agreed on, but it wanted sixty minutes to the
time, andwho would voluntarily submit to half or three quarters of
an hour's misery if he could help it.
To spring out of bed and gain the Avindow was the work of a
moment. There, on the opposite doorstep, sat Messrs Willie and
SALMON ANGLtNG IN IRELAND. 117
Pat, talking as calmly as if it were midday, instead of only three

horn's after midnight.
"Holloa, "Willie, why didn't you call me?"

**
"Your honour appointed four," observed Pat. All's quiet in
the town. Not a ghost of a soul's stirrin' ;

we come early for fear
of being late. Niver a doubt but I'd have gravelled the winder had
there been any need but things ain't as they used to be."
;
"We had been so fortunate as to obtain our old quarters in the Mall,
a site indeed quite to my taste, for it was within a hundred and forty
yards of the bridge and what did that imply ? Why, simply this
;
that I was hardly a minute's walk from the best cast in the kingdom.
The water thence to the falls is reserved, but my kind friend the
lessee had placed it at my disposal, and I longed to be there.
The dear old bridge, scene of many former pains and pleasures ;
of
defiance to foesand plots against friends, shone bright as ever in the

morning sun. Each stone on the parapet was graven on my memory,
for had I not seen it every hour in the twenty-four shivered there
at ten, eleven
In the dead waste and middle of the night !
and as for two, three, and four they were parts of our daily life.
"Well, Pat, who have you got here this season ?" I asked, as the
line was being passed through rings.

" Some of
your honour's friends and the Colonel ; ^you'll be glad
to hear he's come."
This was good news, indeed. The stout soldier was so old a friend
that Iknew him before my lips could well pronounce his name. We
had not met for three years, I having during that time rented a
river farther north. Bright, genial, and courteous, his society was a
privilege ;
he was better than a book ;
had haunted the Erne with
men whose active lives were over ;
remembered bygone scenes and
ancient comrades, and spoke of them with a gusto and vivacity
rarely met with.
""Will we try the parson first ?"
" all "Willie. Is the thread good ?"
Oh, by means,
"Never a better was wetted," he said, giving me tlie butt.
Anyone possessed of liands could float a line down a stream, but

that would not have been fishing our bridge. First, it must be tried
close to the arches, and this can only be effected by keeping the
point near the water, and the rod parallel to the masonry then a ;
little more line may be paid out, and the glittering fly made to dart
across the rapid, play in the eddy, and so skim back again into the
current and, lastly,
;
more and more length
is given by slow degrees,
that portion of the water has been fairly tried.

till Now there are
many arches (some far better than others), so it may be easily
imagined we have suflScient work on our hands, till a breathless
messenger announces, at half-past eight, ''Breakfast is ready."

The third and fourth streams from the north side were especial
favourites, but each was worked in vain, with two or three changes.
This was the more vexatious, as the wide sheet of water between us
and the falls was alive with fish, springing high in air or casting
themselves horizontally over the surface, often showing their broad
and silvery sides distinctly for many a yard as they dived below. It
needed not the magic ointment of the dervish to see that a treasure
lay there but now to win it was the question.
;
It is hardly possible to have too much line for this throw, as the
angler well-nigh chained to his post.

is On the south side there is
no possibility of following a fish, and on the north the propriety of
such a step is very questionable, for it can only be done by dropping
the rod to your attendant as he stands below. Supposing such a
transfer safely effected, you cannot follow more than fifty or sixty
yards, when the depth of the water forbids all further advance. But
it not often a fresh salmon takes this steady downward course.
is
Desperate runs in the direction of the falls are inevitable but ;
in nineteen cases out strength remains, he

of twenty, while
will again head up stream, and eventually come within reach of
the gaff.
"What ! never a fish?" said an ancient professional, who, too old
to follow the river, yet haunted the bridge. " WiU your honour let
me look at your book ?"
SALMON ANGLIKO IK IBELAND. 119
I assured him ever3rthing it contained had been tried, and found

wanting.
" Your
honour has not wet this the morn," he observed, slowly
drawing a gaudy article from one of the pockets. I had frequently
tried it, for I was proud of the handiwork, but had at last thrown it
" It
aside as worthless. might do," he said, running critically over
the composition. ''Gold tag, topping, kingfisher, and a turn of
ostrich ;
that's a good tail, any way. Puce silk body, bright claret
hackle, fiery brown pig's- wool, and jay at the shoulder." " Is there
" " '*
four or five jungle cock in the wing ? Well, it way do." Try
ityour honour, any way." Scarcely had the
fly touched the water,
when a monstrous salmon made a charge at it. I knew he was well
hooked. " Mona mon " but he's the
diaoul," exclaimed the veteran,
best fish that's been stuck this season." "He's forty pounds if he's
an ounce.'" His activity and strength exceeded anything I had ever
conceived. Again and again, at a single dash, he tore the whole line
(140 yards) from the wheel, but by great luck always turned at the
critical moment. I felt from the first a terrible misgiving that the
business on hand was more than I could manage, and looked

anxiously for Pat, who had gone home in the hope of producing an
article more captivating than those hitherto employed. " Whish
he's off again," now leaving me scarce an inch on the reel, now
encumbered with a hundred yards of slack now dashing to the
;
right and then to the left,with such startling speed and determined
" Ah there's Pat
perseverance as kept me in constant difficulties. !
" More
at full speed." power to yer elbow, yer honor I heard the ;
music up by the church, and that*s a quarter of a mile. Tare-an'-

ouns, but he's a tatterer."
Verily I had caught a tartar; the strength of the fish, the

necessity of holding the rod up, and the weight on the line, had
"kilt me entirely." I was dead beat. My arm refused its office,
and if life had
depended upon it, I could not have worked at the
wheel a minute longer. Gladly I handed the rod to Pat. The
change was scarcely effected, when the monster once more dashed
down the water at headlong speed. Pat saw the crisis was at
120 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ;
OR,
hand ;
he looked pale, agitated, but determined. By the time
the last inch of line was off the wheel the butt was
pointed in
the direction of the fish, and the top well over his shoulder, to
break, if
possible, the force of the rush, by the elasticity of the
rod. This might have succeeded with a smaller fish, but would,
I felt, be useless here. It required his whole force to
keep the
rod in the proper position. Twice the gallant salmon made
desperate charges, yet the good tackle stood a third succeeded. ;
By sheer force the rod was drawn into an horizontal direction,

and the line, an instant before tight as a harp string, flew loosely
upwards. The poor fellow turned an appealing look at the great
master. '
All the sons of men could not have helped it," he said,
soothingly; "man could not have played him better." Here was,
indeed, a downfall to my expectations. It was the only chance that
ever fell to my lot of achie\dng real
greatness. I said not a word.
What my feelings were it is needless to say they may be more easily
;
imagined than described. It was no use grieving over a broken thread.
The casting line, composed of stout treble gut (with the exception of
a capital single thread on which the fly was
tied), had luckily parted
in the middle, so the loss of tackle was
nothing. Damages were soon
repaired, and the ''parson" was in a few minutes swimming
seducingly across the streams of the fourth and fifth arches.
''Hooroo! that's something like. Murther! but he's missed it."
Scarcely had he spoken before the same fish turned at the brilliant
insect and took it. A furious run of eight or ten feet ended my
hopes ;
the mouth had given way. Willie was in despair, Pat more
than ever convinced he had met " an evil eye," and that no luck
could fall to our share. His mind was disquieted thrice he enume- ;
rated every ill-favoured old lady of his acquaintance, and still was
unsatisfied he could fix with certainty on no one. Memory was
;
treacherous. Might he not have omitted an item

in the reckoning ?
Possibly. And a fourth time the summing-up was recommenced

in hopes of a different result.
"
MoUy M'Gowan bad luck to her. But sure it wasn't her ;
didn't I bestow her a stone of praties not a month ago ? She wasn't
the witch. Biddy O'Brien," continued the persevering calculator,

scoring her off on the first finger of his left hand "Biddy O'Brien!"
the groaning of the wheel cut short further investigation, and the
spell was broken by our landing, about half an hour afterwards, a

beautiful fish of 181b. But fortune had not yet done with us, for
within the next forty minutes another salmon of 16lb. lay cooling in
the shallow edge of the stream whilst a third, larger than either,
;
was giving me
occupation in a series of runs, so desperate that
full
nothing but a first-class wheel could have stood the work. In the
midst of one of these, a light hand was laid on my shoulder and a
well-remembered voice said
" Well
done, Walter ! This is like the good old times. Polish
your man off ;

I can wait."
Short gi'eeting was given to the Colonel then but, when Willie ;
had gaffed the fish (he was nearly 211b.), I found leisure to say, how
happy it made me to see my old friend once more.

" " I heard
Ay,", he said, you were here, and came to rob you of
an arch or two. Privilege of seniority, you know, Walter one of

the few good things one gets in exchange for time."
Wiping my forehead, I murmured something about having done

enough for one morning Heaven forgive the deceit I could have !
worked for the next forty-eight hours without food or rest, and,
reeling up, stood by the Colonel's side,watching the wonderful skill
with which he fished the water. Playing his fly with unceasing
activity now close to the masonry, now in the current, then with a
graceful curve into the eddy, and so back into the stream again ^he
ran on in a full flow of pleasant chat.

" What a this is to me
place ît is full of ! memories here old ;
times, lost friends, meny plots, and innocent counterplots, all come
back as fresh as May. What fun I have had You don't remember
!
old Tom ?
years before you became one of us, Captain
Many
'
outdid his former great outdoings,' killing upwards of a hundred
heavy the short space of six weeks.

fish in Various attempts were
made from time to time to despoil him of the
property here, but
without success. Four, half-past three, three, and even
half-past
two had been tried in vain. Come when the invaders would, the
Captain was on guard. Poor old Tom Lightly (he's dead and gone
now) was, at the time I speak of, my attendant, and in an evil hour
persuaded me to try my fortune. I consented ordered him to ;
watch the Captain's retirement that evening, occupy the post with
my rod and gaff, keep watch all night and call me by peep of day.
;
Before turning in I took a look at Tom, and found him with a
roaring turf fire in one of the niches, his pipe going merrily, and the
bottle of whisky I sent to help out his watch, half finished. All was
right, and I went to bed with a mind at ease. About half -past two
John and his master rounded the comer, not a little alarmed at the
signs of occupation evinced by the blazing fire. All was still. They
took a closer look. Could they believe their eyes ? Yes ;
there
stood the bridge, solitary and unoccupied once ;
more they were in
possession. The mystery was soon solved. Sheltered from a

sweeping northerly wind in a friendly doorway, lay old Tom, fast as
a watchman, his master's rod across his knees, his pipe smothered in
its own ashes, and the bottle empty. Whether the wind had half
frozen the old fellow's blood, whether he had walked in his sleep, or
whether Tom became rather blind and lost his way, no one ever
knew. Merely to hint at the subject was a broken head. John was
in an ecstacy of delight two Christians, comforted with
to think of
a reasonable night's rest, outwitting those who had outwatched the '
stars.' It was better than a month's There was a further

wages.
triumph which suggested itself to the malicious John, could old
Tom but be roused to a sense of his miserable condition by '
a grand
instrumental crash.' To wake and find the bridge occupied would
be something ;
but for Tom to start up and find the Captain 'stuck'
in a twenty-pounder, would be Elysian. Hardly was the wish
formed before the music of the wheel announced its fulfilment.
Hitherto John had with difficulty restrained his exultation but now ;
the measure of his joy overflowed this crowning triumph was more
;
than mortal could bear in silence. He could contain himself no

longer, but gave vent to a yell that would have done credit to a
whole tribe of redskins. Such an assemblage of terrified heads as
SALMON ANGLINO IN raBLAND. 123
'
it drew to the windows of the '
Port had never been seen at three
a.m. in the memory of man. The general opinion was that the
cholera had *
tuk the pegs.' It startled the Captain what wonder ;
that it woke old Tom ? He saw the state of afifairs at once ;

dared
not encounter the jokes of the delighted John modestly observed, ;
if St. Patrick was to order it, he'd not watch the

bridge again
if that bom devil, the Captain, was within twenty miles of it ;
turned tail, and fairly bolted. Next morning Tom was reported
absent. For a whole week my servant returned the old
fellow non was growing seriously anxious on his account
est. I
when, late on the ninth evening, he made his appearance

in the coffee-room. I hardly knew him, so pale and gaunt had
he become. By degrees I learned that, knowing the merciless
quizzing he must endure, he dared not return, but had been wandering
in the Leitrim mountains from one cottage to another, till the
present moment, when he hoped the affair had blown over and been
forgotten. T ordered him to call me
I'll do it, your honour;
early.
*
but och. Colonel dear, niver breathe the laste taste in life about the
bridge.' Welladay Many a pleasant hour have I passed on this-

!
spot with friends I shall never see more." Here the soldier brushed
half an inch of white ash from his cigar a silent comment, perhaps,
on the perishing nature of sublunary things, and continued " Tom :
had a tenacious memory he owed the Captain one,' and was not
;
*
likely to forget it. He was biding his time. Now, the commander
and myself were next-door neighbours. One stormy night, about
eleven, Tom placed himself under the Captain's window, hemmed,
coughed, whistled snatches of a song, and, pausing between whiles,
listened intently. If the Captain slept like a lynx, he was wary as a
hawk, and Mr. Lightly was afraid of over-acting. The bait took; he
heard his victim bounce out of bed and cautiously approach the
window to hear what was going on.
'
Hist, hist, your honour,' said
Tom, addressing his sleeping master, but so softly that, though per-
fectly audible to the ambushed commander, it would hardly have
waked a watch dog.
'
Hist, hist, your honour, if ye arn't down in
five minutes, bedad but we'll lose it,' adding, in a yet lower tone,
'
The Captain's awake.' This was enough. Tom knew his man
would risk life rather than lose his favourite throw. In less than a
minute the door flew open ;
out rushed the deluded angler half
dressed, ignorant of the hour, in a drizzling rain and westerly gale,
to bide, as best he might, their pitiless buffeting through the long,
long night. Tom was revenged. He had paid his debt and a little
over. The whole was a inise, for I never dreamed of again entering
the lists against the invincible commander ;

and the hit consisted in
giving him a Eoland for an Oliver in the shape of an unnecessary

airing of five or six hours on a squally night on one of the most
exposed spots in the barony."

Anxious to give my companion full possession, I soon wished him
good sport, and strolled up the Mall. Having a few minutes to spare,
I determined to walk a couple of hundred yards farther, and see
what was going on under the falls. Throwing myself on the grassy
knoll which overhangs the fishhouse and the leap, I watched as
delightedly as ever the operation of draughting. stout, well- A

manned boat had just pushed from the shore, and was pulling at
gi-eat speed towards the foot of the cascade, the captain in the stern
delivering the heavy seine net as the crew dashed on. Now they
are within a foot of the mighty sheet of falling water, and, turning
close under a smooth rock on the southern bank, head back to the
starting point. The corks now show the circle is complete. All
hands to the ropes. Narrower and narrower grows the prison, more
desperate the struggles of the captives, more keen the interest of the
spectators. One heave all together, boys, and a hundred splendid
fish,such as no other river can show, unless, perhaps, it be the Spey,
are bounding on the floor of the boat. No time is lost between
death and interment. A
few moments only elapse ere the salmon
are weighed, iced, and screwed down in the coffin-like boxes in which
I have
they are conveyed to Liverpool, London, and perhaps Paris.
said they were such as probably no other river can show admire
their exquisite beauty ofform and colour look for a moment at
their size ! There are a few of twelve, more of eighteen, numbers
from twenty to twenty-five, and perhaps two or three between forty
and fifty This draughting had been going on for hours,

pounds each.
*' "
yet so great is that the last haul seemed to equal the
the run
first, and already numbers of new comers are even now leaping at
the falls.
" Ah "
! breakfast is ready is it, Willie ? 'Twill be an idle
ceremony, for this sight always spoils my appetite for beef and
buttered toast.
CHAPTEE XXI.
A Piscatorial Republic "

The Bank of Ireland" Moss Row The Captain's
Throw The Lost Gaff" Luck's All "
June 17.
The Erae flows through the town of Ballyshannon, dividing it into

two unequal parts, the principal of which is on the north bank,
where the ground rises rather abruptly, showing to great advantage
its
sunny gardens and pleasant dwellings, whilst a fine old church
crowns the summit of the hill. From the east comes the rushing
river, whilst tothe west stretches a long range of sandhills, guarding
the lough from the wild fury of the Atlantic. A solid mass of rock
crosses the bed of the stream, which, thundering over the obstacle,
drops in an unbroken sheet into the estuary, and is soon lost in

the wide waters of Donegal Bay. A
finer entrance can hardly be
imagined, yet the Erne is not a spring river. Some early fish are
taken, but the true run commences about the 1st of June, and
consists exclusively of salmon, which are followed by the grilse
three or four weeks later. Happy is the man who welcomes these,
but thrice happy he who meets the glorious creatures which

is
throng hither in the first days of summer.
Every river has some peculiar characteristics, one of the distin-

guishing features of the Erne being a decided tendency to remain
constantly in good angling trim, in which amiable eccentricity it
126 A YEAR OF liberty; OE,
differsfrom most of the other streams in the kingdom. In one,

during the hot months, sport becomes impracticable from want of
water in another, wind is a sine qua non ; in a third, not a fish
;
will move unless the day be dull, dark, and breezy ;

whilst a fourth
may have an obstinate predilection for becoming flooded on the

smallest provocation. But here, whether the season be dry or wet,
about an equal number of " throws" are always in order. Summer
floods (in the usual acceptation of the word) are unknown ; sun,
wind, and clouds are things comparatively of moment, and little
every morning ushers in a fishing day. In fact. Lough Erne has

its summer and winter level, from which it rarely varies, rising
periodically during the latter season, in the ratio of the rains.

This, of course, regulates the height of the river ;
but the lake is
so enormous, and the tract of country whose drainage it receives
so extensive, that in the driest summers the volume of water
discharged is
always great. "Our pet" possesses another virtue,
that of being seldom discoloured, as all the large tributaries lay near
the head of this inland sea, in which the rude mountain torrents
grow quite genteel and refined, long ere their waters reach Beleek.
Desperate and long continued storms may occasionally shade the
Erne, but even then a fish may be killed ;
and at the worst a few
hours will restore it to its pristine brightness.
A society so respectable as the Piscatorial Eepublic on the banks
of the Erne could not, of course, exist without a code for its own
special government. All questions of right or etiquette that arise
are settled by reference to a lex non scripta, in which our sporting
attendants are well versed. Unlike other jurisconsults, their
decisions are uniformly governed by sense and justice ;
and as the
laws are seldom strained to suit private purposes, appeal to higher
authority is rarely necessary ; peace and harmony prevail, and we

form, in fact, a model state. By one of these traditional rules any
angler who first occupies a lodge may retain it a discretion, and as
the casts are well defined, each subsequent comer passes on to the
next he may find vacant
The heat is awful ;
to be out in such a day would almost justify
SALMON ANOLINO IN IRELAND. 127
a man's friends procuring him fumislied lodgings in Bedlam. In

the full blaze of the sun a Bengal tiger might feel at home. The
windows are open, the blinds down, yet the wax is melting on the
paper where I am fabricating a pair of flies for your benefit, my
dear sir. The mysteries of Eleusis, which stood on the Lake Copais,
were not more carefully guarded than the secret of a killing fly by
a zealous artist ;
but you are one of us, so enter the Penetralia and
behold. An O'Shaughnessy, suited to the weather and state of the
water, is
strapped to a thread of single gut. Gold tip, a turn of
bright blue silk, another of crimson topping, kingfisher's feather,
;
and a roll of black ostrich, fonn the tag. The body is made of rich
yellow floss, gold tinsel, and hackle of the same hue. The wings
consist of four or five toppings, six or eight orange feathers from
the toucan, a few strands from the cock of the rock, four fibres from
the tail of the golden pheasant, and two long crimson horns. A
black head completes the elaborate production. This is the favourite
''
lure, and is considered by the learned as the best that can be put
over a fish ;" and now, having finished the fly, the next thing is to
it.
try
Our plan for to-day is to reach " the
Bank of Ireland," if possible
before the doors open for the admission of the public ; to work there
for two or three hours, and then take each cast in order back to the
town, following the south side of the river. Over the bridge we
hurry, up the hot and dusty road for a short distance, then across a
field or two, and so reach Kathleen's Fall. From thence to Stonewell
is an unbroken succession of lodges, but there is no time to try them.

Straight on we go
''
over the green swell above
;
the grassyard,"
over walls and rough pastures, till we reach the ornamental grounds
behind the " Captain's Throw." Still onward through plantations,
;
over more walls, past a considerable stretch of coppice, when we

"
plunge downwards and find The Bank without a customer. This
'
throw indeed perfection long, deep, and broad, with a splendid

is
stream, running with decreasing force to the end, but which requires
some neatness of execution, as a high wooded slope rises abruptly
from the edge of the river, and forbids casting in the ordinary
128 A YEAR OF LIBEBTT ; OR,
manner. Of course the newest fly was slipped on tlie line. How
my hands trembled ;
for each moment I expected a rise, Over the
left shoulder flew theline, which, guided by a light touch of the
right hand, shot straight as an arrow far across the water. A dull
ruffle, an upward motion of the rod, and a good O'Shaughnessy sinks
deep in the jaw of a fifteen-pounder at the least. Speaking of one

of the smaller rivers, a friend once observed, ''Do you call that
sport ? Why the poor beasts cannot turn round in such a ditch."
But here no one could complain of wanting space. How these fish
fight Weight and water are all in their favour, and our antagonist
!
made such good use of his personal and natural advantages, that half an
hour elapsed before my man got a chance with the gaff, and was able
to land ashandsome a sixteen-pounder as anyone need desire to see.
This agreeable commencement put us all in high spirits. A dark fly
''
"
succeeded the parson an olive officiated as clerk to his reverence,
;
and was in turn followed by an " orange grouse." Now to go care-

" the bank " four
fully over times, implies a considerable amount of
exercise, so we sat to consider what was next to be done. For
" an infant
the last hour Pat had been busily engaged in dressing
phenomenon," which he was, of course anxious to trot out. This,

too, failed and as nothing more could be done, we tied our prize
;
''
head and tail," and moved on to the stream below. Hitherto we
had been favoured with only a single chance, nor did it seem an
easy matter to obtain a second. Under the waving woods adjoining

my friend 's
pretty villa, lay some likely spots, each of which
was carefully but vainly tried and now, here is "Moss Eow," as
;
" "
rising throw as any between the bridge and Beleek.
good a By
keeping pretty constant possession, and by dint of hard work, I
managed this season to obtain a sort of prescriptive right to the row,
and considered myself in some sort as proprietor of the property ;

but
like other potentates, I too had my cares of state.
Uneasy lies the head that weai's a crown.
the utmost
I proved no exception to the rule, for it required
vigilance to maintain and defend my sovereignty. If excitement be

a charm in angling, the sport here must be enjoyed in its highest

perfection, for friendly rivalry, plots, plans to be formed, and designs
to be traversed, keep us constantly on the qui vive. Did I relax my
watchfulness for a day, another hand was sure to snatch at the reins.
Did I fail to take a fish. I was mercifully left in undisturbed pos-
session ;
but if success attended me, fresh efforts were regularly
made to dethrone me on the morrow.
As a general rule, all the casts on the south correspond with those
on the opposite side. There are, however, two exceptions Laputa
and the point of the Mullens, both of which belong exclusively to
the noi-th shore. Each is excellent, but the latter has a high
reputation holding fish of extraordinary size.
for That this
character deserved cannot be doubted, and once (I say it with
is
shame) I endured an hour's unutterable anguish whilst watching

Capt. M kill there a salmon, which weighed between 361b. and
371b. In this noble river nothing can be done without constant and
deep wading, two or three pools only being fishable from the land,
but our professionals are amphibious, and as much at home in the
pure element as so many ducks.

Whilst drawing on my boots and getting ready for a turn in " the
Row," Willie seats himself under the shade of a friendly thorn,
opens the basket, and prepares for half an hour's work. With Pat
close at my back, to aid and direct my course, we gain the point
whence the stream can be most advantageously commanded. At
the third cast a glorious fellow rose and refused the fly, which was
allowed to float quietly on, when the line was gathered in by
hand, to insureits coming over him again under conditions
exactly
similar.
"Wom't he a large one?" asked theartist, who, guessing in-
stinctively what had happened, hastily shut his shop, and was now
me with " a " Shure he
paddling close behind change." icor a
big one, for I seen his wave roll up agen the current. Will we try
him with this ?" producing his favourite light donkey fur with jungle
cockwing. A couple of short casts brought the tackle to its full
stretch, and the third sent it light and true to a point from
K
whence the glittering insect must pass over our friend's head on the
turn.
" Sweet father ! but that's nate," remarked Pat, his head ad-
miringly on one side, as the salmon, feeling the point, plunged

savagely on the surface for a moment. "Musha, but the crayther's
eight-an'-twinty-pounds." He seemed possessed of all the divine
fury of an ancient sea-king now in the air, coming down again
with a crash plainly audible above the rush of the river now
rattling along at railroad speed. What an absurd sight we must
have presented to any calm philosophical looker-on, reeling, tottering,
slipping, splashing, struggling, gesticulating, and all because a poor
fish(having taken service with a hard master, by mistake) was now
trying to run away. Ten minutes twenty, thirty passed, and still
the contest raged fiercely as ever.

" Mind
him, for yer sowl mind him Och, the devil mend him
!
;
bad luck to that same for a salmon I" screamed Pat, in the wildest
state of excitement, as the captive, after a furious race, took an awful
perpendicular leap. "He's off; no, he's on !" sprang involuntarily

from my lips.
I felt that for an instant he was free. Had there
been time I would have staked my last farthing on the truth of that
belief. Yet, there he was, firm on the hook, tugging laboriously at
the line, seventy or eighty yards above me. But the fight was over.
That last rush had broken his heart, and, yielding to the pressure of
the rod, he came weltering down the stream. Cautiously avoiding
the tackle, Willie placed himself in line, and with his usual quiet
as a fish as ever died a death of fame. " I'd
skill gaffed gallant
" that the
have sworn," he said, thrusting his hands into the gills,
baste was hooked fair; such a pig, too, and him wid the steel in
his side."
After so much excitement, pipes all round were inevitable. As
" Blest if
the smoke curled up amongst the green leaves I heard, it
ain't queer look at his mouth, Pat."

; There, over the inferior jaw,
was a long rent. Under the great strain the sharp weapon must
have cut its way out, but how it had taken a fresh hold was past
my wit to explain. I accepted the fact and was satisfied. Whilst
meditating on these things, a light step sounded over the shingles,

and my friend L stood before me. "Look here," he said,
the
pointing in great glee to a particularly handsome gaff in all
splendour of unsullied brass and steel
*'
I shall not want your ;
unwilling charity again, you niggardly Walter. Here, what do you

think of this ?"
I could not but admire the implement.
" Ton my
life, though, I wish it was safe back again in Beleek.
Rowley was very unwilling to lend, and gave no end of directions

about care, and all that sort of thing."
"Why don't you give it to my man, he'll keep it safe. We shall
be all together for the rest of the day ?"

" What are to do next ? Is there any one at the
you going
"
'
Captain's Throw ?'
The latter question I could not answer, and, with respect to the
" I intended to '
the Row '
and afterwards follow

fonner, try again,
the stream down towards the town."
" and wait for
"I shall go on. then," he said, you at Alt More."
After giving the water sufficient rest, we tried it again and again.
But the lodge had been thoroughly upset, and nothing more could
be done, so our guide considered it high time to move on and
inquire after the fate and fortunes of my friend, more especially as
he thought that once or twice suspicious sounds had floated up from
his neighbourhood. As we advanced, Mr. Pat was in the act of re-
" that the
marking, captin must be doing something, or never a bit
of him would have stayed quiet so long," when a tenific howl cut
him short. The start would have done credit to the Great Liverpool.
Off we went at score ;

neck and neck : took a rasping fence at the
same moment, floundered through some soft ground, and entered the
thicket. Here the guide, who knew the paths, shot ahead, and we
paused to catch the direction he had taken.
" where the deuce is
Stones, Pat, stones ^those ain't big enough
the master ? I've been shouting this hour. There's not a bit of
skin left on my throat." Guided by the voice, which resembled
that of a trumpet labouring under severe catarrh, we soon came up.
E 2
" Och
Now, now, lie's under the rock. !
murtlier, Captin, dear, mind
the line." went stones.
" He's in he's out
Splash, splash, splash, ; ;
confound you, throw. No, no

hold hard," were some of the
;
contradictory orders that greeted our arrival at the scene of action ;
and what a subject for a painter L , pale and nervous

!
Pat, ;
fiery red, from his frantic exertions in turning up morsels of rock.

Our position, far above the water, enabled us to see at a glance that
my friend had, indeed, found a prize. There he lay, heading the
stream, but dead beat ;
nor was the victor in much better condition,
for his white lips and trembling hands marked the extremity of his
agitation. Now was the moment, as the fish neared the surface,
and, yielding to the steady pressure, edged towards the shore. To

seize the gaff and slide down the face of the rock, was to Pat
scarcely the work of a moment a single foot nearer, and he has

;
him. With extended jaws the helpless monster is drawn, inch by

inch, closerand closer. Now the descending weapon fell short,
!
and scared the quarry, which, with a last laborious effort, paddled a
few yards farther from the rock, rolled heavily over, and floated
down the stream. Yes, down ! for the hook had slipped. I dared
not look at the bereaved man, but gazed wistfully at the exhausted
salmon as he glided over the smooth yet rapid water, and disap-
peared in the torrent below. With desperate calmness my unhappy
companion reeled up the line, looked at the fly, pronounced all
right, handed the rod to Pat, renounced its use for ever, apologised
in good set terms for the trouble he had caused us, and professed
perfect readiness to return home when it suited me. His misfortune
was beyond the reach of sympathy. But Willie had yet his own
source of consolation to offer. He held out his pipe " Take a
blast of that. Captain, and may be 'twill settleyou."

A silent walk of half an hour is a wonderful restorer of the
temper, and by the time we reached AUingham's Point the discon-

solate had forgotten his vow, and was again eager as ever once more
to try his fortune. Interested in his success, we sat on the bank to
watch the result. True flew the line, light fell the fly. About the
middle of the cast a fish met it, and after something less than half
an hour's very pretty sport I broke the spell by landing a silvery
sixteen-pounder. Leaving my friend wonderfully restored and tran-

quillised,, to finish the throw at his leisure, I hastened on to '' the
Sod Ditch," and close to a sunken rock, was once more successful.
The heavy stream and level margin were great odds in my favour,
and Mr. S. was soon well under command with the dark line of his
back above the water. " who

Keep off you, sir," to poor Willie,
was calmly waiting his opportunity, "I'm going to land this one,"
and suiting the action to the word L dashed at once into the
stream and made towards the fish, which slowly retreated as the
enemy advanced. On he marched, up to the knees over the knees
to mid thigh ;
now the hips are covered, but at length he stands
"
face to face with the foe. I saw the gaff poised, and " felt the
dull sound of the stab. With a heavy lunge the wounded animal
wrenched the smooth and polished handle from his hand. For an
instant fly, casting-line, the luckless weapon, the living and the
d}dng, were all "in wild confusion blent." For twenty or thirty
yards we watched the polished lignum vitse shaft whirled round and
round, and then vanish. The discomfited hero's look of real distress
and comical dismay were irresistible. " Oh, dear what will Rowley I
say ? Why don't you swear at me ? I know

you're in a towering
rage, and 'twill do you good. You'll feel easier afterwards why ;
dont you swear at me ?" Four days after a fine salmon was found
dead on the shallows near the town. His size and the great rent
through the back assured us that we looked on the immediate cause
of the Major's grief and L 's
chagrin.
The afternoon fulfilling its earlier promise was throughout
intensely hot. Experience, however, had long sho^vn that downright
hard work will effect more on the Erne than on any other of the
is a
Indeed, the river
Irish waters. perfect paradox, a sporting
contradiction ;
and
has often been found that days seemingly the
it
most favourable too frequently turn out blanks, and that weather,
apparently impracticable, constantly affords first-rate angling. In
short, the professionals seldom like to stake their reputation on
a promise of success, and the eager and confident, " Well, Pat, this
looks sometliing like, generally meets with the ''

May he
damper,
it is
your Honour should know best but hick's all."
; ;
CHAPTER XXn.
Ballyshannon Salmon Leap ^White Trout Evening The Grass Yard
How Pat was brought to Life The Colonel Tries on his Boots, and John
doth a Tale unfold.
June 23.
The real run of fish in these water, though enormous, is very

limited in point of time. Taking the average of different seasons,
it may be said to extend from the 1st of June to the end of July :
a few hundred stragglers are, however, caught during the next twenty
days, and some earlier salmon are secured in May, together with a
few in April.
An idea may be formed of the numbers which enter the river
from the fact that during the height of the season it is not
uncommon to secure six or seven tons a day, the greater part of
which are taken in the pool below the falls by draughting. The
high grassy banks, which thererise from the water's edge, form a
favourite resort of strangers as well as residents, who appear year

watch the operation with undiminished interest. Eas-
after year to
Aodh-Ruaidh, or Eed Hugh's Fall, called with more brevity and

less dignity "the leap," extends across the entire bed of the river,
and low water has a perpendicular height of 12ft. All fish that
at
pass are safe, for no net ever robs the Erne of its treasures.
Thanks to the falls there is always a noble stock to benefit the

a stock ever increasing through
property and rejoice the sportsman ;
the season, and only diminished by the angle. In most of the other
Irish fisheries the upper waters depend on rain for their supply ;
but
here fresh salmon are continually entering the river, and at spring
tides himdreds pass every twenty-four hours. At such times it is
highly interesting to watch the desperate efforts of the silvery

creatures to leap the barrier as the tide rises. For a few seconds
all is still
; then, perhaps, a monster bounds from the water and is
seen for an instant quivering in the air ere he lights on the very
edge of the falls for a single moment he struggles with the

;
descending torrent, shoots through it like a stream of light, and

disappears in the calm deep sheet beyond. As if encouraged by
this success forty or fifty, perhaps, dash simultaneously at the
cataract. Some succeed, but more fail, to renew their attempts

again and again till finally triumphant.
Between this point and the Abbey of Asheroe, where a small
stream enters the estuary, there is in August and September very
good white trout-fishing, which, however, requires the use of a boat.

In May and June large numbers of brown trout, returning from the
sea, loiter for a time in the brackish water and afterwards ascend
the river. Every day in summer, diminutive boys may be seen
seated on the rocks angling for these fish (which inin from two to
five pounds) with a skill beyond their tender years. They seem to
take toit quite naturally ; perhaps the art has been transmitted to
these urchins from a long series of ancestors famous in all the
mysteries of the gentle art. The regulars of the Erne, in casting,

fly-tying, wading, and patience, are, in my opinion, unrivalled if to ;
this be added that, as a class, they are a most respectable set of
men I think they may fairly be said to stand at the head of the
;
profession. During the present season the river from Ballyshannon

to Beleek is let to nine rods, but I have no warrant for asserting
that a similar an-angement will prevail in 1866. The bridge and

the pool below, are reserved Dinner is over, and the
evening than usual, for a pleasant northerly
feels less sultry air curls
the stream and whispers hope. As a general rule salmon rise best
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ;

and this remark, which is true of most
rivers, is
particularly applicable to the Erne. Still many a fish is
killed here both earher and later by the persevering angler, though it
may be questioned whether the gain repays the toil.

The broken water above Kathleen's Fall will give us nothing
Log-a-Thrummain turns a deaf ear to our entreaties the Angler's

Throw sees us wade in vain in the Sod Ditch two or three heavy
fish are rising to please themselves, but refuse to gratify us
Allingham's Point is as quiet as if it had never held a salmon. We
are weary, the river is dull, and everything seems flat and unprofit-
able. Shall we return and join the Colonel, who is thrashing away
below, or first try the Grass Yard ? Pat thinks our friends have
shut up for the evening, Willie rather inclines to the same belief.
In my heart I feel they are right but, being by nature obstinate,
;
cannot confess Eegularly done, we scrambled along the rough

it.
and rocky way, crawled up the bank, and so gained the yard. For
once in his life my poor companion took the rod reluctantly, and.
waded, I fear unwillingly, into the strong stream, to a point that
gave him full command of this splendid Never had he
lodge.
operated so execrably. I should have been sorry to swear he was
"
not fishing in his sleep. There, that will do come along. It is ;
no use." Thirty or forty yards higher up the evening breeze faintly

ruffled the flat, near a low ledge ^fantastically carved
by the winter
"
floods) where occasionally we had succeeded. Give me the rod,
I'll take a throw there before we go." My tired comrade listlessly
went through the ceremony of presentation, and I delivered the
kind of cast a man is apt to make, when faint and hopeless. From
sheer laziness the fly was played close to the rock, where a
spanking
salmon sailed quietly up and took it. I saw the fair deceiver
disappear within his jaws, opened like two white arms to receive
my great obligations
her, and, completely surprised, forgot courtesy
all the proprieties in short and struck him
rudely and furiously.
A loud crack announced that the full penalty of violated laws had
overtaken me, for the ill-used rod had snapped short off about six
feet from the point. It fell, however, into hands which could be
relied on in any emergency. The butt and wheel came necessarily
into mydepartment, and by keeping the broken parts as nearly as
" the runs "
possible in one line we managed very satisfactorily.
Once before, a similar accident bef el us, on which occasion we passed
through the trying ordeal with credit. The water was stiU and
deep, the ground favourable, and each moment our hopes rose
higher and higher. Had Pat been at his post, once ah'eady he
*'
might have been secured. Pat, Pat, where are you ? Pat, Pat,
huUo-o-o." It was like calling "spirits from the vasty deep ;" my
familiar heeded not. 'Twas too bad. " Here's another

tricksy
chance." In the midst of a furious tirade against poor Patsy, by
good luck I stumbled over the gaff, kicked it to the delighted

Willie, who, in a second afterwards, with an indescribable grin (his
nearest approach to any outward manifestation of
pleasure), landed.
a fish of 21^1bs. and in another minute we stood over the
;
deserter, stretched at full length on the shingles fast asleep, in

happy unconsciousness. Anathemas had not disturbed him, vows of
vengeance had not broken his rest, which would probably have
lasted till morning had not some malicious person recalled him to a
sense of his degraded situation by tickling his nostrils with the tail
of "a, cold, moist, unpleasant body." On our return we found the

Colonel near Kathleen's Fall, winding up for the night.
"
Well, Walter, you really work like a horso, and ought sometimes
to get your com.Come and rest. 'Tis a cool, delicious evening.
I say, Pat, let me
look at those boots." Taking a pair of Cording's
he "
stockings in his hand, continued, Light and admirably efficient ;
there were no such things when I commenced my career here five

and thirty years ago. Heavy leather inconveniences were the thing
then; take a cigar, and hear what once happened to me just at
this place, on such an evening as this, in the far off days when,
tough and active as a gorilla, I hooked a 171b. salmon. After two

or three heavy runs he flew down the stream, when it became
instantly necessary to head, and close with him before the torrent
twisted the slack amongst the rocks. In floundering to the bank I
was soon up to my waist, and as may easily be conceived, six or
seven pounds of water on each leg were heavy odds against winning
the race. Still it was won, and in fifteen minutes my antagonist was
dead beat and safely landed by Mike he's dead and gone now
who was at that time my attendant and backer; and to do him
justice a better fellow never handled a gaff. After an exulting
whoop I lit a cigar with infinite satisfaction, pulled off my boots,
poured out the water, and hung myself out to dry, here above
Kathleen's Fall. Carelessly casting the line as I sat dangling my
legs over the water, the fly was instantly taken by a regular rasper.
I was up in a second. Mike was utterly bothered by such an unusual
combination of circumstances ;
a lodge, where our salmon was safe
not to remain five minutes, bare feet, and two hundred yards of the
sharpest and most broken rocks in all Ireland on the very course he
was sure to take, and that, too, at a pace requiring the utmost exer-
tions of an active man to keep Holy Mary,' he exclaimed,
up with.
'
in an agony of despair, Holy Mary,' what a murthering sin, and

*
oh.
him, too, so big ! the ould rogue, bad luck to him, we'll be bate
entirely.' 'The boots Mike, the boots!' I roared, with an energy

corresponding to the excitement of mind and anguish of body. Had
I gone barefoot on a pilgrimage to Loretto, I could not have suffered
half somuch. Poor Mike pulled manfully at the reeking leather in

the almost hopeless endeavour to get it on, whilst I kicked like a
madman to help him. Hould him, hould him, your honour !' and
'
faith it was time, was within six inches of the edge of

for the fish
the torrent. By great good luck he turned and shot up the water
like an arrow we breathed again, and for a moment felt secure. By
;
desperate struggling and pulling we contrived at length to get one

boot on and the other partly so but a rebellious fold still held out
;
in our superhuman endeavours whish, whish, wl^-i-s-h,

spite of ;
groaned the wheel he's over,' and away we went, tumbling,

:
'
scrambling, jumping, slipping, and recovering, bruised and breathless.

The gallant foe made one vain effort to head the stream. Those few
seconds enabled me to come up and bring him under the rod. It
was now ten to one on the fly, and
in a few minutes after Mike landed
a splendid fellow of three-and-twenty pounds."
Many a star was shining in the deep blue sky, and the moon had
risen over Stonewall, yet the commander showed no intention of
breaking up his bivouac.

"Is that Causan-a-Mhanaigh where the moonlight rests, John?"
;
to his squire.
SALMON ANGLINa IN IRELAND. 139
" it is the Monk's Path and the best o' raisons why
Faith, then, ;
it should be called the same." Here John seated himself on an

opposite fragment of rock, with an air half solemn, half mysterious.
I saw he was in the legendary vein so, charging the meerschaum,
;
I resigned myself to the infliction.

" In ould ancient times in the mountains
beyant, there lived a raal
gintleman, Euaidh O'Rooke. Now, Ruaidh, your honour, was a wild
slip of a boy who spent his time between gamin', dancin', huntin',
drinkin', fightin', and the girls and it chanced somehow, quare
;
enough, that he spint all his money too. Now, Sir Phalim, the
master's elder brother, was not sich a gentleman as Ruaidh at all, at
all. Not a pin cared he for the ladies seeing he was married so for ;
that matther was the master and as to dogs, not a sowl of 'em dared
wag a tail in his company but one ould wolf-hound, a great favourite,
d'ye see. His only divarsions were readin' in a big book, as dull and
silent as himself, or stalkin' over the hills with Dhugh (for that was
the haste's name) at his back. Now, seein' the master spint all and
Sir Phalim not a copper, small blame to him for borrowing what
what was no use in life to his brother. But when the scholar came
toknow it, och, blood and turf, but he gets into a tunderin' passion,
bade him begone, and make a fortin as good as he'd marred. Yer
honour may take your book oath the master didn't lave his blessin'
behind him. Mary stand atween us and evil wasn't there a too-roo
that*.night at the castle ! Such murtherin', screechin', and yellin',
rampin' and tearin', howlin' and moanin'

the Lord be good to us I
Not a mother's son closed an eye, and when momin' came there was
the big book, but devil a sign of Sir Phalim or his dog. All this was
mighty strange. At last the praist, with the tooth of St. Bridget,
knocks at his door and who but the raal clargy dare venter ? All
;
was still, and his riverence lifts the latch, and sure he'd been kilt
entirely savin' the relic ;
for there lay Sir Phalim with a black mark
round his neck, stiff and cold,and the dumb baste by his side cryin'
like any other Christian. In course of time the master was found,
and mighty pale he turned with grief, and mighty fond he got of his
brother's wee daughter, and a beautiful crathur she grew, and all the
140 A YEAR or LIBERTY ; OR,
world knew that she was to have her uncle's eldest son, for the great
fortin, says he, came by her and should go to her. But the lady
lived in the heart of the youngest, and loved a fond glance of his eye
more nor all the lands of the other which, as yer honour knows,
;
was veiy parvarse. When the master came to know it he wasn't
mighty well pleased you may be sure so he founded that abbey

;
yonder for the glory of God, and piously made his younger son prior
of the same, and there stands the old walls this blessed minute.
But the lovely lady, as bright as the moonlight, took sick

and was
like to die, till, night after night, unknown to a sowl, the prior
crossed this spot to comfort the sick, and before the eye of the
momin' was opened, stole back to his convent to hide his Christian
charity. The lady recovered, and for love of holy Church came
evermore to this place with his riverence to receive his blessin'. One
morn she niver returned, for the monk was found drowned in the
ford, and the maiden cold and dead where the Colonel is sittin'. Thus
your honour sees how, all along of Sir Phalim not livin' as a gintle-
man ought, nor lendin' his money, the devil flew away wid him a ;
swate young crathur broke her heart, a holy saint was drowned, and
how evermore this strame was called Causan-a-Mhanaigh, or the
Monk's Path."
I looked wistfully at the deep and dark river the time, the place, ;
the faith of the narrator, and the simple tale of love and murder,
produced their full effect ;

and I am ashamed to own how often that
night I thought of the ill-starred monk and hapless maid.

SALMON ANGLING IN IBELAND, HI
CHAPTER XXm.
The Colonel takes Command of an Expedition Through many Dangers we
arrive safely at Beleek, and on the Lake for anything we can catch
troll
After Mess the Crew cut their Sticks, but subsequently return to Duty A
desperate Character Westward Ho !
Jtme 27.
My stout old friend the Colonel, though fast verging towards the
" three score him
fatal years and ten," is yet hale and hearty ; place
in a boat, and he will work as well as the youngest ;
but he finds
the world rougher than it used to be, and detests all unnecessary
pedal locomotion. Without
Larding the lean earth as he walks along,
the commander yet

agrees with honest old Jack, that
'*
eight yards
of uneven ground is three score and ten miles a foot with me," and
in this mood proposed, as we strolled towards the town, that we
should visit Lough Erne. To me his wish is law. So it was settled
then and there, under the quiet stars, that we should start early on
the following morning for Beleek, and declare war against the trout
and pike.
We had been busily engaged in preparing tackle for the expedition ;
had finished the morning meal

packed up a basket
;
of provender ;
and yet it was not eight o'clock, at which hour the Colonel had
covenanted to be at my door with chariot and horse. With him
" "
"
promise and " perform were synonymous, and, as I conjectured,
on the last stroke of the hour he drove up. What a conscience that
man must have, to expect one wretched animal to drag a lady, five
stout men, three baskets, and two heavy hampers all the way to
Beleek But so it was
! to be. With the exception of the Colonel,
we walked up the steep and then rolled heavily along the old
street,
road, past the pretty villa of Laputa by heath and moorland by

rock and coppice came to a stand from a fractured trace, near the
;
" the
hospitable Mullens repaired damages, and, passing
;
point,"
wound our slow way up the opposite hill, and there fairly broke
down. Brought thus to a stand, we paused to look about us.
Around lay an extensive planting of Scotch and larch firs, filling
the morning air with their sweetness. Our position enabled us to
trace the road we had hitherto followed to see many a comfortable
;
cottage with slated roof and well-glazed windows, each one a
panegyric on the owner of the property whilst far below, the river,
;
rushing through wooded and overhanging banks, toiled and raved

with unceasing din, foaming on in beautiful variety, till it swept
round the Mullens and was lost to our gaze. Under a heavy press
of rods, baskets, cloaks, and hampers, we staggered into the little
hamlet of Beleek, once famous as a military station, commanding
the passage between Fermanagh and Donegal, and now illustrious as
'' "
possessing an admirable fisherman's rest, where some of ours
usually take up their quarters. Under the south wall of this
pleasant hostelry, the mighty river like a boy let loose from school
laughs, leaps, and tumbles, and within less than fifty yards of the
door are the falls of which such honourable mention is made by
" The in
Ireland," as the scene of his most
Angler killing days.
Whilst the boat was being prepared, we strolled to the little
bridge, under whose low solitary arch rush the whole surplus
waters of the lake. This is the narrowest part of the Erne, which,
for the space of ten or twelve yards, cannot be above twenty feet
wide ;
but the depth of its rocky bed is unknown. Not far from
this spot we embarked, and pulled away over the widening water to
the lake.
Lough Erne lies almost entirely in Fermanagh, which it loves so

well, as to traverse the county from end to end. Passing diagonally
through its whole length, it offers a greater extent of internal navi-
gation than any other of the Irish lakes. Even many of the larger
streams which empty themselves into it, are used by the flat-
bottomed boats of the country for two or three miles of their course.
Moving tranquilly over the bosom of the lake, we confessed few

scenes could be more lovely. Of course, it cannot be compared fpr
a moment withKillarney yet here, perhaps, imagination has greater

;
room to weave her pleasant spells. "Winding amidst mountains, not

a tenth part of it can be seen at once each fresh reach as it opens
;
produces something unlike that which preceded it here a cluster of

islets, mere fantastic rocks there some sweet and quiet spot covered
with emerald turf, gay with flowers, and dotted with sheep now a
rich flat completely hidden by a growth of luxuriant timber then ;
an island farm, a little world in itself, with its patch of grain, tethered
cow, and shaggy goat.
In these matter of fact days the spirit of romance, banished from
every other comer of the empire, seems here to have found a con-
genial resting-place in the bosoms of the people, whence it peeps out
in athousand ways în a passionate love of old places, old names,
"
and old burial grounds and the stranger seated in his " cot is
even yet occasionally startled from his reverie as the
Loud "
Wul-wulleh " warns his distant ear.
The next reach, perhaps, shows him a fimeral procession gliding over
the calm water, and the long thrilling howl breaks louder on his
ear as the corpse is borne along, to be laid in kindred dust, side
by side with the bones of those, whose actions and whose memories
are so "dangerously dear" to the heart of the Irish peasant.
That part of Lough Erne south-east of Inniskillen is called the

upper, and that towards Beleek the lower lake. The former is
narrow, full of islands, rather shallow, not exceeding fifty feet in
any part whilst the latter is a much finer sheet of water, having
;
in some places a depth of from 200 to 230 feet ;

but this, however,
in common with other lakes, is varied and irregular. The shores
on the southern side are bold and romantic, stretching further than
the eye can follow in alternate moor, moss, and mountain till
they join the extensive highland ranges of Cavan and Leitrim. Li

winter the west winds are so violent as to render the navigation of
the lake a source of great danger, but to-day they slept as if they
would never wake again, and many a beautiful cutter yacht, with all
sails spread, hardly owned the influence of the light and fitful air.
This huge lake has been called the "Windermere of Ireland ;

and of
all the wrongs inflicted by the Saxon on this much-complaining
land, this is about the greatest and most tangible. Windermere,
indeed !
Well, the love of country is praiseworthy, but not when
it makes a man tell fibs.
Possibly the comparison was meant
as a
compliment ; we hope and must pardon the infatuation, for the

so,
sake of the intention. Lough Erne does not offer one dull or
uninteresting view. Bound its whole shores beauty reigns every-
where slopes, the fairest and greenest, rise from its margin
; finely ;
wooded promontories stretch far into its bosom, forming calm inlets
and peaceful bays; the islands are imrivalled in loveliness, and
number about one hundred and eighty.
At its eastern end stands Devenish, known far and wide for its
ruins and graceful round tower, the most perfect in the kingdom.
This mysterious edifice seems as fresh as the day in which unknown
hands laid the last stone. Over each loophole or window, imme-
diately under the cornice, rests a fine sculptured head. How many
centuries have these silent watchers looked out on the inconstant
world around? The iron horse snorts near, and noble mansions
have risen, owned by a new race. How lonely the grey old seers
must feel ;
there is nothing to remind them of the far-off time when
they were young, By day they are silent; under the starry sky,
which is also unchanged, do they hold converse on what was,
what is, and is to be. If Mr. Home would throw one of these old
gentlemen into a clairvoyant state, and make him tell us all he knew,
I should
perhaps believe there was something in his science after all.
It is too bad to leave my- party so long. Here I am at the east
end of Lough Erne, whilst my friends are at the opposite extremity.
Well, I must once more take an oar, and tug that savage old Colonel,
who " He tells
isgrowling like an ancient grizzly," to the ground.
me the various races in this watery realm do not live on amicable
teiins ;
that the trout stand on their gentility, and will not associate
with the bream that the perch fall out with the roach, and the
;
pike are universally detested. Yet my old friend troubles not him-
self about these intestine divisions, but is eagerly selecting the best
SALMON ANQLINa IN IRELAND. 145
of our tackle, with such haste that I

occasionally hear him asking
John to extract a hook from his jacket, or beseeching Willie to take
"that confounded barb" out of his finger. In the construction of
these trolling traces we have made allowance for " jack," the trebles
being tied on six inches of fine gimp and there goes the Colonel's
first venture.
Having resolved on giving a public dinner, we issued a general

invitation, and by a liberal carte hope to please all. Over the stem
twirls a delicate roach and an artificial minnow from either quarter ;
revolves a coUiogh and a small spoon ; and, grace being said, we

wait patiently for the expected guests.
"Hullo! you there," bawled the Colonel, whose line from the
headway of the boat was running at a rate which soon threatened
"
to bring it to an end. Stop back why the deuce don't you
back ? Back as hard as you can !" The fulfilment of these orders
restored to my friend much of his cordage and more of his temper.
Something heavy was on the rod, but whether salmon, trout, or pike
was uncertain. Presently we caught sight of the overhanging brows
and sinister aspect of the latter, who was satisfactorily disposed of
shortly after. Next the spoon came into favour, and ladled out
perch after perch with great celerity. Then the fickle goddess
again sat in the stem sheets, and gave the veteran another stout
pike of 81b., and a trout of 31b. and so we fished and chatted

;
till the soldier was high time for tiflSn, when we

protested it
pulled in for a piece of lawny turf, where kindly nature had already
pitched a marquee for our use, which by a careless observer might
have been mistaken for a sycamore. No picnic can be a success
without a fire ours soon smouldered, and gradually arrived at
;
cooking order. Fillets were cut from the best pike our trout had ;
the honour of a spit to himself and a 21b. perch was given up to

;
the Colonel. How scientifically he conducted each stage in the

delicate operation !
First, some wood cinders were placed on a flat
stone, and the fish laid thereon next, the upper surface was dotted
;
all over with small morsels of butter ;

then cayenne was liberally
dusted over the whole ;
and a trifle of salt, with just a suspicion of
L
flour, brought the dish to

its
culminating point. What a first
course it was
Oh, ye sons of hixury, who, after a muttered
!
grace (for the sake of the children), sit down to anathematise

the soup, growl at the fishmonger, swear at the butcher,
vow vengeance on your poulterer, and consign your particular
cook to a place hotter than the kitchen fire ^had you hut
been with us at our cheerful meal, would. you have sneered at
our grateful acceptance of so many good things? Probably you
would.
Our party consisted of an old man, a gentle lady, a poor angler,
and four or five humble followers, whose united dinner costume
could not have been worth a pound. Would you have liked the
company? your magnificence would have despised our

I fear
simplicity your;wisdom, our folly so we are better without you,

;
and may proceed with our meal without fear of criticism. Our
crockery was not what it ought to have been. The hosts were only
allowed a willow-pattern plate each but the comfort of the company
;
was carefully attended to man

having a good supply of those
every
necessary articles, green in colour, beautiful in shape, and bearing a
strong likeness to the shining leaves of the Rumex aquaticus. After
fish came a fore-quarter of kid, a hind one of lamb, a couplo of
chickens, tongue, and two mighty tarts, which, being disposed of,
the party drank and were merry. The poor angler before mentioned
brewed a pint of cofi'ee for his own special use, while John placed
two bottles of Bass's India ale within a convenient distance of his
master, who, lighting a cigar about five inches long by three in

circumference, resigned himself to calm contemplation. Near us
were several grassy earthworks known as raths, or Danish camps ;
the latter name very probably a misnomer, as they are found in

numberless places where those northern rovers are believed never to
have penetrated. It is therefore more natural to suppose they were
thrown up by each clan round their wigwams, as a defence against
any sudden attack from an enemy. Such forts are met with all
over the island, near the coast, far from the sea, in valleys and on
hills, and were, in all probability, the strongholds of barbarians
SALMON ANOLINO IN IBELAND. 147
wlioae lives were passed either in carrying off other people's goods or
defending their own.

All sublunary things will come to an end if we have but patience,
and so at last did the Colonel's cigar but the sun was now shining
;
in his might, and the lake glowed like a sheet of molten silver. A
council of war being summoned, returned a unanimous verdict that
nothing could be done except with ground bait. The Colonel here
came out strong, and spoke something in this wise The first great :
if they would behave in a

object of fishing was to take fish ; gentle-
manly way, and feed on the surface, well but if they refused what
;
was offered to them on the top, try the bottom. The second
important design of angling, he continued, was to produce health.
Now, what tended so much to nervous and physical integrity as a
cheerful frame of mind ? and what was more calculated to make a
man at peace with himself and the world around, than success ? If
they won't take fly or troll, give them the worm. These opinions
being adopted by acclamation, all hands set eagerly to work ^hazel
wands were cut and trimmed, and bait collected whilst Willie ;
a rural kind of
" and out bad
opened store," gave gut, hooks, wax,
and split shot, to the ship's company. Keeping near the shore, in
six or seven feet of water, half a dozen sections of cork once the
property of Messrs. Bass or Guinness soon dotted the surface of

the lake, for a moment or two lay motionless, and then commenced
dipping and diving in quick succession. The perch were our first
guests then came in a bream shaped

; like a pair of bellows, and
nearly as large as one of the fancy articles often seen hanging in a

lady's drawing-room ;
then some little trout,
bright as if they had
dined on a sunbeam. Hitherto the Colonel had not exchanged a
single shot with the enemy ;

but now he was fiercely attacked.
With the point of his light trout-rod bent to the butt, the gallant
veteran resisted all the assaults of his foe. Tug, tug, tug What I
can it be ? John, who had been peering into the water, averred
that though the creature was kicking up a great dust at the bottom,
he caught a glimpse of something at least three feet long. My friend
opined it was a red salmon, or the devil. Little by little he neared
L 2
148 A YEAB OF liberty; or,
the surface, and lo I 'twas ahuge eel, whicli I netted, and showed
some little common sense by cutting the gut before turning him
loose amongst the feet of the company. What a rookrawn he
produced racing hither and thither playing all manner of slippery
tricks, gliding between the legs of one, and through the hands of
another, gallantly refusing to yield, though surrounded by foes.

The crew were in despair. John crossed himself devoutly. A
and the dear old commander, standing on a beam,
certain little lady
were nearly capsized in the confusion, which at length happily
terminated by one of the boatmen jamming the desperado against a
timber, and decapitating him. After this, grog was served out to
the entire ship's company, who again went to work with fresh
energy nor did they cease
;
till the poor sun, sick of our world,
plunged desperately into the ocean.

That night the well of the car was filled with the spoils, which
consisted of seven or eight pike, a stone or two of
rough and
fish,
over all laid out in state was the great eel, which must have been
very flavoury, if the taste bore any ratio to the smell. The day had
been delightful metaphorically and almost literally without a cloud,
and the Colonel warmly pressed us to join him in another expedition
toLough Erne and also in one to Lough Melvin. But the rosy
month of June was fast passing away, and I, already due on the Moy,
was compelled to decline what it would have given me so much
pleasure to accept.
During my too short sojourn of three weeks, the sport had been
excellent not so much, however, in point of numbers as with respect
to weight. True, we had worked hard, often making
The night joint labourer with the day ;
had our disappointments, blank days, and accidents but then we ;
had twenty-eight fish to show, amongst which were only two small
ones, of 61b. and 81b. respectively. In no other river in L'eland
could salmon so uniformly fine have been secured by the rod,
nor do I know any other station where so much could have been
done during so adverse a season. The great and comparatively
unvarying volume of water the heavy runs ^the large and

constant supply of fresh fish, all contributed to this happy con-
summation. During a somewhat long acquaintance with the Erne,
my three best days (in point of number) produced only nine, six,
and five salmon, and with the first even of these very moderate
figures, the fly, I am sorry to confess, had little to do. If a friend
will pardon me for expressing my feeling and experience in his

words "I would rather kill a salmon at the Bank of Ireland or the
:
Grass Yard, than in any other throw which dwells in my memory.

The Erne is, for its length, as varied and delightful a river as I
know, and contains every variety of cast. Good fishing, great
perseverance, with perhaps the least dash of luck in the world,
are required to succeed well on it. Great bags are seldom made,
but the quality of the sport, when you can get it, is A 1."
Thus writes Mr. Francis Francis. Every word is true, just, and
discriminating.
Kind hands were shaken we earnestly hope, not for thQ last
time the luggage was packed, and early on the following morning
we rolled over the long bridge cast a lingering look at the pool,
;
where many a widening ring reminded us of happy hours and

former triumphs, and, passing through the Purt, were soon speeding
towards the pretty seaside village of Bundoran, on our westward
course.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ballysidere Its Fishery and Fishing.
June 30.
How soon the present glides down into the past. How rapidly our
periodical literature grows old, changes its name, becomes condensed,
and takes rank as history. Even the condition of our rivers prior to
the late Act a thing of yesterday is already being forgotten ;
and
150 A YEAE OF LIBERTY ; OE,
how little is known of earlier legislation, designed for the common

good ;
or of the long course of suicidal evasions of those laws which
reduced our rivers to the brink of ruin. But this is a hackneyed
theme ;
those evil days are past, and are now matter of history, so
we will lay the volume on the shelf, whence hereafter it may be
taken, dusty, discoloured, and worm-eaten, to furnish subjects for
congratulation to those who live in happier times, when our waters

yield their increase, and salmon shall be sold for threepence a pound.
When that period arrives, men whose present labours are now lightly
regarded, will be heldup whose philanthropy

as public benefactors,
and wisdom entitle them to the grateful remembrance of posterity.

Half a century ago angling for salmon was so little practised that
few persons, except those resident in favoured localities, knew any-
thing about it and, only forty years since rod fishing was held in
;
such small account that our Acts contained no clause whatever for its
regulation. In fact, there is as much fashion in recreation as there

is and angling at present is undoubtedly the newest mode.
in jdress,
Twenty years ago boys were content with football, marbles, rounders,
or cricket; and when they went to Cambridge or the sister uni-
*' "
versity, boating
was so
exigant that it became the passion. But
now, contemporaneously with the first suit, comes home the first
outfit for the juvenile disciple of Old Izaak, who shoulders his basket,
and, on half -holidays, goes as regularly to the nearest water as did the
youth of an earlier generation to the cricket field or the tennis court.
What would one of these ardent young spirits say, if he knew that
when was engaged at a solemn game of leapfrog, the law
his father
took so little care of the interests of upper proprietors that the

salmon harvest was reaped only at the mouths of rivers that such ;
rights were
alone deemed worthy of protection ;
and that a fresh fish
on the higher spawning grounds was almost as much a rara avis as

"
a bustard now is on Salisbury Plain ? Probably my old governor
"
has been," he would remark, paying two and nine per pound all his
life, and it sarves him right." That is one way to speak of the
subject.
Another is, that having neglected or squandered our
substance, we must endure the penalty. Happily punishment has
produced repentance, and repentance newness of life. Let us,

however, remember that good resolutions are nil without a patient
continuance in well doing.
About four miles beyond the town of Sligo the great western road
runs through the village and close to the river of Ballysidere, and
along this route our party posted gaily early in the morning of the
last day of June. I had often passed this pretty stream, and always
regretted my inability to spend a few hours on its banks ; now,
however, with time at my disposal, I looked forward with eager
anticipation to a day on an untried water. But over and above the

charm of wandering over gi'ound previously unknown was another
source of interest, the fishery itself, which may be considered an
illustration of what fish cultivation can effect.
Eleven years since Ballysidere could hardly be said to have had

an existence as a fishery. A few salmon and trout scramble over the
falls and reach the spawning grounds, to fonn a nucleus on which
skill and enterprise were soon about to act. In 1854 or 1855
ladders were erected, and now mark the results. During the first
season 18 fish were taken ; in the following year 203 and, as the ;
"
excellent manager said, every subsequent one grew better and
better." By the 29th of June, 1863 a very early date, be it ob-
served 522 fish were on the books, and by the 3rd of July, 1865^
with four or five of the best weeks yet to come ^the numbers were
1482. Thus a fishery has been created in a period not exceeding

eleven or twelve years. Here, indeed, is a bright example of what
can be effected an example which should be held up for the
;
encouragement of all who possess water rights. Were such pro-

prietors animated only by commercial views, what golden realities
are before them but if influenced by higher considerations,
;
what benefactors, might they not become to the age in which

they live. I have spoken of Ballysidere merely as a fishery,
as a light set on a hill, which ought not to be hid so trust the ;
present owner will forgive me, and pardon the unauthorised liberty
which has been taken with his property, for the sake of the spirit
that prompted the remarks.
During tlie we have not made the acquaintance

present campaign
of a single white trout. The season is still early, and a month must
yet elapse before they make their appearance in the great majority of
our streams, but here partly deceived by our own enthusiasm ve
w^re induced to believe they had arrived long since. Probably
every reader knows that as there are spring and summer salmon, so
also are there spring and summer trout, which last occupy to each
other exactly the same relations as exist between the spring fish and
the grilse. As few rivers at present hold early salmon, so also few
contain early trout, though the latter, however, extend over a wider
range than the former. The excellence, beauty, strength, and

courage of these creatures render them special favourites with all
anglers, and it was the hope of enjoying a morning in their society
that chiefly made me so anxious to visit Ballysidere not, however, ;
that my expectations were limited to these, as I knew there were
always plenty of grilse in the water after the first fresh in June. If
I add that the terms for angling are extremely moderate ^half-a-
crown for a single venture, or one pound per month, together with a
fish each day, I think my duty to the public has been done hand-
somely, and that Imay now go my way in peace.*
TheBallysidere (formed by the union of the Awinmore and the
Arrow, which unite near the town of CoUooney), after leaping over
a succession of limestone ledges, thunders in a beautiful cascade into
the west-south-west corner of Sligo Bay. Our first glance at the
water showed us that it was neither high nor low. A light north-
east breeze just curled the surface, and ever and anon a great fleecy
cloud passed over the sun, making altogether a very pleasant com-
bination. The selection of flies could not occupy much time, as our
entire stock tied on the previous night only consisted of five ;
"
three diminutive articles for the " springers we expected, but did
not find and two very small ones for grilse. Mounting our favourite
black palmer, as dropper, we looped on the trail, whose prominent
* The be one
river, together with a pretty cottage, is now, I believe^ to let to
or two rods. Terms, 100/. per annum.

SALMON ANGLING IN IBBLAND. 153
features were undyed seal's fur and jungle cock wing, and with
these we made a preliminary cast in a state of mind any anointed
" under "
king the canopy might have envied.
I know not how it is, but the first day on a new water always
seems a success. Perhaps we are more than usually disposed to be
pleased, perhaps we work harder but however this may be, fortune
;
soon smiled upon us.

" There he com-
was, you didn't see him," quietly observed my
panion, who, standing close to my left shoulder, watched the water
with his usual gravity, whilst his careless master was gazing upwards
at a heavy woolpack, speculating how long it would be ere the soft
white mass must cross the sun.

" What was "
itdid you catch a glimpse of
;
him ?
" 'twas a trout, may be a shy fish but we'll change the
Maybe ;
trail anyhow. wor a very small break, but mortal quick."

It
In a moment the second fly was on, and the edge of the cloud just
touched the sun as the line dropped lightly on the stream a few yards
above the spot where the stranger lay the next cast came fairly ;
over him. There was a slight ripple and a delicious feeling of tension
my fingers tingle even now with the remembrance a desperate

race over the shallow, and such a bound !
oh, who would not be an
?
angler
he something black and
''
I think is hooked foul, master, for I seen
white, like a jungle cock, a sticking on his side."

Fair or foul, we were in for a race. Our tackle was as light as it
could well be, and the employment of force impossible. Now,
galloping along with an active fresh-run grilse at the end of your
not quite so easy a condition of things as at first sight might
line, is
appear, for the rod must constantly be maintained in position, and

the eyes of the angler ought to be fixed on two different points at
one and the same time, which is not a feat easy of execution unless
he squints horribly. If his attention be exclusively directed to the
water, he is in momentary danger of a grand downfall, which is safe
to eventuate in irremediable ruin. If, on the other hand, he
neglects the movements of the fish, and is too careful about his own,
154 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; Ofi,
the wrong-headed party is sure to take the other side of some post,
boulder, or islet, and so Piscator comes to grief. With Scylla on
the right and Charybdis on the left, we endeavoured to steer a
middle course but the ship was not well under command, was
;
running at an awful rate, and, moreover, there were rocks ahead. In

as we could.
plain language, we were all three tearing along as hard
Ml*. Grilse led, seemingly as fresh as ever. Eod followed next,
puffing and blowing and ;
Gafbrought up the rear, blown. But the
worst remains to be told. There was a stiff fence in the way which
must be dealt with in the next half minute, unless the fish turned.
To get anything of "Willie was impossible, as he was doing
more out
his best ; putting
so, on a desperate spurt in order to recover as
much of the line as was possible, I dashed at the bank was too ;
done to reach the crest, came heavily with my chest against the top,
and rolled over into the ditch on the other side. Staggering to my
feet, sky, earth, and river whirled before my eyes ;
whilst a doleful
voice seemed singing in my ears, "My fut is jammed in a root,
not a toe can I stir ;

sorra take him for a salmon ;
we'll be run out
and broke entirely; oh! worra-worra." Instinctively I stretched

out my hand for the butt, and once more took up the running.
Fortunately, the pace grew less severe, and in the next pool the
fugitive came to a halt. The speed had told, and the tackle, light
as it was, now became fuUy equal to the strength of the exhausted

fish. With one shoe on and the other left in the furze, my trusty
comrade limped up.
" The toes is off me, and all in a he slipped the
my fut's jelly," as
" but this Will I ever find the
steel under the grilse ; pays for all.
"
shoe ?
In the act of falling, the rod had been jerked out of my hand, but
it lay with the wheel, clear, but
luckily dropped on a bush, where
at a fearful rate, till Willie came up and once more set
revolving
things right. In his hurry to cross, one foot had for the moment
become firmly wedged, when fortunately I, in turn, came to the rescue
in the nick of time. The poor feUow must have tugged desperately
to wrench himself out of the trap, as we found a portion of the
stocking still in the leather, from which by main force he had screwed
out the imprisoned member.
In a salmon river, where one fish
lodges there are sure to be others ;
so we trudged back to the point from which we started, and worked

over the water for the second time.
"
That's remarkable nate un-common illigant," in a pleased
soliloquy, as a short stout fish, feeling the steel, executed a per-

" Thim
pendicular leap, quivering for an instant high in air.
trouts is fit to do a'most anything. Murther, but he's at it agen."

A vigorous fish of this species is, weight for weight, stronger
than a salmon, and requires delicate handling not that I mis-
trusted the little black palmer, for O'Shaughnessy is always
" catch "
true yet there was considerable uncertainty as to the
;
being sufiicient. Minute after minute passed, and at length the

captive found all his strength barely sufficient to enable him to
keep his head under water. Gradually the broad tail worked
more and more feebly over the surface. Now he is almost within
reach of a gaff that never strikes in vain, and now his race is run.
Laying down the rod, I walked up to my companion who was

stooping over the fish with an aspect in which astonishment and
mortification were ludicrously blended.
"It am't one after all, master."
" What is it then ? "
for the speaker stood between me and the
prize.
" He's
only a grilse."
Imagination within proper limits is doubtless an excellent quality,
but ours had been boundless ;
we expected to find spring trout in
the river, and information correctly given, but imperfectly under-
stood, completed the delusion. The en-or, however, was mine
fancy converted a fallacy into a fact a well made summer salmon
into a spring trout.
Subsequently we learned that this water does not contain these

fish, a few small summer trout excepted, which rarely attain a
greater weight than three quarters of a pound. Although the renewal

of our acquaintance with the white trout, had been thus unexpectedly
delayed, we may, whilst on the subject, say a few words about them.
In some rivers possessing large head waters these fish attain a
considerable size. At Waterville, for example, they are often taken
in the cuts in February, weighing 101b. and 111b. ;
and at Delphi, I
have heard, they are occasionally caught up to the unusual weight

of 161b. Nothing so good as this ever came in my way, and the
heaviest I have yet killed did not exceed 81b.
" The Mill " The Iron
''Jack's Hole," Eace," Hole," and many
another, had all been tried ;
there was a delicious uncertainty about
every cast, and we fished on with unabated spirit. At last we

reached a beautiful lodge the name of which I know not and
" stuck " in a
presently grilse, which, being fairly hooked, fought
valiantly and died like a gentleman. In five minutes more I was

fast on another, and at
The high topgallant of my joy,
when a small silvery voice struck terror to my heart.

"
Arrah, Willie, do ye call this dacent behaviour, and the mistress
all alone wid herself, bating the two kars and the drivers, waiting in
"
the road for an hour ? Now, mademoiselle was a linguist at ;
least she spoke what might be called two languages

remarkably
pure Saxon and remarkably impure patois all of which, as contained
;
in the above oration, was of course designed for me, though

addressed to my companion. For once in his life that " hereditary
bondsman" lost his habitual fear of petticoat tyranny.
" am't ye ashamed
Hist, hist, ; going on this way and the master
so busy? Well no come ^mind I'm telling ye . that is, no just . .
at present," as a terrible finger was held up in menace and warning

"
lower sank his courage under that steady glance. Well, well,
"
we'll be wid ye directly and then, sotto voce, ''The devil fly away
;
wid ye for a scolding jade."
Retaining a small grilse as provision for the journey, we sent the

rest of our take to Mr. Hepburn, the manager, by a sure hand, and
bade adieu to the bright and beautiful Arrow. It was the first,
but not the last visit, we trust for I hope soon to shake that
;
worthy man by the hand, and thank hini in person for a letter
recently received, which does honour alike to the employer and the
employed.
We had a long journey before us, and the sun, though istill in his
splendoui', was yet trending low towards the north-west. Nothing
could exceed the dreariness and desolation of the country through
which we passed. Interminable plains of dark morass stretched on
all sides here and there a black and sluggish stream stagnated in
;
its slow course to the sea. Not a mountain relieved the tameness
of the view ;
it was desolation without grandeur. Now and then
on the edge of the swamp appeared a cluster of miserable hovels,
without chimney, without window the walls formed of loose stones
;
rudely piled together, through every chink and cranny of which

the smoke stole forth, and the elements held season tickets of
admission.
As the cars rattled along through " a town," a posse of meagre
curs would rush out, followed by a troop of semi-
half-naked,
barbarous urchins vociferating in sharp querulous voices, " Penny
give us a penny, your honour a penny, only a penny beautiful lady
only a penny, your ladyship's honour." The ardour of the dogs

soon went out expecting no remuneration for their trouble, the
;
quadrupeds wisely determining to keej) the little flesh they possessed

on their bones slackened their pace and were gradually distanced.
But there was no beating the boys. Occasionally the coveted coin
was pitched dexterously into the bog, in the hope of escaping during
the search. As it flew through the air a universal charge was made
at the ditch, and the prize marked down. Then a race, a scramble,
and a fierce fight succeeded, and again the whole pack, at a killing
were once more in " A
pace, full cry penny, a penny, good
gentleman a penny, a penny, your ladyship's honour." Thus
accompanied, we rolled on, the light-limbed urchins easily keeping
up with the cars till we reached the next cluster of cabins, where a
fresh relay was ready, took up the cry, fought, howled, coaxed, and
wheedled the proximity of the next hamlet drove them from our
till
trail, and gave us for a prey to foes as ruthless as the last,

On we sped, past Screen and across tlie Easkey. Gradually the

sun went down, the crimson light faded to a delicate rose tint, and
then all was grey. Here and there over the waste a momentary
blaze lit up the solitary pane in some mud hut deeper and deeper
;
grew the twilight and, ere the lamps of Ballina shone out into the
;
darkness, mistress and maid, master and man, had wended far into
the drowsy realms of the Land of Nod.
CHAPTER XXV.
Ballina The Tideway.
July 7.
Ballina ! Whatpleasant remembrances will this name summon
back, perhaps, to some hard-worked denizen of the metropolis. It
may remind him of his short but unforgotten holiday, and, as he

sits brain-weary at his desk, may give rise to a train of thought
which will cheer him through the day. Reasonable labour is at
once man's destiny and his privilege but toil, whether of mind or
;
body, should be succeeded by reasonable recreation. What does the

unceasing pursuit of wealth lead to, even if the pursuer finds
strength to run down his game? What, indeed, but vanity and
vexation of spirit ^youth early lost, the power of receiving enjoy-
ment from innocent trifles forgotten, temper soured, health impaired,
gout, and the doctor's bill ? Yes, these are some of the Mammon
worshippers' bad debts to the world, the flesh, and the devil time:
and the arch fiend never repay. Too much of a good thing is good
for nothing,and even money may be bought too dear. As a boy I
thought so; I think so as a man, and now would rather possess
innocence and peace, health, and a light heart, than all the wealth
of the world, if its winning destroyed the one or crushed down the
other.
The man who cannot be satisfied with his quarters at Ballina

must be hard to please. The hotel, within a hundred yards of the
water, is
large, airy, and comfortable, and is, during the summer
at least, well stocked with all that any sportsman need desire. It
was not any lack of comfort in the hospitium, therefore, that made
me hunt up a lodging before breakfast on the morning after our
arrival.
Willie is certainly a treasure, for in an inconceivably short time

the affectionate, natty, indefatigable fellow has thrown a wonderful
home aspect over our new quarters. The rods are unpacked and
hung round the room, the landing-net leans with a jaunty, careless
air inone comer, and from another the gaff peeps slily out, as if
ready for mischief. Two wretched little tables in the recesses of

the windows are already covered with silks, feathers, and dubbing
of every hue the wheels ornament the mantel-piece, and on sundry
;
small brass-headed nails, hanamered into the walls with a shameful
disregard to the landlady's paper, are hanging casting-lines and

pattern-flies. Books and writing materials are disposed in con-
venient places. A couple of old shawls convert two trunks into
ottomans, and altogether there is such an air of snugness about the
place that we resolve, nem. con., to remain for a fortnight or three
weeks before plunging into the " far west."
A good or bad servant is a heavy item in a man's account of
comfort, under an}'- circumstances ;
but in L-eland, where the wanderer
is so frequently thrown on his o^vn resources, such a treasure is
invaluable. How different is the domestic of the two countries, even
when both The characteristic of one is obedience, of the
are good.
other affection. The Englishman is civil and attentive, obe3ring his
master's orders to the letter, and nothing more whilst he receives
;
youi' wages you receive his attendance you have bought him, mind
;
and body ;
but as to his feelings, these are quite another matter ;
they are not in the bond. But use an Irishman well, treat him with
kindness and courtesy, and he becomes a friend, a humble one it is
true, yet you have his love. His service has the peculiar charm of
seeming a pleasure; he identifies himself with his patron, whose
comfort, interest, or honour it is his wish to

promote, and determi-
nation to defend but he seldom presumes your kindness he fully
; ;
appreciates, but never repays with impertinent familiarity. Call on

him night or day, he is ready. There is no moodiness, no cold
civility in his duty, but a kindly, cheerful spirit, ready to obey and
stillmore prompt to anticipate your requirements.
The door opened and the original of the sketch entered.
" "
Well, so you are come back from the fishery?
"
Yes, your honour I gave your card and note to Mr. Little, and
;
here's his answer." Opening the envelope I found a printed form,

with blanks for name and date, granting peimission for the entire
season, and authorising the angler to retain a fish per day. Gene-
rosity like this should be displayed at full length.
" Leave
Fishery Office, , Ballina, July 1, 1865. is
hereby
granted by the trustees to W. P., Esq., to angle in the rivers Moy
and Bunree, for salmon and trout, from the present date to the end
of the season, it being expressly understood that all fry caught will
be carefully returned to the river, and that all salmon taken, with
the exception of one each day, will be sent to the fishery as soon
after being caught as possible. On behalf of the trustees, to the
water-keepers and others who protect the above."

Comparisons will occasionally force themselves into notice and it ;
was absolutely impossible not to contrast the liberal policy, which

placed the most prolific river in Ireland at the disposal of every
sportsman, with the niggard spirit prevalent in our own dear
churlish island, where, after strong interest made with some game-
preserving squire, a sulky permission is at length obtained for a

single day's fishing in his despicable trout stream or weedy pond,
where the unhappy suppliant is tolerably certain to catch the
" Interdictis
rheumatism, though by no means sure of a fin.
imminet ager aquis," says some author whose name I have forgotten ;
but, pleasant remembrances of the free waters of this hospitable

land, preserve me ever from the mental malady of longing after such
forbidden streams !
The Moy is, in my opinion, the best open water in the three
SALMON ANGLINQ IN IRELAND. 161
kingdoms, and as a station Ballina seems built expressly for the

purpose but before speaking of the summer angling we will pause
;
to say only a few words about the river during the earlier months.
The best time for the spring fishing is from the middle of March
to May 15, as the river is large, and cannot be relied on at the
commencement of the season. Pontoon seldom wants a clean
salmon on the opening day, for all early comers rest there before
plunging into the wide waters of Lough Conn but in the river,;
too, are some admirable and many a heart will thrill at the
casts,
mention of Mountfalcon, Cooldi-onane, Bannifinglas, and Foxford.

For the sake of convenience we will speak of the angling in this
neighbourhood under three heads the tideway, up the river, and

Pontoon.
Twice in each day the flood flows to the weirs, and for an hour
and a half before and after high water little can be done with the
rod. Through the town, on either bank of the river, are handsome
quays, similar to those on the Liffey above Carlisle bridge ;
but here
no barque ever floats larger than the cot of my stout friend Terry
Divers, who is now awaiting me at the steps. How well I remember,

some dozen years ago, that brawny form standing just on this spot,
steadying the boat with his pole, even as he does now, waiting for
an eager young Englishman, who, unwilling to waste an instant, cast
his line down the stream as he stepped on board. Do I forget the
strong shove that sent the cot spinning against the current, the
dashing rise, the unlucky stroke ? Oh, Terry, Terry, those combined
forces moving in the same line were too much for mortal tackle I
How well I remember your ill-concealed disgust of the bereaved
Saxon, and the suppressed rage with which you selected another
pair of flies ? Have you forgotten the next two salmon which I
hooked, played, and lost ? Have you ever paid for the Sunday hat
you then tore from your head and trampled under foot as if it had
been a thing of nought ? Can I forget your taking my rod vi et armis
in order to mend our luck, and presently smashing top and second
joints in a 101b. salmon above the arch of the bridge yonder?

No, no, it all comes back as fresh as yesterday. And do not I
M
remember tearing home for another rod, whilst yon packed up the
wreck and, spite of disasters, afterwards bringing home seven good
;
fish before breakfast ? But enough of the past, for rods are glancing
and eager feet are hurrying down to the quay, and the tide has
turned an hour ago, so we, too, will get under weigh, pole up to the
weirs, and discourse by the way.
Ballina for many years past has been a great favourite with our
countrymen, and during the summer probably there are seldom less
than ten or twelve English rods always hard at work on the water.
But even with this number the Moy'is far from being crowded, for
from the Flats to Foxford the distance is about twelve miles. No
narrow and puny stream is this, but a broad and glorious river, so
wide and marvellously full of fish that if a dozen rods were occupied
in the tideway alone there would be room for all and sport for each.
Fortunately, the upper waters are in as great favour as the lower, and
my friend, Pat Heames, never wants clients. His dominions, properly
speaking, extend from the weirs to Foxford ; he is the above-bridge

potentate, and will come into notice more correctly in another
chapter.
All this time Terry is poling steadily up the stream, whilst we are
arranging the casting line. Compared with the gorgeous flies so

lately used on the Erne, those of the Moy seem only pretty dimi-
nutives, and altogether no tackle can be lighter than that employed
here. The rods generally used are slight and pliant the three yards
;
of single gut, backed by nearly an equal length of fine treble,
together with a pair of small flies, give to the angler's outfit more
the appearance of trout than salmon tackle yet with ordinary skill
;
no accidents need be feared, as the bottom is remarkably clear, and

wherever a fish may go, a cot can follow.
That vigorous stroke has sent us under the bridge into the pool
below the cutts, and what a picture is here for the angler's contem-
plation. Over the broad weirs and through the gratings comes the
foaming rushing river, forming streams and eddies, whilst, near the
arches, the water fiows more smoothly and with a shallower current.
Twenty yards above this point our anchor was dropped, and the first
cast delivered. Our position in mid channel gave us full command

of the throw, and now to the right and now to the left flew the line,
sweeping round till opposite the stem. Dozens of fish were rising,
and probably scores were under the flies but, as Terry said, they ;
"
seemed to have taken " the pledge against them. Now, the said
Mr. Terry was rather choleric and impatient, and in twenty minutes
after our arrival proposed to move on. The advantage of racing
from place to place is always, in

" If
my opinion, very questionable.
you are sure of being over salmon, stick to them," was the advice
given to me
nonage, and very good advice I have found it.
in my
Acting onthe flies were changed, and the compliment at once
it,
" He'll come
acknowledged. agen, / know," mumbled Mr. "Willie,
with the discarded insect between his lips, whilst his busy fingers
were engaged in looping on a violet and grouse. " I'll swear he'll
come agen." A cast or two on the opposite side moistened " the
change," which by this time was curving gracefully in a series of
short darts, right over the head of our new acquaintance. " I know'd
it, and if he hasn't got it firm and hard, 'tis a pity." If you wish
to see what a salmon can do, give him plenty of room and light
tackle. In the present case space was ample, and nothing could well
be slighter than the thread which held him nor was our fast friend
;
at all indisposed to make the best use of his opportunity. Now

towards the weir he flies, then dives deep into the eddy, and next
rushes back to his home by
the bridge. Terry is already shortening
the mooring-rope ready to weigh anchor and follow; but it is
unnecessary, as the stout fish once more heads up the stream. No
laggard is he up the torrent across down again deep under
;
water ^high in air, he rushes, dives, and leaps. Can he find no

friend to aidhim amongst all his summer-day acquaintance ? Must
he forego his proposed tour, and no more revisit the haunts of his
infancy ? Will he never again see his meek-eyed helpmate, who is,
perhaps, even now waiting for her spouse in order to spend the
honeymoon at their country lodge ? I fear not, for who can contend
successfully against destiny ?

Certainly not the graceful creature
whose strength, lately so exuberant, has now deserted him, and whose
M 2
164 A YEAR OP liberty; OB,
fasMonable friends have shunned him in his difficulties. Helpless as

a log, slowly he yields to the steady strain of the line. Nearer, nearer,
nearer he conies. Silently and softly the gaff sinks under water,
ready for the moment when the victim shall pass over the ambushed
steel one single inch more hdbet.
" He's a
tidy little salmon, for the Moy, eh, Terry ? Not far off
111b." Whilst thus giving vent to his opinion, and expressing his
" "
satisfaction, my
companion grasps the tidy little one firmly above
the tail with his left hand, and prepares to administer a playful tap
over the occiput.
" I wish I'd half a dozen of your brothers and sisters here I'd ;
serve *um just so there." A

slight quiver passes over the silvery
mass, as it is laid under an oiled coat to keep off the sun. And so
this is death ! but where is the subtle essence the divine afflatus
called life ? Whither has it flown ? We had better leave that
question to wiser heads, and go on with our work.

Terry was now less anxious to move than before nay, was positively
imwilling to stir, when, a few minutes later, a grilse was hooked and
lost so we again changed the flies, and in about half an hour
;
afterwards killed a pretty summer fish of 51b.
Slowly dropping down between the bridges, the pole occasionally

checking our speed, we cast on either side as we proceeded ; but
finding the water too shallow, only fished it very lightly, thinking of
old times, when this beautiful stretch was crime de la creme ; and
thus we glided on tillwithin a hundred yards of the "tanyard."
*'
That's what we call a line of battle," remarked Terry, indicating
the direction with the handle of his propeller, and, to judge from
appearances, the conflict was raging

with great spirit. Moored in
line, at intervals of about five-and-twenty yards, were four boats, the
occupants of ihe second and last being each pleasantly engaged in a

death grapple with a salmon. Wisely determining to join our
countrymen against the common foe,we cast anchor at the correct
distance above the headmost cot, but ere the stone was on the
bottom our next neighbour also boarded a prize. No river, except
the Moy, could show a scene like this, five punts close together, and
"
three of these " in quasi possession at the same moment there
our line, and lo at the first cast a is hooked. Whilst
goes I
grilse
attending to my own affairs I yet found time to steal a glance at my

brethren, who were all masters of the craft careful men of business
who time to be capital, and so well did they employ the oppor-
felt
that in twenty minutes the last prize was secured. In the

tunity
" Castle hole" we landed a " the
fourth, and rushing through Dock,"
which it was not thought advisable to try, were soon floating over
" the Flats." In this portion of the the to the sea is
Moy proximity
very apparent, large mud banks unmistakably showing a tidal estuary
at three quarters ebb. This part of "the ground" often affords
admirable sport, but to-day it did not answer, and left us at leisure
to look at the world around. From this part of the tideway rise
wooded heights no great elevation, but considerable beauty.
of
Immediately below, a schooner and brig were dozing on the mud,
high and dry and ;

still farther down the widening river stretched
away towards Killala, and threading its path through long sand-banks
^whereon lay many a seal mingled its waters with the Atlantic.
The Moy runs through a flat, uninteresting country but, with ;
every disposition to praise, it is impossible to say much for the

meadows which They cannot be compared for a
fringe its banks.
moment with the enamelled meads which border theThames or the
Somersetshire Avon, yet are they not flowerless, but can show their
Caltha, Menyanthes trifoliata, and Nuphar lutea, with the best and ;
" the
as for lady's smock," so white were the fields that you might
have imagined all the feminine linen of the county here spread out
to bleach.
" the
Onour way home from Flats," at the back of the dock, we
put on a cast of trout flies, and were so fortunate as to rise two
good white trout, one of which we landed, weighing 31b. The

Bunree, a small tributary bearing a high character during the
autumn spates, falls into the estuary at this point.
Desirous of
seeing it, I strolled for some distance along its stony channel, and
could easily believe that, with three feet of amber- coloured water
filling its bed, and leaping

over many a ledge of rock, the little
river would deserve all tlie praise bestowed on it. Bunree never
was in condition during any of my visits, so from personal experience
I amunable to offer any opinion concerning its merits, though I
believe that, if taken in time and tune, it would " discourse most
excellent music."
After this we took one more out of the " Castle pool," and with
this ended our sport for the day no great matter to speak of in the
;
first week of July in such a stream as the Moy, but enough to show
that even an exceptional season like the present can afford occupa-
tion for the rod.
To chronicle minutely the events of the five following days would
be an ungrateful task. The one recorded was neither the best nor
the worst of the series but feeding the mental appetite is a nice
;
operation. Give too little, and it becomes cross ; give too much and
it falls sick. Oh, believe me, the task is delicate, and requires tact.
Fortunately, in this class of dietetics we have one golden rule for

our guidance : never continue the employment of any one kind of
pabulum usque ad nauseam. In pursuance, therefore, of this maxim,

we will conclude with a description of our doings on this river one
July day, when the water was, as it always should he, in first-rate
order.
Once upon a time, after spending a month on the Erne, I arrived
here in the middle of such rain as is seldom seen in July. Meadows
were flooded, fords impassable, bridges damaged, and the Moy in
such a state as had not been seen in summer for many years. My
diary shall tell the rest.
"Will the water never be in order! "Without doubt there are
many things more agreeable than sauntering up and down a wretched

country town for a whole week. I have learned by rote the title-
page of every volume in the window of the circulating library, and

could cry, over the High-street, the address of every uncalled for
letter at the oflSce. I can tell the exact uumber of buns the baker
speculates in daily. I have counted as many as ninety-one beggars,

ere stepping from mere weariness, and shall remember to my dying
day the exact pattern of the red shawl in which the Belles of Ballina
deliglit. I have paid fifty-four visits to the river, to measure the

abatement of its can minutely describe every shade it
waters ;
assumed during that time, from Indian ink to half and half and ;
have nearly worried Terry to death with interrogations concerning

the hour on which we shall be able to commence operations. There
was some consolation in this, as Mr. Divers had the villany to charge
thirty shillings per week for himself and an execrable leaky cot,
which he averred to be *the most illigant boat in the county.*
"Willie, in his department, has not been idle whispered con-
sultations between him and Terry have been going on every day, and
various councils have been held to decide on the merits of a shade or
the attractions of a feather. K success is to be commensurate with
wisdom in debate and skill in execution, ours will be marvellous."
Here I must pause ; only, however to finish the tale in the
following chapter.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Baliina The Scribe doth a Tale unfold Up the River, with manifold Remi-
niscences of " Down the Water," illustrative of what may be done on the
Moy under favourable Circumstances Hypothesis.
July 11.
At half-past three a.m. on Monday, the 9th of July, a.d. one I
like to be particular in such matters ^my companion and myself

sallied forth into the High street of Baliina. Rods were glancing in
all directions, hurrying towards the scene of action nobs and snobs,
;
noblemen and gentlemen, tinkers and tailors, soldiers and sailors,

" the
were on the alert. Every order in capital of the west"
appeared to have sent a representative. The justice and the priest,

the doctor and the lawyer, hurried along the grand route. It was a
high day a general holiday and business, if the good town ever
had any, which I never could discover for once was left to take
care of itself. A hundred yards brought us to the river ;
boats were
on the move, proceeding to favourite points but we looked in vain

;
for our man, Tom Nameless. " Where on earth can that fellow be ?"
The point at which we struck the stream was the upper bridge,
where, moored about five-and-twenty yards above the arches, was a
well-known Saxon professor, Mr. G , who, as we came up, struck
at a whose keenness said " Wait an and I'll be

fish, plainly, instant,
at you again," and so it proved, for the next time the flies curved
over him Mr. Salmon showed himself a man of his word. If we
were early, our friend was still more matutinal ;

at any rate this
could only be number one, but that was bad enough for in the ;
year one, a man killing a fish in my sight became an enemy for life.
Judge, therefore, of the state of my feelings when, looking over the
parapet, four silvery creatures, laying side by side, were visible in
that cot. Had I seen Mr. Tom about to be hanged by mistake, I
think I should not have stepped forward to save him. All down the
river rods were bending double.
"
Oh, Tom, you incomprehensible scoundrel, what has become of
you ?"
" Don't
you know master, that it's Monday ?"
To a well-conditioned man
the second morning of the week should
offer no greater inducement for breach of faith than the third but, ;
Tom was a teetotaller, and between mass and midnight were many
long hours, which that gentleman employed in sipping an abomina-
tion called
" cordial." From the name, it should have been a mild
and wholesome fluid, composed, perhaps, of water, sugar, ginger,
saffron, and the like ;
but then it sadly disagreed with Tom's getting
his health or personal appearance, for when
up, nor did it improve
at last he did arrive, an hour or so behind time, it was with white
cheek, blue nose, and steps anything but straight and regular. The
forty minutes spent on that bridge seemed like an age, and each
fresh fish captured was a new wrong received from the hands of Mr.
Nameless. In a mood by no means amiable I commenced casting
from the quay, and in the hour and a quarter which elapsed before
the tide drove us home, Willie gaffed for his master seven as fine
fish as need be. Somewhat mollified by good fortune, it was with
SALMON ANGLING IN lEELAND. 1G9
comparative equanimity that I noticed Mr. Tom, his face con-

siderably more white and his nose considerably more blue than on
" Go into
ordinary Monday mornings, skulking behind a comer.
your cot you ^you ^teetotaller, and if you step out of here till I
return the rest was too majestic for repetition. On such a day,
Man wants but little here below ;
SO, bolting a cup of tea and pocketing a crust, we were soon once
more on the quay, and found Tom at his post, fast asleep. I have
considered " cordial " friend
always my designedly put himself into
this condition, as being the only one likely to secure his not straying
off in search of
"a
drop."
Between the upper and lower bridges a distance considerably
short of a quarter of a mile six boats besides our own were
already
anchored in line of battle, waiting for the moment when the ebb
should enable them to proceed to business. The tide having fallen
sufficiently to allow our commencing operations, we took up a posi-
tion near the upper viaduct the only unoccupied spot and cast
one look at the flies, which in another moment were dancing over
the dark surface of the Moy.
*'
Mick's stuck in him," groaned Tom; "hes sure to have his
share, and something over." Battle, rattle, went the wheel anxious ;
to receive a lesson from so famous an artiste, I paused to watch the

result. Upright as a statue, and nearly as motionless, with the rod
well over his shoulder, stood the man who had sacrificed
industry
and competence for poverty and pleasure. With steady hand, un-
flinching eye, and consummate skill, he foiled the wild rage of his
struggling victim baffled him at every turn and in less than ten
minutes, spite Tom's maledictions and malicious wishes, gaffed and
lifted into his crazy cot a beautiful and silvery six-pounder. Notwith-
standing his rags, how I envied the fellow I Stealing a look at the
boats below, an equally mortifying spectacle was to be seen, two of
their occupants being engaged in the agreeable task of
reducing a
pair of refractory subjects to passive obedience. 'Twas too bad.
Willie laid aside his pipe, and observed in a stage whisper, that
" the master's hand was out."

Oh, that tattered disciple of Izaak ;
he has another, whilst we have not turned a tail. And
positively
now a jubilant shout rose from every boat, each of the six having
nearly at the same time hooked a fish. That yell startled even the
poor artiste, who in an unguarded moment turned to see what could

be the matter. A rattling leap warned him of the error, when
too late, for the salmon had departed without leave, carrying off his
best fly.
Man is an inquisitive animal, never satisfied without knowing the
why and because. What was the reason of our failure ? Could it
be the tackle ? Surely no Was it the incapacity of the angler ?
!
Vanity forbade the thought. I once read of an ill-fated being with

whom nothing prospered energy, zeal, honesty, were unavailing,
for unlucky Joe was bom on a Friday. Was that, too, my natal day ?
In terror I fumbled for my pocket-book, wherein the event was duly
chronicled. No, thanks to time, I am not thus doomed to perpetual
misfortune, though I have escaped by a miracle, for I was ushered
into the world at half -past eleven on Thursday night.
Tom now did what he should have done long before, and lifting
the stone, we dropped down thestream. The truth was, our position
had been badly selected, for the shade of the bridge cast a deeper
hue on water already sufficiently dark, and satisfactorily accounted
for our previous want of success. The beneficial effects of the move
were at once apparent as we drifted within a long cast of the poor
;
disciple, a sporting fish dashed at my fly, and overboard went the

anchor. The tackle was good and time precious, so giving the butt,
but not sparing an inch of line, I kept a tight rein on him, and in a
few minutes got him into the boat. Our neighbour, whom Tom
affirmed to be a tinker, was now on his mettle the flies fell within
;
a foot of each other, though with very different results, for his had
been again and again over the water, and mine were novelties. A
merry dash at the dropper and a deep dull roll at the trail occurred
simultaneously ;
for a brief space both were on the line. Alas it I
was only too brief, and then, as usual in such cases, the lightest
hooked broke away, leaving us at leisure to manage the other. This

looked like business, but "the tinker" was not to be outdone;
reeling up, lie lit his pipe, pulled a few dirty bits of paper from the
lining of his hat, and at once commenced the construction of a more
novel and attractive article.
This was a golden opportunity, nor was it thrown away, for before
his taskwas completed we had secured an additional brace of fish.
Unwilling to tarnish our laurels, we once more lifted our anchor,
removed from a neighbourhood so dangerous to our reputation, and
drifted down towards the tanyard. The rain, which had so long
threatened, now came down in a way creditable even to clouds fresh
from a trip across the Atlantic, and the big drops pattered so thickly
that Tom found occupation in bailing the boat with his shoe.
Our " Work
garments of proof.
oiled coats were, however, away,
your honour, we've an hour yet afore the tide comes." Had the
torrent been descending in bucketfuls, instead of drops, we should
not have flinched success and rivalry had so completely warmed us
that all the rain which ever fell could not have cooled our ardour.
Too soon passed the time, and when the flood warned us to desist^
we gained the landing-place with eight salmon and two white trout,
each about l^lb.
Fifteen fish and a brace of trout did not constitute a bad day's
sport, yet we grumbled outrageously at

an incident that befel us
about midday, causing us to waste an hour and a half of invaluable
time. The misfortune came on us in this wise A few yards below :
the last bridge, I hooked something evidently far beyond the average
size. Sailing away majestically, "the individual" quietly sat himself
down on the bottom, as if
meditating a prolonged interview. Urbane
by nature, I treated him with the courtesies usual on such occasions,
and kept up a continuous steady strain ;
but I might just as well
have pulled at our mooring stone. There is, however, a limit to
politeness, and, exasperated at this dogged and unreasonable beha-

viour, Tom was directed pay out rope and stir him up with the
to
pole. Such a forcible argument could not be resisted, so our friend

got up and moved off leisurely, only to sit down again almost imme-
" individual "
diately a few yards farther off. If the was, through
Ms own misconduct, subjected to this ungentlemanly treatment once,

he experienced it twenty times there was no putting him into a
;
passion ; his impassibility was wonderful. If he could not be roused,

I was growing desperate, for on all sides boats were taking fish,
whilst we had one that would not be taken. Poling nearly over him,
I pulled, and pulled, and pulled. Surely mere mortal matter must
weary in time. Ay, but in what length of time ? in an hour ? in a
? in a week ? not in an hour, for I had laboured for
day Certainly
more than that space to make that impression, and had utterly failed
inmoving him.
"He's a raal sulky villin," observed Willie, whose habitual
patience was fast giving way ; "may I try, master ?"
Too happy to be quit of the business, I handed him the rod.
"Pole ahead, Tom." Mr. Nameless did so; and after five or six
minutes spent in doing all that man could do, came another order :
" Shove astern." This failed likewise. The obstinate

party had
" He
been tried behind and before, on the right and on the left.
"
an't mortal If he don't move this time, I'd better break, hadn't I ?
!
A nod gave consent. Slowly, steadily, gradually, the strain was

increased, but nothing came of it and with a sigh of relief I "saw
;
the tight line at length spring upwards, and we were free. From
the numbers killed around us during what may be termed our
captivity, I doubt not that but for this accident, we should have
added five or six grilse to our score and had it not been for this
;
untoward event, the day would probably have proved one of the best
that ever fell to my lot.
By my an old local newspaper, which speaks of the

side lies
period which I have endeavoured to sketch. Perhaps the reader

might like to see it if so I will give him a verbatim et literatim
;
copy:
Angling on the Mot. The piscatory amusement on our river during the
present delightful season amply repays the sportsman's toil. Our town since
the angling opened has been thronged with sporting gentlemen from England
and Scotland, and we rejoice that none of them will leave dissatisfied with
their stay. On the whole, it is pleasing to record that the Moy has come
round to its usual status as a sporting stream. . . . We have made,inquiries
relative to the number salmon killed within the present season on tho Moy,
of
and were gratified to learn the following results Mr. John Gordon killed 54
:
fish in ten consecutive days. The highest weekly aggregate we have ever
known before this year in Ballina was by Sir Humphrey Davy when angling ;
here in 1823 he killed 45 salmon. In 1843 Sir Richard Sutton killed 100 fish
on this river within a month, Mr. Coke 40 in one week, Mr. Musgrave 165 in
six weeks, and Captain Congrave 22 in one day. J'his is decidedly the best
year that came since, for Mr. George Pollock took 27 in three days, Mr. Forde
15 in one day, Dr. Peard 15, and Mr. Staunton 11.
As a rider to the above extract, it may not be out of place to

remark that had only arrived a day or two before the paper was
I
published, or perhaps it might have been deemed worthy of record

that in twenty-one consecutive days I landed ninety-seven salmon,
and about half a score of white trout.
In the former chapter it has been shown what might be done on
theMoy in a bad season ;
in the present, what could be achieved in
a good one and if the angler strikes a balance between these extremes
;
he will have a fair idea of what may be expected during an average

June and July.
It was my intention when I
set out this morning to have commenced
" "
a week up the river under the skilful guidance of my friend Pat
Heames it was, upon my honour, and if you look at the head of
this chapter, you vnll observe that I made a note to that effect ;
but, instead of going up, I have been all the time going down.
"Now, my dear sir," you will say, "this infirmity of purpose,
almost amounting to temporary aberration of intellect, is very
reprehensible, and must not occur again it is

deserving of censure,
;
and you must consider yourself reprimanded." " Confiteor, domine,

excellentissime." Yet, pray believe me, there was method in the
madness.
On way back I paid a visit to Mr. Little, in his oflSce by the
the
weirs,and whiled away a very pleasant hour in his company. With
him was a gentleman an admirable converser who amongst other
matters took a view of the Fishery Act altogether new to me, and
certainly much opposed to my own opinions. In his judgment rivers

stocked like the Moy received positive injury from the extended
1 74 A YEAE OF LIBERTY ; OR,
fence time. He " The direct loss to the lessees was

observed,
considerable, from thenumbers which escaped during the rim of the
grilse, and that was by no means compensated by the
this loss
increased stock presumed to result from the increased number of

mother fish." As nearly as I remember, the following was his line
of argument. Assuming the Moy to have as large a head of
breeding fish as the spawning grounds could accommodate, he con-
ceived that every additional salmon which the present law allows
to pass the weirs, instead of adding to the amount of fry, actually
diminished it.
" "a
Suppose," said he, spawning bed capable of accommodating
twenty pairs of working fish, the trenches made, the ova laid down,
and the gravel replaced. Now, if others arrive subsequently and
commence their labours, the previously deposited ova is rooted up
and and the gravel rendered so loose as to be unfit to secure that
lost,
which was last buried. Thus the first deposit is lost, and the second
rendered so insecure as to be carried away almost to a certainty by
the winter floods ergo, a surplus stock produces less smolts than a
;
smaller one."
This, to say the least, is plausible ;
but then it rests on the
hypothesis of an over stock. Grant this, and the position is
unanswerable ;
but oppose it, and how stands the argument ?
Few, I presume, willdeny that seventy or eighty years ago the

supply in our rivers was far greater than at present. The means of
taking them were at that time inferior to those now employed, and
the inducement to capture them was not a fourth of what it is in our
day consequently, with a more prolific stock, and inferior methods

;
of stopping them, larger numbers must have made their way to the
head waters than can possibly do so now. This increased amount of
mother fish hatched a greater number of fry than are found at
present, as be assumed from the larger number of adults then
may
secured yet they were reared from the same beds, which are
;
declared unequal to the support of decreased numbers. But even

granting our friend's view to be correct as regards one river, the
number of streams with a surplus population is at this time very,
very small, and years must elapse before the great body of the Irish
waters will be able to complain of this evil. Till then our glorious
Act must produce general benefit ;

nor may we raise our voice
against even should a particular locality suffer.

it, When the
halcyon days of a universal plethora have arrived, our Act will die,
full of glory yet will it live for ever in history as a monument of
;
the wisdom of those who framed it.
I shall be afraid to face Pat Heames to-morrow. What will he

say to my breach of faith ?
CHAPTER XXVII.
" the River" Pontoon of the Colonel He discourses
Up Unexpected arrival
in the small hours A week on Lough Conn Departure for Galway.
Saturday, July 22.

On a lovely morning in the latter part of July we walked up Mill-
street and knocked at the palace gate of his Majesty Pat Heames
the First. Crowned by acclamation monarch of the Upper water.

King Pat may be considered solely in the light of a naval power.
His fleet, however, boasts no ironclads ;
no 12-ton guns threaten
to hurl misery and ruin on his yet are his ships admirably
rivals ;
fitted for the warfare they have to wage. An old-world potentate

is he, who ignores steam, and, like the uncrowned despots of Tyre
and Carthage, puts his trust in the oar. Honest Pat Heames I
light
hearts and bright spirits man your flotilla, whilst
Youth at the prow and pleasure at the helm
form a crew meet for the summer voyages your barques make. This
is for old acquaintance, Pat, and long may you reign and prosper !
From the Weirs to Foxford a distance of about ten miles the
Moy pursues a devious course fringed with many a bush, and now
;
and then adorned by a noble tree, the river is, nevertheless, for
angling purposes, unimpeded with wood. Nearly through its whole

course the banks are low and the water generally level with the
meadows, which are advantages difficult to overrate, for if there
be anything like an air the stream is sure to receive its due pro-
portion. Long before the passing of the late Act, the upper
**
ground" was held in high estimation, but since that time it need
hardly be said has improved wonderfully.
it Taken as a whole, the
Moy is deeper above than below the town, and in a dry season would
now probaply offer the best sport.
Having knocked at the palace gates, Pat himself answered the
summons, led the way to our cot, and in a few minutes conducted
us to the "upper falls and rapids." A light northerly air faintly
curled the stream, and gave promise of good things. Our stock of
flies, never extensive though always new, at this time consisted,
only of a pair on the rod, so our artiste seated himself on the

bottom boards, with numberless envelopes secured under his legs
and between his knees, and commenced with great zeal to add to
our resources. This plan of fabricating by the river has many
advantages, one of the principal being the correct adaptation of
size to the height of the water. The industrious workman merely
looked up from his task for an instant, as a sharp rise at the
dropper caught his practised ear placed a little extra

;
wax on the
silkwith which he was fastening off the shoulder, and then went
calmly on with his business. Once more he lifted his eyes, when a
second refusal, accompanied by a scornful lash of a greenish tail,
attracted his attention this time the horns were being carefully
;
adjusted.
''Wait a minute, my beauty, and I'll be about you. There,
master, if that won't suit him he must be uncommon perticler." It
was one of the jointed flies, so difficult to tie neatly, but so effective
in low and bright water, consisting of five rings of shining floss,
each in strong contrast to the other, with a turn or two of ostrich

between, of the same hue as the next joint above. A jay shoulder,
mixed wing, glittering tail, and long crimson antennae completed
an insect such as no fish, flesh or fowl ever saw in rerum naturd.
SALMON ANQLINO IN lEELAND. 177
Removing the rejected pair, we substituted the latest specimen of

my companion's handiwork, and without further preliminaries sent
it flying across the stream. Hitherto the fish had been hard to
please, but this time he was less fastidious, and rushed at it like a
hungry dragon. Such a rise is the culminating point of human

felicity.
" He's a dead mumbled Mr. whose
one, I know, Pat," Willie, lips,
at that moment holding
a topping and piece of tinsel, were not well
" He's safe
adapted for oratorical display. any way, and see if I
don't roast him. Won't we, master?" Now this form of speech
was common with my old friend first an assertion, and next an
interrogation ;
he usually had his own way, the latter was
but, as
understood to be a mere matter of form. Now our salmon, whose
ultimate destiny had been so satisfactorily settled, though pronounced
moribund was remarkably lively, and, after executing five or six
summersaults in the neatest fashion, took a desparate race, tore the
hook from his jaw, and went on his way rejoicing. The Island,
Cruckane, and the Eock were unprofitable speculations and then ;
came Mullins's Pool. Here the hopes of the would-be cook revived ;
and when a choice between an eight-pounder, a five, and a four was

presented to him, the chef's satisfaction knew no bounds. Lynche's
Pool gave us another, the Stonewall Cast a fifth, and there seemed
every prospect of making a good bag but soon the wind died away
;
and the sun came out with such scorching brilliancy as blistered
both face and hands that is, my countenance and upper extremities,
those ofmy comrades being fireproof.
How grateful was the shade afforded by a small aspen tree, whose
broad leaves throbbed and fluttered, though to my heated skin not
an air was appreciable. It reminded one of the academic groves we
used to read of at school, only there seemed more reality about it.
To a lover of nature Mayo is a wild and beautiful county, whose
rivers are manifold, whose mountains are lovely and sublime,
wrapped in their mantles of purple heath and crowned with
diadems of granite, and whose lakes, so capable of utilisation, now
only bear on their broad bosoms the peasant's barge or the fisher's
N
boat. If these are all charming, what shall be said for its coast
line, from the mouth of theMoy to the head of Killery Harbour,
stretching to a length exclusive of the minor indentations of the
shore of 250 Let any tourist consult his. travelling

statute miles ?
map, as I did mine, under the tree, and exult in what it shows him.
If he be a sportsman, what wealth does it not promise ? If he be a
sailor, what and peaceful bays does it

safe harbours, noble headlands,
not indicate ? a If
poet, what themes may it not suggest ? If a
painter, what treasures for his easel ? Beautiful Mayo to me there I
is something musical in the sound of your name. Sweet are the

memories summers and rainy autumns I have spent
of the bright
on your mountains, lakes, and streams, and delicious are the

anticipations of that time when I shall visit you again.
All this while my companions had been collecting dry sticks, stones,
and dead grass, and having cooked a fish sufficiently large for the
wants of six men, graciously brought me a slice, and forthwith
devoured the residue.
The is worse than the thief, says the
receiver of stolen goods
proverb, and in Mayo we have

a fine example of the truth of the
axiom. The generosity of our early Norman kings was on a grand
scale, especially when they gave away the property of other people ;
and with this county they were more splendidly

in their dealings
lavish than usual, for it formed part of the grant made by Henry II.
to William de Burgho, about the year 1180. The history of the
transaction is curious. The new possessor soon made a permanent
settlement, for, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Henry III.,
the then king of Connaught made a journey to England to complain

of the invasion of his teri'itory by the family of the Burkes. Very
little is known of the subsequent proceedings of the settlers, until the
in 1333, when the William de Burgho
period of the great rebellion
of that day was assassinated. Mayo fell away from all subjection to
the English law immediately after the murder of the earl, for some
of the younger branches of the Burke family, seeing that the entire
province of Connaught would be inherited by his infant daughter
(who afterwards married Lionel Duke of Clarence, and so gave the
Crown its title to the inheritance in the person of Henry VII.), seized
on Gal way and Mayo, and, to avoid the consequences of their
usurpation, not only cast off all allegiance to the English rule, but
renounced their English names and habits, identifying themselves
and their followers with the natives. The appellation chosen by
Edmund de Burgho, who seized on Mayo, was Mac William Oughter,
or the further," to distinguish his family from Mac William Eighter,
'
or " the hither," who had in like manner usui-ped Gal way. From
this time till the reign of Elizabeth the Mac William of the time
continued to exercise the authority of an independent potentate.
The first step towards a return to old law and manners was in 1575,
when the then Mac William, accompanied by the O'Malley, came to
Gal way and made submission, consenting to pay 250 marks per annum
for his fief.
The antiquities of the county are chiefly ecclesiastical. There

are roimd towers at Killala, Turlogh, and Meelick. At Cong are
the remains of a splendid abbey, where an archiepiscopal crozier of
surpassing beauty was found. This work of art was executed by

the command of Turlogh O'Connor, the father of Roderick, the last
native king of Ireland, and now in

the possession of the Royal Irish
is
Society. At Mo}Tie and Rosserk are ruins of great interest, and

the remains of Ballin-tubber Abbey, seven miles from Ballinrobe,
are amongst the most elegant specimens of early architecture in the
island.
What a day this has been ! From eleven to six not a cloud in the
sky nor an air on the earth. The rushes, wading knee-deep in the
stream, have kept up a sweet jangling with the passing current, as if
sending love and good wishes to their sister weeds far off in the
ocean. Thrush and blackbird agi-eed it was too laborious to sing in
that noontide heat, and reserved themselves for the evening concert.
Cattle laid panting in the shade, and there carried on a defensive
warfare against their winged persecutors ; only the swallows and my
companions' lips were in full activity. Under our tree, in the long
rich grass, I read, wrote, smoked, and meditated ; now and then poled
into the river, hurriedly went over the cast, and, retmning faster than
N 2
I went, flung myself once more on the cool sward. Pat discoursed
at length concerning the varied charms of Lough CuUen and Lough
Conn, of their trout, sahnon, pike, and perch, which last he said
attained a large size, as in fact they do in all the more extensive
Irish waters.
The alders on the western bank were beginning to cast lengthening
shadows on the stream, and if anything was to be done, now was
the time. Slowly, under Pat's most skilful guidance, we drifted
over the pools we had fished in the early part of the day. For an
hour we did not move a fin. Gradually the shadows grew longer
and the air more cool. At The Island we secured our sixth grilse,
and at the Upper Eapids two more were brought to bag, and so
ended our first expedition "up the river."
Stretched on the sofa, as perfectly at home as if he had been there
for a month, was my old friend the Colonel, who, possessing a
tenacious memory, had not forgotten my refusal to spend a couple
of days with him on Lough Melvin and Lough Erne. Being a good
geographer he had a pretty correct idea of the merits and locality of
Conn, on which he made up his mind to take an ample revenge for
my previous delinquency. At present he was more disposed to be
inquisitive than communicative, particularly on the subject of dinner.
By the time I had set his mind at rest on this important subject our
repast was announced. A crimped salmon and a few small fry
caught during the morning at once enlisted his sympathies.
" That
fish, so firm, dry, and curdy I'll trouble you for another
slice, and one or two of those pinkeens all Billingsgate could not
match it. I say, "Walter, how different from the flabby, unctuous
article get at the clubs for two shillings the pound, in the fond
we
misconception of enjoying a luxury ? Glass of sherry, my dear ?
Another with you, my boy. Well, dinner is a pleasant invention.
Kid did you say kid ?" and then, after a reflective pause, " This
animal must have fed on nectar and ambrosia."
With the first glass after dinner the old soldier came out in force,
rung for Willie, ordered a car at eight on the following morning,

stretched out his legs, and made himself up for the evening.
Merrily
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 18l
it wore away, and somewhere near the small hours I either heard or
dreamed the following anecdote of " sporting extraordinary :"
**
Yesterday morning I sauntered from my quarters to the Bally-
shannon bridge, there to wait for the mail. Captain Joyce, a
remarkably heavy swell a new arrival since you left was at work
there, and, like other idlei-s, I halted to look on. At the tail of one
of the streamswas an ancient Triton, uncommonly wide awake.
From time to time he rose to the surface, showed his monstrous
bulk, and then deliberately settled himself down in his former position.
These proceedings touched the Captain to the quick; fly after fly
had been put over him without any good results, and when I
arrived he had just selected a tried favourite from his hat, and was
in the act of making a final appeal to the astute old party. Amongst
other observers of these proceedings was the favourite Newfoundland
of the Justice, the terror of all petty larceny rogues, boys, cats, and
beggars. The animal had turned out for his usual morning prome-
nade, and was now reposing after his fatigue in the middle of the
road, sitting on his tail in a dignified attitude, sagaciously observing
all that was going on. A
long cast was necessary. The heavy line
swept through the bagged, drooped, and stuck fast.
air, The awful
yell that followed filled the Captain with dismay. Horror-struck at
such an untoward event (he was firmly persuaded he had hooked an
unfortunate tourist sketching on the parapet) the commander spun
round with a speed creditable even to a dancing dervish. Blood an '
ounds!' screeched the mob in an ecstasy of delight, 'hark, hark to

the wheel !' It was indeed running at a fearful rate, for the dog
was hooked fast, and darting home at full speed.
Stop him, stop
'
the horrid brute,' roared the perplexed angler, who might as well
have attempted a sotto voce conversation in a hurricane. Round the
comer rushed the affrighted Newfoundlander the heavy dragoon's
;
200yds. were nearly out but luck; is

everything. Hurroo, more
'
power to him here

;
he comes again, hurroo, hurroo.' The crowd,
one and all, appeared seized simultaneously with a mania for
practising the skipping-rope ;

now over, now here, now there, to
avoid the slack line, which was sweeping the dust in a that
way
would have done Macadam good to have witnessed. Fortunately

for the peace of the town the animal was at length captured, found
to be more frightened than hurt for the hook was merely entangled
in his curly hide and sent home to tell his own story to his master.
The Justice was irate Instead of flying into an
beyond measure.
ordinary everyday Christian sort of passion, his heat was absolutely
tropical his dignity had been outraged
;
the bench had been in-;
sulted in his person. He stamped like a gentleman qualifying for

Bedlam, and swore as many round oaths as would, if properly
accounted for, have considerably enriched her Majesty's treasury.
The first paroxysm over, he talked about idle and ill-disposed
persons obstructing the public roads, threatened to put the Act in
force, eulogised Dick Mart3m and the Act for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, steamed home, thought more coolly over the

matter, tied up his dog, to the great joy of the whole population,
and for the rest of his days won't he hate flies, rods, and anglers
"
more devoutly than ever ?
With the Colonel punctuality was a virtue and something more,
so, in order that his peace of mind might not be disturbed, I enjoined
Willie to have the car at the door five minutes before the hour
specified by my old friend, and ere the clock struck eight we were
clear of the town.
The driving was on the most approved Hibernian principle a
principle, by the way, I never understood correctly, but which in

practice naay be reduced to two heads level ground, pace moderate ;
down hill, awful. There was a sufficient proportion of incline to
display our driver's skill to considerable advantage, and make

me feel anything but comfortable under his guidance. "Thank
goodness!" I ejaculated, As we gained
"here's the last descent."
the brow, signs of the coming event became evident. The driver
shook himself more firmly into his seat, and carefully deposited the
pipe in his waistcoat pocket. The
up his ears,
horse, too, pricked
and stepped out more briskly he also was getting ready. With a
;
whoop and a shout the game animal started off at a gallop, and the
light vehicle bounded and flew over the stones, rolling heavily from
windward to leeward like a ship in a gale of wind. Fortunately we

reached the bottom in safety, when I duly registered a vow that, if
not dead lame, I would ride up and walk down all hills that might
lay in my course hereafter through "the Far West."

Lakes always possess one advantage over rivers ^namely, a greater
liability to feel the influence of wind,
and it must be calm indeed
ifa sheet of water large as Lough Conn is not in good angling trim
for an hour or two during the day. When we left Ballina there was
a nice westerly air when we reached our destination the whole lake
;
sparkled with ten thousand tiny wavelets laughing

and breaking in
the morning sun. So favourable an opportunity was not to be lost,
and, with Pat as pilot and Willie at the sculls, we were almost
immediately on the ground.

"I that's my property," remarked the
say, Walter, no poaching ;
" Back
Colonel, jerking his fly from the centre of a dull, deep eddy.
a stroke or two, Willie, and we'll come over him again with some-
thing new." True fell the line, and at the fourth cast he came
again.
" I seen him that time, sir. He's a raal ould spring fish, as red as
a brick. Thim is sad deluders, always a-sajdng sweet things, but
niver meaning ony thing. There's no getting the likes of him to the
church door. He's too old to be caught."
" We'll Back her again.
try. Master Willie. Very ancient birds
are sometimes taken with chaff, you know."
The more near him. " There's luck in odd
rising fly once fell
numbers," says Rory O'More. I almost felt the sharp steel cut into
his gristly jaw. With a hand so perfect as that of my old friend
over him, his doom was sealed it was only a question of time, so,
;
quite at ease as to the ultimate result, I went on with my work. It
was a likely hour, and in a few minutes I too was " in a salmon."
No sooner was the deed done than the enormity of the misdemeanor
struck me in all its force. I ought to have reeled up, and so have
given my companion fair play. Now there was no help for it but to
my fish out of hand. Shortening the line I gave him
break, or kill
the butt, keeping up a strain so severe that the light grilse rolled
over and over on the surface, beating tlie water into a sheet of foam.
Ere a minute elapsed, Pat got a chance, slipped the gaff into his
side, and all danger of a foul was over. The veteran cast a grim
look at the offending party. " I forgive you this time, but mind you
don't do it again." Meanwhile the wrathful angler was doing his
part manfully with a heavy antagonist, who was tugging away far
below the surface with a steady perseverance which deserved a better
fate. More and more languid grew his efforts, and in less than haK
an hour he lay on the water like a log, and was presently gaffed in
very workmanlike style by a gentleman whose name need not be
recorded. As Willie's practised eye had remarked, he proved an
early spring fish, very red, and not in the condition he had been
some five months before ; nevertheless, Salter's balance declared that
the Colonel's prize weighed nearly 151b. The breeze held up till
noon, by which time we had secured six grilse besides the com-
mander's "old bird." The alteration in the weather necessitated a
change in our mode of fishing ;
the flies were laid aside and the
trolling tackle produced. My old companion selected a small trout
and an artificial minnow, whilst I thought myself fortunate in the
possession of the tail of an eel and a light spoon that could spin.
Pat had on the previous day declared the quantity of perch to be
prodigious, and sowe found it. Gliding along the north-west shore,
we were kept constantly at work by this beautiful fish, every now
and then getting a good one from 2Jlb. to S-Jlb.
As we passed along, the scenery assumed so wild and desolate a
character as well to merit the appellation of sublime. From its
western shore Mount Nephin rose abruptly, towering to the height
of 2646ft. whilst on either side, peak above
peak, all purple and
gold, melted away in the distance, here affording a last resting
place for the rays of the sinking sun, and there lying sombre and
dark in shadow. Like most of the Connaught mountains their sides
were checkered with mighty masses of granite, standing out in high
relief from the blossoming heather and the
deeper foliage of the
pines.
When within a few hundred yards of the low bridge whose single
arch spans the short and naiTow channel which connects the lower
with the upper lake, I was summoned back to the realities of life by
a simultaneous shout from the Colonel and Pat. A powerful fish
had dashed at the troll, and his strength, exerted in a direction

opposed to the course of the boat, had already dragged three parts
of the rod under water. To seize the butt and check our speed
were matters of Pat protested we were "in" another
course.
salmon, whilst "Willie, whose fingers had suffered severely during

the morning savagely affirmed ** 'twas only a pike, bad cess to
him!" A bold dash from the surface removed all doubts by
showing us the best trout we had seen during the day. Eight or
ten minutes brought him well under command, and soon he was our
own. So short and stout was this laker, that I should never have
believed him 6jlb. had not the scales attested the fact.
In the morning Lough Conn seemed smiling in all the brightness

of eternal youth. Now, as we rolled away, it looked cold, grey,
and sombre, as the mist curled over it, and the mountain shadows
fell deeper and darker over its dreary length. That bad old man,
the Colonel, received a severe jobation for keeping dinner waiting
for two mortal hours priding himself on his punctuality
;
and
politeness, the veteran was sadly crestfallen, and did not recover his
spirits till Madame, in a neat post-prandial oration, proposed his
health, and wished him success during the week equal to that which
had crowned the day. Her desire was fulfilled, and even the blood-
to remain.
thirsty commander was so well satisfied that he determined
On the morning of our departure Pat and Terry were in attendance,
tucked up the ladies in the first style of art, wished us a pleasant
" God
journey and an early meeting, and then, with their speed your
"
honour in our ears and an echo in our hearts, we
sounding
!
finding
and were soon bowling along the road in the
trotted up the street,
direction of Gal way.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
Galway.
July 29.
As the reader will probably spend two or three weeks with us in the
wilds of Galway, he will not enjoy his trip in that secluded and
semi-civilised region less if he learns something of the physical
character and antiquities of the county. The dimensions are about

164 miles in length from east to west, by 52 in breadth from north
to south ;
the extent of coast, which is very irregular, has been
estimated at 400 miles, whilst landwards the Shannon and the Suck
shut it out from the rest of Christendom. The area, according to
the Ordnance survey, consists of cultivated land, 955,922 acres ;
unprofitable bog and mountain, 476,957 acres ; and water something

less than 100,000 acres.
With theexception of a spur of the Slieve Boughta mountains,

running from the borders of Clare, and a similar extension of the
Burrin range, the whole of that part of Galway west of Lough
Corrib-â tract of nearly the same extent as Tipperary is compara-
tively flat, and, although to a great degree incumbered with bog, is
yet generally productive. The whole district west of Lough Corrib

and Lough Mask is known as Connemara and what memories and
;
pleasant anticipations does the name recall To anyone blessed

!
with a sense of the beautiful, how charming is that uncultivated,

half-peopled, and semi-barbarous land, with its endless low swells
of swamp and moorland a lake in every low expanse, and a river
in every glen. Latterly this region has attracted much attention
by its capabilities of improvement, as well as by the charms of its

scenery. The bay of Galway bounds it on the south, the Atlantic
on the west, and a deep inlet of the sea, called the Killery Harbour,
separates it on the north from the mountainous district of Murrisk,
in Mayo. From the head of Lough Corrib on the east, to Adris
Head on the west, this district extends forty English miles ;

and
from the head of Killery Harbour on the north, to the bay of Galway
on the south, thirty miles.
This wild tract reaches its greatest altitude in the range known
as the Twelve Pins of Bunnabola. This mountain group rises
abruptly from a table-land of moderate elevation, and forms a

picture few can behold without emotion. By night or day, in storm
or sunshine, this glorious band, whether clad in thin misty mantles
or spreading their purple breasts to the autumn sun, are equally
beautiful elemental changes sweep over
;
them like emotions over
some face we love to look on, ever varying but never marring its
loveliness. Bound their bases are numerous lakes, of which the

chief are Lough Ina ;
the upper and lower lakes of Ballinahinch
skirting their southern slopes and Kylemore, away to the north-

west. Although the whole of this tract is generally known as
Connemara, it is properly divided into three districts, that portion
lying between the head of the Killeries and Lough Corrib being
"
termed " Joyce's Country that to the south of the Pins, Jar
;
Connaught, or Western Connaught and the remainder, extending;
westward from Bunnabola to the Atlantic, constituting Connemara

is known to the general
of this extensive tract
proper. Nothing
mass who
follow each other like a string of wild ducks
of tourists,
along the high road from Galway to Clifden, and from Clifden to
Westport and yet to my mind the whole world offers nothing more
;
solitary, nothing more interesting. If this be so to the ordinary
tourist, what must a ramble in such a region afford to the angler ?

All the charms of solitude and novelty are his, and I know few
feelings more intense than those which spring up in a man's breast
as he stands for the first time by some unknown mountain lake or
brawling river, and, out of sight of humanity, prepares for a day

after his own For my part I soon grow sick of the world.; a
heart.
little goes a great way with me it is a dish spiced with condiments

;
all too stimulating for my appetite the rivalries, the meannesses,

;
the petty jealousies, and the dirty tricks do not suit me they bring
on dyspepsia. In the mountains I never had a fit of indigestion in
my life. At present I am labouring under a severe attack, and oh,

hoio I long to be there !
Galway is a world in itself wild, picturesque, and exquisitely

beautiful. Forty years since large portions of the country were as
inaccessible as when the De Burghos ruled. Without roads, without
inns, it was known to Britain as Borneo is

as little at the present
day. Prior to 1813 the only roads west of Galway were a narrow
coast line to Costillo Bay, and a central road by Oughterard to
Ballinahinch. These ran over rocks and bogs in so unskilful a
manner as to be scarcely passable for any sort of carriage, and
the only other means of communication through the district were
narrow bridle paths, difficult for horsemen in the summer, and quite
impracticable in the winter. On the coast in particular, beyond the
Costillo, there was nothing better than a footpath. By the improve-
ments, begun in 1822, a complete line is now carried round the
district. A coast road has been formed which touches the heads of
all the chief inlets from Costillo to the Killeries, where it
joins an
inland line through the heart of the Joyce's Country to the head of
Lough Corrib, and thence across the central plain of Jar Connaught
to the southern coast of Costillo Bay. This in a measure opened the
country, and attracted so much attention to Connemara that, in all
probability, it will at no distant date become the scene of mercantile

and agricultural speculations.
Such was the impassable state of the coast about thirty-six years ago,
for the road commenced in 1822, could hardly have been finished
under eight years and now the beautiful district from Spiddel to
the Killeries forms for the traveller the choicest part of his Irish
tour. As his car rolls along he sees a boundless expanse of ocean
harbours that for number and security no similar extent of shore
in the world can show glorious mountains, countless lakes, and
seagirt islands, even yet as primitive as any Sinbad of the nineteenth
likely to discover in the North or South Pacific.

is Olifden
century
iscomparatively a new town, having been called into existence by
the energy of the proprietor, Mr. D'Arcy, in 1821 and Eoundstone, ;
the port from which the beautiful green marble of Ballinahinch is

shipped, has within the last few years grown rapidly into importance.
In 1854 the Law Life Assurance Society became possessed of the
Connemara property, on which they had previously advanced money
by way of loan to the amount of 160,000/. From the chairman's
report for 1864, it appeared

that the property paid 4 per cent., and
that since the auditing of the accounts the fisheries alone had risen
3000/. in annual value. All that this vast district required was
money to develop its resources. Henceforth this will not be wanting,

and the estate that broke poor Dick Marty n's heart will probably
prove one of the brightest jewels in the crown of this Croesus of

societies.
Galway is rich in antiquities. At Ballygaddy, Kilbannon, Meelick,

and Ardrahan, there are round towers. Cromlechs and stone circles
are of frequent occurrence.
Of the numerous remains of religious houses throughout Galway,
the ruined Abbey Knockmoy is the most interesting. It was founded
" The Red
in 1189 by Cathal O'Conner, sumamed Hand," in conse-
quence of a victory obtained by him over the English under Almeric
St. Lawrence. Above the tomb of the founder are some curious
fresco paintings of great interest, as exhibiting the costume of the
native Irish. The Phrygian cap, represented as worn by several of
the figures, will some day attract the attention of antiquaries.
Knockmoy well deserves a visit for its architecture, which indicates

considerable advancement in the arts amongst its founders. The
Raths of the early inhabitants and the ruined strongholds of the
Anglo-Norman lords are also numerous.
Every street in the quaint old town of Galway is a page of

romance. It is impossible to pass carved arches leading into the
courtyards of great gaunt-looking houses, without being irresistibly

reminded that each has a history. These places, now so mournfully
silent in all the dignity of decayed gentility, once knew better days
^when the Don brought Bilboa blades, Cordova leather, port and
canary to the good merchants. What they could have done with
all these things is a mystery. That they drank a good deal of the
wine is
highly probable, and that, being pugnacious, they used the
190 A YEAE OP LIBERTY ; OE,
weapons, is also likely but what they did with the general cargoes I
;
cannot imagine. The country is a thousand times more rich now than
it was then and where the merchants found customers, or how the
;
customers found money oh I give it up 'tis worse than the Pons

!
;
Asinorum. The railway hotel, which occupies one side of the

principal square,is
perhaps the largest in Ireland, Killarney excepted.
Here, in 1859, only seven short years ago, poor Leech penned some
" He " whilst
of his amusing sketches. saw," he says, lionising the
town, a great deal that was very amusing, and a great deal that was
very dirty." He saw traces of Spanish architecture in quaint gate-
ways and quadrangular courts ;

he saw Lynch's Castle, and found its
grotesque carving very curious ;
he saw the house in Dead Man's
Lane, where lived Fitz-Stephen, Warden of Galway he saw ware- ;
houses without ware he saw and greatly admired Queen's College

; ;
he saw chapels and nunneries, whence the Angelus bell sounded as

he passed and, above all, he saw the '' Claddagh." About this dirty
;
suburb pages have been written it is simply the fishermen's quarter,

;
" with walls of mud and

consisting of poor, ruinous cabins, stone,
and for the most part, windowless, the floors damp and dirty, and
the roof a mass of rotten straw and weeds." *'
As to the origin of
'
these Claddagh people, I am

not sufiSciently up in ethnology to '
state with analytical exactness the details of their descent, but I
imagine them to be one-third Irish, one-third Arabian, and the other

Zingaro or Spanish gipsy. I thought I recognised in the old lady
an Ojibbeway chief who frightened me a good deal in my childhood,
but she had lost the expression of ferocity, and I was, perhaps
mistaken."
In this work the reader has rarely been troubled with quotations.
Personally I abhor them, and should certainly avoid the society of

my best friend if he had a predilection for inflicting bad Latin and
worse Greek on a trusting comrade. Yet in this chapter I have not
only quoted from the sparkling pages of Leech, but have been picking
and stealing from the heavy wisdom of the Ordnance survey. The
fact is, I do not like the task before me, and for once in my life
avoid the river like an insane dog. Internally, no mortal is more

SALMON ANaLINQ IN IRELAND. 191
fond of the cold element ; externally, I hold the application of tepid

water to the surface of the human body, not only agreeable, but
useful in the highest degree ;
but to put my foot voluntarily into hot
water is what I do not like.
"
Well, once on a time the angling '*'
here was admirable, from the
tideway to the weirs, and from the weirs to the lake. In the spring
the fishing is chiefly confined to that portion of the water between the
salmon steps and the Goal-bridge, but occasionally, if the river becomes
low, a few good casts are to be found by wading between the bridge
and the cribs.
Now would afford admirable angling to

this portion of the water
the sportsman, did not a most ungentlemanly custom of stroke-
hauling prevail. This pot-hunting work is so exasperating that the
gentlest disciple of Izaak would raise his voice against it. Before
setting out from Ballina I had a pretty good notion of the peculiar
"
mode in which " sport is conducted at Gal way ;
but Galway lay in
my route, as I wished to see the various club and private waters

between that point and the Errive ;
so I comforted myself with the
knowledge that, unbearable, if we could

order a car at any moment,
and leave the "sportsmen'' to pursue their avocations in peace.
"I was there in March," wrote a friend to whom I applied for
" and saw
information, amongst other iniquities, one spring fish
weighing 27lb. hooked in the vent and hauled out in three minutes.
Abo at the middle of April a strong north-west wind blew back the
water on the lake and the fish nearly dry, when the stroke-
left
hauling became so bad that I could stand it no longer." On this

we will hear another witness.
" You ask how we are
subject getting
on in this place of ill-fame we are now drawing near the end of
;
June, and the continued dry weather has affected us so much, that
from the salmon steps to the bridge there is hardly water to cover
the fish ;
the out of the question, so I work the
fly is, of course,
tideway in a boat about the distillery wall, and have the pleasure of
seeing that *real sportsman,' Mr. G stroke-hauling; no doubt ,
he an adept, as he takes from thirty to forty per day, and

is
sometimes breaks two or three rods another point of excellence

192 A TEAR OF LIBERTT; OB,
for you are aware the art- consists in dragging each fish out
neck and heels by main force. At this time the tackle in fashion
consisted of from four to six large hooks tied on a hemp line,
with which the water is raked from end to end. I do not hesitate
to say it is useless for a fair sportsman to attempt to fish here under
existing circumstances."
Thus wrote as honest an English gentleman and as good an
angler as need be. It may be easily imagined, therefore, I went to
bed in the railway hotel with small intention of heeding the seducing
voices of the early cocks in the " The
quaint old Spanish town."
musical sound of the clock in the fine church tower in the square
chanted matins at four at five it seemed to say, *' I am afraid you
;
can't be well ;" at six

its warning tones, I fear, fell on
drowsy
senses ;
but when the next admonitions of my gentle monitor met
my ears, I hopped out of bed and took an airing at the window.
There lay the square in the full blaze of the summer's sun the ;
brave and industrious girls of the Claddagh were vending their fish ;
a poor scholar, with a few tattered volumes under his arm, loitered
by the railings, eyeing the cannon, and perhaps admiring the flowers ;
and a Bianconi, piled high with tourists' luggage, was preparing for
its westward journey. In fact the world was awake, and what
excuse had I for sleeping ? Dressing that morning was a slow opera-
tion breakfast was more slow, and the leading article of the Galway
;
Mirror was the slowest of all. At length there was no further

reason for delay. Willie had been in and out of the room at least
twenty times. Mademoiselle placed pipe-case, pouch, and fly-book

in my hat, and laid it on the table. It was clear I was expected to
go out.
The river, although a beautiful piece of water, is but short, and
on it I found many persons angling after the mode prevalent in
Q-alway. Whether that admirable sportsman Mr. G was
amongst the number I did not stop to inquire ; but, taking a boat,
paddled about, hoping to find some indifferent cast where we might

be allowed to spend an hour or two in peace. Dodging hither and
thither, sometimes fishing after a "sportsman" who had raked the
SALMON ANGLINa IN IBELAND. 193
water from end to end, pricking and lacerating six or seven grilse for
every one dragged out sometimes casting into dou'tful little runs
and eddies, where it was just possible a fish might be found we
worked on till we could endure it no longer. In many lands, and
during many years. I have seen as much fishing as most men, but I
am bound Galway beheld something new. I cannot
to say that at I
say I liked it, and must observe that, had one of those sportsmen
pursued his pastime in such fashion elsewhere, he would have run

considerable risk of being takenup for poaching nor will I deny ;
that in my opinion he would have richly earned a month at the

treadmill. There is no accounting for taste, but in common honesty
let no such performers again send the results of their angling for
publication to any of our sporting journals. Of course, if a man
enjoys the rare privilege of hooking salmon by the tail instead of by

the head, he may use his opportunity but let him call his achieve- ;
ment by its right name, and say, " I have murdered so many, but in
fair fight I have vanquished none." Notwithstanding the heavy
odds against one sense we were unusually fortunate, killing
us, in
every fish that showed at the fly true it is we had but six rises
; five
from white trout and one by a grilse but it was some comfort in our
;
disquiet to have done all that could be done. After a somewhat
early dinner, it
yet wanted between four and five hours to sundown.
To lionise the place was impossible, for that had been done already
in a former visit ;
to face Mr. G and his friends again was not
to be thought of ; so, after due deliberation, it was determined to
take boat and paddle over the neck of the lake between the town and
Sir Thomas Blake's. Once on a time this stretch of water offered
admirable salmon angling, but for some years past it has not given a
fish to the rod. Unless the bottom had been changed by the deposi-
tion of new matter, or some considerable alteration had taken place
in the depth of the water, I never knew fish desert lodges which had
been used from time immemorial. I was unable to ascertain that
either of these agencies had been in operation here, and yet it was
as certain that the space between the back of the cribs and Sir
Thomas Blake's mansion contained excellent salmon casts not
long
o
since, as that at present it does not hold a rising fish. Our hopes,
therefore, were limited to the capture of a dish of trout. Happily,
these anticipations were realised, and we enjoyed a pleasant, if we
did not spend a very profitable, evening on Lough Corrib.
This lake offers noble trolling for trout at an earlier season ;
occasionally fish of great weight are to be taken.I never tried it,

but was informed that one of 27-Jlb. had been killed by the rod,
though the exact date of the capture seemed uncertain. This, of

course, was one of the great prizes sometimes drawn in life's lottery,
yet I have reason to believe that lakers of lOlb. or 121b. may

with some little perseverance, be secured. Many of my friends who
have made Oughterard their head quarters in April and May, have
spoken well of their success. In such an inland sea as Lough Corrib
patient angling must eventuate in great results, and the same thing
may be said of all .other large lakes in the island. The high estima-
tion in which certain stations are held is often due more to their
greater accessibility than their greater deserts. Impatience is one
common fault amongst anglers, and a tendency to follow in the
beaten track is another ;
but I am persuaded that if
gentlemen
inquired carefully and consulted their travelling maps diligently, they
would often obtain far better and cheaper angling than by over-
crowding some few spots to the neglect of others as good, if not
better. Such at least has been my experience.
This dreary chapter and this dreary day at Galway are closing
together. One has been sufficient, I cannot stand another, and

shall to-morrow commence a ramble over some of the private and
club waters, of which so many are to be found, in this delicious
wilderness of Connemara.
SALMON ANOLINQ IN IRELAND. 195
CHAPTEE XXIX.
Spiddal Costello Screebe Furnace Kilkerran Bay Birterbury Bay
Roundstone Ballinahinch Clifden View from Urrisbeg.
August 3.
Post tenebeas lux health after sickness, joy after sorrow, day
after night, are each in their way delightful, and doubly so from the
mere force of contrast. Yesterday I wrought on an uncongenial

theme, and at an occupation for the first time in my life distasteful ;
but the page has been written, the work is over, and now Galway
seems to wear a new aspect, as we drive through the streets to gain
the beautiful road which, coasting along the western shores of the
bay, skirting fiords, and winding among mountains, at length strikes

the Killeries, and brings the tourist to the banks of the Enive.
Through the almost uninhabited solitudes of Jar-Connaught fiow

three small streams of exceeding goodness, the Spiddal, the Costello,
and the Screebe farther to the west we find the Ballinahinch
;
fishery, Kylemore, and others and at the edge of the county, where
;
it touches Mayo, we have Delphi and the Errive.

Now the majority of these are club waters, and the remainder
annually let to one or more rods. It may not be out of place,
therefore, aswe pass to visit these waters and say a few words on
the physical character, piscatorial merits, and market value of each.
A charming drive of ten miles along a coast road of marvellous
beauty brought us to the little village of Spiddal, through which the
stream humes, and at once plunges into the sea. Over the whole
country it seemed as if the sky had been raining gi-anite boulders
from the Deluge to the present day, so thickly were they spread over
hill and valley, whilst in the bed of the Spiddal they lay in masses
of every size and form. The comfortable lodge belonging to " the
"
fishery stands on a lawn that slopes down to the river, on the
opposite bank of which rests the village, whilst between the lodge
o 2
196 A TEAB OF LIBEETY ; OR,
and the churcli runs the road to Oostello, crossing the river at its
mouth. The view of Galway Bay from the house is very fine, nor
need the stranger fear bodily starvation whilst banqueting on the
beautiful, for in the village he will find good bread, butter, mutton,
eggs, and fowls and what more can a sportsman desire ? The
;
length of the Spiddal is about twelve miles, but until very recently
a waterfall, situated about three miles from the sea, barred the
farther progress of the fish, and so practically reduced the river to a
fourth of that extent. Now, however, a passage has been made

which gives the salmon head waters, and the
free access to the
benefit of the extended franchise already beginning to be felt.

is
The water is well preserved, as the proprietor told me he employs
eight keepers a very strong staff considering the length of the
property to be watched. The stream of which we are speaking

resembles in its physical peculiarities the Costello, Screebe, Furnace,
and one or two others on the coast, all of which possess an impor-
tance far beyond their extent. Considered as rivers, they would
rank very low, being in fact little more than mountain brooks of
eight or ten miles from the source to the sea, their high character
being derived from a chain of small lakes which offer unrivalled
white trout angling and salmon fishing of no mean quality. The
scenery on the banks of the Spiddal is very lovely. As I saw it,
there was a crystal stream fretting and murmuring at the mighty
granite blocks that offered a hindrance to its passage blooming ;
heather, pleasant woods, and three miles from the sea a waterfall of
exceeding beauty then came a lake of considerable extent, then
;
another stretch of rivulet, then another smaller lake, and so on to

the source. In wet weather the best angling will be found on the
river ;
in dry seasons on the lakes the fish are fine, the salmon
;
running from 51b. to 181b., the white trout from lib. to 6lb. Four
or five of the former and a dozen of the latter would be a fair day's
sport on the Spiddal ;

the proprietor, however, assured me that as
many as eleven salmon had been killed in one day by a single rod.
Many of the casts are very large and deep, as the Blue Pool, House,
Weir, Wood, and Waterfall pools. The river, though very low, was
singularly tempting, and had there been a fresh I should have

desired nothing better than a day or two on its banks ;
but there
was no chance of such a thing, so I could only hope for better
fortune on some future occasion. The rent of house and angling is
100/. per annum ;

and what a holiday station for any overworked
dweller in our great and busy cities Why a turn on the lawn, the
!
music of the waterfall, the purple moorland, the sparkling ocean, the
profound quiet, and the delicious air, would be agents more potent
for the restoration of health than all the tonics in the pharmacopoeia ;
and had I one foot in the grave I should deem that a three months'
sojourn in such an angler's paradise would restore me to pristine

vigour of brain and body.
Wehave yet another ten miles before us, so we roll along by the
winding waters of the noble Bay of Galway, drawing nearer and
nearer to the Isles of Arran, which stretch their sheltering arms
across itsmouth, and form a haven where the navies of the world
might but where now a few small coasters lie at anchor, with
ride,
an occasional ship from the Baltic with deals, or a rakish Greek brig
with com or meal. Then the road bends suddenly to the west, and
we are speeding along the shores of Costello Bay, at the head of
which is name a river which,
the far-famed river of the same
including does not, I should imagine, possess a greater

its lakes,
length than nine or ten miles. Hardly any water in Britain (or
elsewhere probably) of the same extent, has any sporting reputation
at all. I never knew a single member of the club, nor did I ever
hear any exact details of their sport ;
doubtless they have a capital
thing, and, like wise men, enjoy their good fortune, and say as little
about it as may be. The reticence of the club is admirable ;

we hear
occasionally spirit-stimng accounts from the Thurso, the Erne, the
" never a word."
Spey, or the Moy, but from the Costello The rent
of this little fishery about 250Z. per annum speaks its excellence ;
and as I stood looking at the lodge, glistening in the

evening sun-
shine, I could not but envy the possessors of such treasures. The
situation of the house is and within a
perfect, close to the stream,
hundred yards of the sea, and whilst looking inland up the course
198 A YEAE or LIBERTY ; OE,
of the river, we we had seldom seen a wilder or mord^

confessed
enchanting view. Like the Spiddal, the Costello requires rain to

bring it
up to concert pitch ;
and failing this the club are always
able to fall back on the lakes.
At the head of a deep inlet called Kilkerran Bay two small rivers
fall into the sea the Screebe and the Furnace. These are new
candidates for fame, and will probably within a few years equal,
if they do not surpass, their older rivals. The Screebe has a
course as long as either of the rivers I have recently described,
and, moreover, has one peculiarity which distinguishes it from

every other stream with which I am acquainted, for so close is
the lower lake to the beach that at spring tides the fish are
carried directly into it, and if disposed can at once ascend to three
others. This is an incalculable advantage, as it makes the small
river entirely independent of rain. These waters falling into the
sea near each other are naturally in the hands of the same lessees.
I cannot, however, do better than tell my story in the words of the

able and energetic manager :
" The Screebe You

fishery is located north-west of Galway. pass
its head waters twenty-two miles from that town, on the Clifden-
road, at a place called the Cross-roads. From the source it runs
about ten miles due west through a number of lakes, and then falls
into the head of Kilkerran Bay. The Furnace is a small stream
running through several good lakes south-west of the Screebe, and
falls into the same bay near the mouth of that river. It contains
both salmon and sea-trout, but is a late stream, the fish not coming
up before the first summer flood. As regards the sport to be had in

these lakes (for it is chiefly lake fishing), I consider it is not to be
equalled in Ireland, or
I may say will not be in another year or two.
The present lessees have only had it one year, and up to that time
the fishery had not been cared for, except to kiU every fish possible
for the market. The spawning ground on this fishery was hardly
enough to breed as many fish as would keep the otters, cranes,
and cormorants which lived on it ;
but the spawning ground has
b^^'Ti now increased tenfold ;
thirteen otters have been killed, and
above one hundred cranes. A

full-grown otter can eat 365 salmon
at ten pounds each in one year, provided he dine off salmon every
day, and a crane can swallow fifty or so of smolts for

breakfast.
As these have been destroyed, and as there was no netting last, and
will be none in the coming, season, I anticipate seeing the best sport
ever witnessed in Ireland. Last season I saw one of the lessees kill
forty-two sea-trout and two salmon with his own rod in one day.
The sea-trout are in abundance and afford excellent sport. The

last day of
fishing opens on the 1st of February and closes on the
October, but I cannot say there is good sport before June, and July
is still better.Although the fish come into the lakes at any time, I
never saw many up before June, but as they increase I have no doubt
they will come earlier, and then May will become a good month. I
propagated in this river last season nearly 400,000 salmon, and, all
being well, shall put down a million ova next spawning-time. The
accommodation for gentlemen will be first-rate. A new house has
been built, which opened on the Ist of May. There are
will be
seven bedi'ooms besides dining and drawing-rooms it has been ;
built for the comfort of anglers. It stands at the

expressly
head of a sea lough, five miles from the Cross-roads, and within a
quarter of a mile of some of the best fishing.

As regards the board,
I expect it will be very moderate. The scenery round the lakes of
the Screebe is very picturesque, though there is not as much wood in
the neighbourhood as would make a skewer. You see nothing but
water, bog, rock, and hiUs."

The laws laid down for the guidance of the infant states are so
excellent Imake no apology for giving them in extenso :
1. The price of each ticket for a single rod to be three guineas a week, this
BTun to include the use of boats and of a funiished lodge at Screebe.
2. Anglers may keep the fish they catcla, except when otherwise stated in
the rules.
3. No cross-line fishing or snatching allowed.
4. No gaffs allowed ; landing-nets will be provided with the boats.
5. AU spent fish to be returned to the water.
6. Water bailiffs to be always employed as boatmen, and paid l*. 6d. per day
each.
7. No boats allowed on the water except those provided by the lessees or

their manager.
8. Gentlemen shall not permit their attendants to angle.
9. Galway district they may be obtained

All licences to be taken out in the ;
at Galway, Oughterard, Glendalough, Deeradda Lodge, Carna, Spiddal, Cur-

rafin, Tuam, and of Mr. Thomas Comely, at the lodge.
10. Season tickets only will be transferable.
11. Any ticket holder violating any of the above rules to forfeit his ticket.
On the westernmost arm of Kilkerran Bay is a stream smaller than

either of those yet named probably less than half their size yet it
is the outlet and connecting link between two or three small lakes,
and beyond question would afiford good fishing for white trout in the
autumn. It appears, however, from want of accommodation to be
absolutely inaccessible, except from points too remote to make it of
any value.
At the head of Birterbury Bay is a similar little river, which, like
the preceding, will doubtless soon be cultivated, and at small cost
give large retunis. Yonder is Eoundstone Bay, at the head of which

stands a thriving village of the same name, destined some day when
the science and enterprise, the engineering and agricultural skill of
the nineteenth century are brought to bear on the latent resources of
Connemara to play an important part in the import and export trade
of the district. Here poor Dick Martyn, in the hope of redeemiifg
his sinking fortunes, founded the village of Eoundstone, perhaps with
a portion of the 160,000/. advanced by the Law Life Assurance
Company on his family estate. I wonder whether any of the happy

"
careless spirits who now haunt Ballinahinch with ''
a ticket for a
week, fortnight, or month, ever pause to reflect on the awful mutation

"
in " the master's fortunes, or the broken heart of the last of his
race ? It matters not, for both are now beyond the reach of human
sympathy or human selfishness.
As a club water Ballinahinch is too well known to need any

remarks from me. has so long been extensively frequented, that
It
it will be better to employ the space which yet remains in speaking
of other stations of less note. Connemara offers the best white

trout fishing in Ireland. From the Spiddal all round the extensive
SALMON ANGLINa IN lEELAND. 201
sea-board of Jar-Connaught to the head of the Killeries, this beauti-
my opinion, foims the raw material from

ful fish abounds, and, in
which the best sport is produced. In this lovely district of course

there are salmon but if the numbers of trout be taken into con-
;
sideration, I think it will be admitted that they form par excellence

the fishing of Connemara. The lakes round Ballinahinch are justly
celebrated for the sport they afford. I never fished them, but hope
shortly to do so.
The road to Clifden skirts the ''Lake Country," seen to such
romantic perfection from the summit of Urrisbeg mountain. It is
a wild, solitary, and almost uninhabited tract, with here and there
a cabin dotting the vast flat. Innumerable pools, lakes, and water-
up the heathery waste, some of the large sheets of water
holes light
bearing many a lovely islet, whose woody drapery ^the dark and
sombre yew seems quite in harmony with the mournful loveliness
of all around. In the great family of towns Clifden ranks as a mere
baby. Five-and-forty years ago, history tells us, there was not a
house, where now there is a town, not made up of a mere collection
of hovels, but with three or four fair streets, decked with
many good
shops ;
forms a sort of sanctuary in the desert.
altogether it It was
too late to push on to Kylemore, and the divine beauty of the
evening, showed, past all doubt, that we were quite as well in

Clifden. Even my angling insanity could draw no picture of oppor-
tunity wasted, so with a heart at ease I strolled towards " the
castle," down the banks of a narrow and beautiful inlet. The tide
was full and so calm
the rugged shores seemed to grow
that
beneath the water. Beyond the narrow entrance the broad breast
of the Atlantic lay so peaceful that it seemed hard to believe it
could ever be disturbed by stormy passions. Rounding one of the
headlands of the bay, Clifden Castle came into view. In the house
there was nothing remarkable, but for situation it was unrivalled.
Behind are mountains, wood, and lakes ;
in front a noble lawn
stretches down to the beautiful
land-locked bay, whilst to the right
the eye ranges over the glorious ocean until it mingles with the dim
and far-off horizon.
20^ A YEAR or LIBERTY ; OR,
Whilst watcHing all this loveliness the sun sank into the sea, and
presently a deep rosy flush rose higher and higher till it reached the
zenith, when it began to descend towards the south-east. Can that
portend rain ? Every sign in heaven, earth, and air said No. Then
it must be for wind ; and the sun, which has just sunk to rest, must
rise very early to-morrow if he wishes to see me before I have

measured half the distance to Kylemore.
For the last three or four days we have been following the coast
line which bounds Connemara, and have in that time shown the
reader " bits" of this fair land ;

but before leaving it, if he desires
to obtain a bird's-eye of the whole, let him come with me to the
summit of Urrisbeg, and see as glorious a panorama as ever was
spread out to call forth man's adoration and fill his heart with
gladness. The rough mountain path has long been lost, and now
we wander on over a carpet of heather spangled with a thousand
from slope till we South-
flowers, to slope, gain the highest point.
wards the whole coast spread out before us, with its innumer-
lies
able bays and deep fiords sleeping in the sunshine whilst dense ;
volumes of white smoke from the kelp-burners' kilns spread a silvery

veil over sea and land. Looking northwards towards Urrismore the
eye wanders far and wide over a vast level district nearly uninhabited,
almost uncultivated, and dotted with well nigh three hundred lakes,
whilst at our feet blooms in rare luxuriance the Menziesia polifolia,
many a saxifrage, and the deep purple stars of the Gentiana

autumnalis, with a hundred more common but not less beautiful
plants.
How such a picture stirs the blood and gives fresh vigour to brain
and limb Such a view once seen becomes engraven for ever on the
!
memory, and will visit us many a day hence, when once more in the
busy world, to cheer us in sorrow and give us new strength for

fresh toil.
SALMON ANGUNG IN IBELAND. 203
CHAPTEE XXX.
Early Morning Autumn The Evening fulfils its Promise
Up before the Sun
A Breeze Journey to Kylemore A Day on the Lake Doings for the
Week Leenane The Killeries Delphi The Errive Drive to Westport
The Reek, and what we saw there On to Newport.
August 18.
The world was asleep when we trotted out of Olifden. A few stars
still
lingered in the cool grey sky, winking wearily after their long
watch ;
the valleys, the brown moorlands, and the bases of the
Twelve Pins were all in their white night-robes ;
the horse seemed
walking in his sleep the driver snored audibly, and two of our
;
party were thinking profoundly with their eyes shut all was in ;
harmony with nature, for nature slept. Oh, give me the morning,
the fresh, beautiful morning the infancy of the day There is a !
hopefulness about it that no other

portion of the twenty-four hours
possesses, for there is yet a
long stretch ere noon. Then how soon
the sun begins to decline ;
little by little the shadows lengthen ;
twilight deepens into night ;

another day is
gone, and we are so
much nearer to the inevitable hour. But now we think not of
night, for the morn is in its prime. Away up in the clear sky the
Twelve Pins lift their immortal heads, and look down on us creatures
of an hour with quiet majesty. An old cock grouse is
chattering
drowsily to himself of the fun he hopes to have with his wife and
family ; perhaps he is
laying out his plans for the day, thinking
where the richest bilberries grow, or meditating what mountain
watercourse affords the longest and most blooming ling for their
midday siesta. The small rough cattle have not yet risen to break-
fast ; only the restless sheep and goats are up and working for their
daily bread, whilst an angler, equally restless no doubt to the
secret disgust of his wife and family is
padding through the
mountains a full half hour before the sun will show his face and
bid the world "good morrow." To my mind the scenery between
204 A TEAR OF LIBEETY ; OE,
Clifden and the Killeries is the finest in the island. The road, now
climbing a spur of the hills, reveals a thousand charms of earth and
ocean, and anon rounding a quiet inlet, or coasting along the shores
of a lake, gives us a peep up some lonely ravine into the deeper
recesses of the mountains, at this season clad in the gorgeous flora
of autumn. When we started on our wanderings, winter lay heavy
on the dead earth ;
and now spring and summer are past can it be
so ;
for in my heart it is still spring. Have two-thirds of the year
of liberty slipped away ? has it passed with the spring buds and
summer flowers ? Yes, the golden stars of the bog asphodel,

and the bilberry with its delicate bloom, preach of the fading
year. Well, carpe diem, we must do the best with the days that
remain !
With the red sunrise comes the first faint flutter of the breeze.
Presently the mountain gorges take up their song dark masses of ;
cloud float swiftly over the sky, thronging and thickening in short ;
there is half a gale from the westward so wake up, oh driver!

and push on with all speed for Kylemore, for I want some breakfast,
and hunger still more on such a day as this to feel the rod in my
fingers, and hear the wheel give out a yell of triumph over the first
victim.
What a heau ideal of a station is this. From its
proximity to the
water and its distance from all other dwellings, the angler has to
deal with the inmates of the house and none others ;
but on Irish
lakes generally there is little fear of overcrowding, and on none less
than Kylemore. True it is, for a day or part of a day there may be
an eruption of tourists, who jump off their cars, rush to the lake,
and hurry on elsewhere with the first light of the next morning ;
but nineteen times out of twenty the sportsman remaining at the

inn for a week or month will generally have the water to himself, at
least during the earlier part of the day. Although not by any means
first-class in point of size, yet contains room for four or five rods,
it
even if those who hold them be ever so jealous and unsociable.

Probably Lough Currane and Lough Melvin are as heavily fished as
any of the Lish waters, and on them, certainly in July and August,
" farther "

I have more than once wished my next neighbour but,
;
as a rule, an angler's sport is never materially injured from the too

close proximity of unwelcome neighbours. As we drove along the
shores of this solitary lake to the inn our impatience augmented
with every step. The water was dark with wind and clouds, and
the miniature rollers broke on the beach with a sullen plash, that
made breakfast a botheration and delay intolerable. The gracious
Duncan (his throne is vacant now) handed mistress and maid from
the car, and received in the same breath a contradictory order for
instant boat and immediate breakfast.
" There was
plenty of time,"
he said, " lashins of it the wind would last till midnight any way,
;
perhaps for a week, and gintlemen must eat he'd see about a boat."
;
On that occasion only, I brewed the social beverage poured it out a

;
moment afterwards swallowed a cup of hot straw-coloured water,

;
two or three degrees below the boiling point, pocketed a piece of

bread, and rushed frantically out, to find Duncan the Good spelling
over the address, and regarding with a puzzled aspect the innumerable
railway labels which by this time were nearly as good as an outside

cover, and formed, in a sort of supplementary cuticle to my
fact,
portmanteau. Leaning against the wall was a tall thin peasant,

with a bilious countenance, in close conversation with a little round
redfaced man, obviously the brewer in ordinary to all the illicit stills
yet. to be
found in the mountains. These gentlemen, seeing a car
drive along at such an unusual hour, had come up on speculation,
" "
and, in fact, were just the boys Duncan wanted at least, so he
said. In another minute the boat's keel grated over the pebbles,
when the long man seizing the sculls paddled us off over the wavelets,
every crest of which was whitened by the sweeping breeze that

hurried over them. Such a day made success a certainty. All was
in readiness when the bilious man squared the boat to let her drive
fairly over the throw, and the instant he lay on his oars, away flew
the flies (a mixed cast for trout and salmon) into the heaving waters.
Every foot, nay every inch, the line traversed was so hopeful that I
expected to see a broad tail or silvery side flash up each instant.
"
Another, and another cast, Kylemore can't be as good as I
thought." A horrible quarter of an hour succeeded, during which

a despondency, as unreasonable as the previous high pitch of my
expectations had been extravagant, settled down on me. Ten

minutes more, and then the usual hopeful patience once again had
full possession of me. It is always a good plan to change the tackle
in doubtful cases, for it largely increases the chance of success by
keeping hope alive so two fresh trout-flies, larger and brighter,

;
were substituted in place of the discarded insects, and a dark green

fur body with crimson tips, smoky blue hackle, jay shoulder and
jungle-cock wing, occupied the post of honour. What glorious rises

even small fish make on such a day. Had I not hooked him, I
should have sworn the two-pound trout tugging at the end of my
line had been a salmon. Another and another followed at short
intervals. Then there was a magnificent rise at the little dropper,
and the stout fish, shooting past our stem, steamed right away
in the wind's eye. A breeze so heavy as that which now prevailed,
always creates a difficulty, by preventing the angler measuring with

any precision the strain on the tackle, or, which is the same thing,
the pressure kept on the fish. The full force of this was now felt,
and whether I was pulling to the value of eight ounces or two

pounds, I could by no means divine. Unconsciously, perhaps,
remembering the fineness of the finger's length of gut on which the
dropper was tied, I was probably nearer the former than the latter
weight, so we got on slowly though surely. After all,' it was only a

question of time. Eunning my eyes along the shore whilst mechani-
cally keeping up a steady strain on the still powerful salmon, I
observed Willie seated on a stone, patiently waiting the end of the
struggle, which came to a conclusion about twenty minutes after-

wards by the red-faced brewer gaffing with timid deliberation a
short, well-made fish of 121b. This painfully protracted process
made me welcome my faithful follower warmly, who, however,
looked a little indignant at having been left behind, as he
pulled a quart bottle from the basket.
''
The mistress bid me give
you your tea, and this piece of bread and butter, as you've had
none the mom. There's nothing so bad as being in too big a
hurry." Whether this was part of the message, or an original

remark, I thought it best not to inquire but as my friend hated all
;
irregular doings, and in especial such as involved the loss of breakfast^

I conjectured it was a mild rebuke for unnecessarily tampering with
my digestion.
As we pulled against the gale I could not but admire the solitary
and savage scenery around the lake, where " hills peep o'er hills, and
Alps on Alps arise ;" but soon we were on the same cast we had left,
in order to take in our
passenger, and in a few minutes afterwards
were fast in another good fish. When about half done, and sailing
soberly along some five feet below the surface, the dropper skimming
most invitingly over the wavelets, a fine trout rose and took it.
This at the moment was a huge delight, but presently the danger
became too real to be agreeable. Occasionally, like an ill-assorted
pair, they pulled opposite ways ;
there was no keeping that last
person steady ; a more volatile individual I never saw sometimes

above, sometimes below his fellow-prisoner frequently behind, but
;
worse than all. more often before the exhausted salmon. How the
hook held so long was a wonder, but the parting moment drew near.
After a short race the trout made a bound over the water, tore the
hook from the jaw of the silvery log to which he was tied, and at
the same time obtained a fixed point, which enabled him to snap the
light thread which held him. How the rogues must have laughed
over our discomfiture. Short time was wasted in lamentation, and
before two minutes were passed damages were repaired, and " the
"
firm was once more in full work. This was the last disaster of
the day " went
;
henceforward merry as a marriage bell," and
all
when evening settled

down, our spoils might have set Mr. Groves up
for a day's business. We had five salmon, a dozen and a half of
white trout, and above a score of the coloured residents of the lake,
not one of which, by the way, exceeded 15oz. or 18oz. Some of the
trout were fine, one weighing over 51b., and another above 41b. and ;
of the salmon, the largest was the twelve-pounder which inaugurated

the sport of the day.
Too happy and too excited to sleep, I heard the fierce wind rave
through the mountains with unspeakable delight and if for a

;
moment I dozed off, it was only to dream of fresh victories. About

xone the rain drove furiously against the windows, and filled up the
measure of my joy. With three hours for sleep before me I now
felt sure of the weather I sank into that dreamless oblivion which
yields such perfect rest. No alarum was needed to rouse me, and
at half -past-four, on descending the stairs, I found Willie, Jack,
Joyce, and the bilious man
ready for a start. It has been before
observed that "early fishing" is seldom productive, and that the

best portion of the day for sport is from ten a.m. to three p.m. on ;
certain waters, however, I have often done very well about seven
o'clock, particularly at Lismore, the bridge of Ballyshannon, and the
pool on the beach at Waterville perhaps also Kylemore should be

;
added to the list. From half-past four to within a few minutes of

the favourable hour referredto, we only rose a few small lakers, but
presently afterwards the fun waxed fast and furious, and by eight
we had two salmon and seven white trout in the basket.
Feeling the necessity of food, we beached the boat and walked up

to the house, where,
standing by the door, was a Saxon brother of
the rod, who, like ourselves, was staying at the inn. A more perse-
vering performer after breakfast I have rarely seen, but early rising
was his abomination if he ever felt disposed to make a vow against
;
what Prince Hal calls ''bed pressing," I am disposed to think he

meditated doing so that morning, when Jack Joyce and the bilious
party carried the well-stocked pannier past him into the kitchen.
There is a sort of malicious triumph that at such moments will
make itself felt, and I ushered our countryman in the salon shortly
after with increased stature and a dignity not always usual with me.
The meal was not a long one, yet that three-quarters of an hour
sufficed tochange the aspect of the day, and converted storm into
calm, clouds into sunshine, and hope into despondency then I felt ;
repaid for the scores and scores of times I had risen for weeks
together with the sun, and received little for my labour.
It would have been vain even to hope for such another grand
break in the uniform glorious weather which so pre-eminently dis-

tinguished this summer ; still, we fished with great perseverance,

always remaining on the lake whenever a chance existed, and stroll-
ing over the noble mountains on impracticable days. Our subsequent
spoi-t never came up to. or even near, that first recorded but we ;
generally got a salmon, sometimes two, with more or less trout, and
on the whole were abundantly satisfied with our doings in this very
exceptional season. That Kylemore is an excellent station from July

" better
to October, there can be no doubt. "We must not say,
cannot be found ;" still, let there be the amount of wind and clouds
usual in ordinary years, and we maintain that few anglers will leave
this wild lake dissatisfied with their entertainment. As the car bore
us along its shores on the afternoon of our departure, I felt no small
regret at leaving a place where I had been so happy. With what

wonderful minuteness memory traced out every spot where victory
smiled or disaster attended me. I remember them now with
perfect exactness, and fancy that when they are forgotten there
will be few things I shall be able to recall at will.
The sun was sinking behind the mountains of Murrisk as we drove

up to the snug and unpretending hospitium at Leenane, near the
head of the Killeries. This beautiful inlet, of which so much has
been written, a narrow and deep fiord running far inland, and
is
bounded on either side through its whole length by a lofty range,

as wild and picturesque as any to be found in the island. It is
nearly a mile in width, and though the hills rise sheer from the
water's edge, yet they fall off here and there, and discover wild
glens, savage ravines, and many a more distant peak beyond. On

the north-west bank lies Delphi, hid in the wilderness of Munisk,
not only the most secluded corner of Mayo, but probably the most
sequestered district in the three kingdoms, for the tourist rarely

invades it, and the wandering angler could find no accommodation
there. Everybody has heard of Delphi as an admirable station but, ;
like the Costello, few except the lessees know anything about it.
Several times in passing Leenane I vowed to cross the harbour and

view this mysterious elysium piscatorum, but something always
occurred to prevent the fulfilment of the vow, and when at length
P
itwas accomplislied no words of mine can describe it half so well as
Inglis has done years ago :
A
short half-hour sufficed to put me across, and stepping ashore in a little
cove opposite to a wide mountain hollow I followed the path which was pointed
out to me. About a mile from the shore I reached the entrance to the moun-
tain hollow, and another mile into the heart of it brought me to the neighbour-
hood The lodge itself is not any way remarkable, but its situation
of Delphi.
is. deep recess among the mountains, which rise lofty and abrupt
It lies in a
on all sides excepting one, whei-e there is a little lake, along whose margin
winds the road to the house. The immediate neighbourhood of the house is
well wooded, and abundance of sweet-smelling flowers made an odorous
atmosphere around. It is certainly a tranquil and singular spot."
Inglis was no angler, or he could not have dismissed " the little
lake near the house" with so slight a notice, for, unless I make a
great mistake, it offers about the best white trout fishing in the
kingdom. The river below is rather more than two miles in length,
and in high water affords admirable sport. In the lodge an anchorite
ijiight find himself comfortable in the matter of solitude. Hemmed
in on one side by the deep and dark water of the fiord, and on the
other, shut out from the world by miles and miles of mountain and
swamp, the proprietors enjoy the most undisturbed piscatorial

domain to be found within the four seas of Britain. Knowing none
of the dwellers in this happy land, nor having any letters of intro-
duction, my power of obtaining trustworthy infoimation was so
small that I contented myself with looking at river and lakes, and
imagining the glorious spawning-beds lying far off in many a soli-

tary valley among the pathless mountains of Murrisk. Eight or ten
years ago this fishery was said to hold the finest white, trout in
Ireland, and I have heai^d of their being taken here up to the extra-
ordinary weight of 161b. Since that time no doubt the stock
has improved most of the waters in the island have advanced in
different certainly few, if jiny, have retrograded
degrees, and ;
Delphi, which retained such a reputation in the darkest days of the

Irish rivers, ought now to be good indeed.
The Errive, a stream without any lacustrine head, after a consi-
derable course falls into the head of the Killeries. The lodge
belonging to the river is one of the most comfortable in Ireland, and

its situation is excellent. ,
Placed at the mouth of the Errive, it
enjoys a noble view down the inlet, and is alike suited to command
fresh-water angling, boating, or sea-fishing. This river is now in
the market. I knew it when rented by a most amiable and warm-

hearted nobleman, who, with his accustomed kindness, made me free
of the water. As ill-luck was then returning from

would have it, I
a month's inimitable angling, and a month's nearly absolute starva-

tion, in the wildest nook of Mayo, during which time I endured great
toilcoupled with constant wet, and the upshot was that, on the
second morning of my sojourn at Leenane, I was so ill that I could
hardly stand, and was glad to make the best of my way to Galway
and lay up for three or four days.
It was a long drive between Leenane and Westport, over a tole-
rably level track, rich in wild flowers, and boasting some of the most
gigantic boulders I ever saw, under whose shelter the Menziesia
polifolia attained its maximum
and beauty. But though the
of size
journey was long we got it over at an early hour, by dint of starting

in what Mr. Willie profanely called to his too confiding mistress
**
the middle of the night." Still this very matutinal start enabled
us, after having deposited bag and baggage at the hotel, to
be clear of the last cabin of Westport, on our way to the Reek, soon
after noon. I am not one to jest at sincerity, or smile in affected
pity at those who worship our common Father in a different fonn or

with another tongue. It was in no such idle spirit that we stood on
the summit of Croagh Patrick, gazing alternately on the labyrinth
of mountains and lakes which make up Murrisk, the hundred isles
which deck Clew Bay, or the crowd of devotees performing their
devotions on this great "high place." Some were prostrate in
silent adoration ;
others knelt at the various stations round the
stony cairns ;
all performed their rounds on bare feet, a few on bare
knees. But there was one person, a priest, who enlisted my
sympathy amazingly. JI When first noticed him he was limping
" the
slowly and painfully roimd one of stations," carrying his shoes
and stockings in either hand, whilst his trousers were tucked up in
p 2
the vain hope of cooling his blistered and bleeding feet. The poor
father was evidently an admirer of nature, for slung over his broad
shoulders was a large old-fashioned glass, which soon brought us
into the most friendly relations. "
Maybe the lady would like to
look at the say and the islands beyant ? Ah well perhaps you !
;
would me
the rejected telescope, and adjusting his
lake it," offering
own particular focus with great care in fact, the worthy divine was
;
dying for a chat, and an excuse to pause on the stony road to repen-
tance. I found him the most kindly and simple of human beings.
He informed me he had left his cure for a few days' change, and
fancied that the air, scenery, and devotional exercises on the summit
of the Eeek were likely to produce an equally sanitary effect on body
and soul. we became great friends. " Ask him to
In half an hour
dinner," whispered Madame, who was evidently much taken with
him. On inquiry, I found that his religious duties would be over in
half an hour, and that his way lay through Westport, so I plucked
up courage and begged the favour of his company this he kindly ;
promised, and I am bound to say I have seldom spent a more
pleasant evening. The day had been a long one, but was not yet
over. After we had seen the good priest mount his car and trot
slowly away, we started for Newport, whither Willie under the

special care of his sister had been sent on some hours previously to
obtain a lodging which we once
before occupied when fishing this
district. A
quarter of a mile outside the little town, which poor
Maxwell calls ''the ultima thule of civilised Europe," I found my
faithful comrade seated on a turf bank patiently waiting my arrival.
" Where have you left Mary ?"
" in the big house, sir."
Up
" What house ? Have you not taken the one we had before ?"
"No. The new curate has took it for six months certain ;" and
" the
then, in a stage whisper to his mistress, drawing-room, mum,
is as big as a church and as empty as a bara," and Mary says,
"
you'll be lost in it intirely."
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Big House Head-quarters at Newport Advantages of our Position in
Wet and Dry Weather Newport River Burrishoole, Tyrena Pleasant
Dreams Michael O'Leary's Board Early Start An Inn amongst the
Mountains Breakfast A Day after my own Heart, the Dawn of which is
only shown in the present Chapter.
September 8.
Could Dominie Sampson have been ushered into our new quarters,
"
doubtless his first exclamation would have been ''Prodigious On!
a table near the fire flickered a pair of wretched candles, making

darkness visible ;
in the grate a smouldering pile of peat emitted a
cloud of smoke, together with a faint light, so faint indeed that the
whole of the great room, except the portion immediately round the
hearth, was as dark as the sky in a starless, moonless night. A
score of Fenians might have been Im'king in the shadowy corners.
I felt all the depressing influence of the mysterious and the unknown.
A vague sense of uneasiness was creeping over me I tried to shake;
and lit a pipe by my own fireside but the huge rusty bars
it off, ;
seemed never to have heard of the sweet charities of home, and the
rude but spirited carving below the mantel-piece looked so strange
and weird in the uncertain light that I began to feel in very uncanny
company. In fact, I was fast getting into a highly nervous state.
Anything was better than being hagridden in this fashion, so, seizing
one of the candles, I set off on a journey of exploration. Holding

"
the " dip high above my head, I was able to see that a handsome
cornice ran round the walls, and that the centre of the ceiling was
ornamented with a rich and beautiful design, a portion of which had
fallen, perhaps in the midst of some wild revel. On the floor were
three or four tattered pieces of carpet, in strong contrast to each
other as regarded pattern and colour, whilst the furniture consisted
of a few chairs, and a table so diminutive that it showed like a
fragment of wreck floating on the wide sea. Altogether there was

an air of mournful grandeur and ruined magnificence about tlie

place which was quite oppressive. It seemed haunted by the ghosts
of former occupants. The night air, sighing through chink and

rathole, sounded like the wailings of too late repentance for riot and
misrule. The rooms on the ground floor formed a shop, wherein,
resting against the counter, was the proprietor of the mansion, the
most melancholy man that ever kept a store. Whether he was on
the eve of bankruptcy, whether he was the last of the race who had
revelled there, or whether he was doing penance on earth for the
sins of his forefathers, I never inquired, for the poor fellow's case
was evidently beyond the reach of my art. What that shop contained
I never could learn, and the townspeople apparently knew as little
as I did, for, during a sojourn of three weeks, I did not hear of a

In " the store " was a
single customer darkening his door. fact,
mystery, for no man could have decided with certainty to what class
it belonged. On a long range of dusty shelves reposed eight or ten
large bottles and jars, which gave the establishment something the
appearance of a chemist's gone to seed. Manifold little drawers,
too,were there, labelled "pepper," "mustard," "sugar," but "all
was seeming, nought was truth," for bottles and jars were empty,
and the spice depot was filled with rusty nails, broken china, a
prodigious number ofdamaged corkscrews, and all sorts of odds and
ends. It was clear the owner was neither grocer, druggist, nor iron-
monger, and observation left the mystery more mysterious still. In

short, it was the ghost of a shop everything therein was airy and
;
impalpable, and the proprietor of the empty jars, paper bags, and
crazy shelves seemed like a ticket-of -leave man from the silent shores
of the river Styx.
In the Newport district the best fishing
is
absolutely dependent on
rain. When we Admiral
left
Kylemore, Fitzroy's glass showed signs
of a coming change, and the crystals floating still higher in the
fluid at Leenane caused our hurried march from that pleasant
hostelry. Still the sky was blue, the mountain tops clear, the wind
as uns3mipathising as it had been of late, and now, as I looked out
of desolate chamber and saw an unclouded " all

my great arch,
throbbing and panting with stars," I felt that even my friend Fitz
had proved faithless.
"
As a " head centre Newport offers capital autumn quarters.
Close to the town flows a little river, with
many good deep pools
and a fair stock of fish. A short distance to the westward the road
crosses a long bridge, through whose arches flow the surplus waters
of BurrishooleLake, where angling can always be enjoyed of
course irrespective of rain and a few miles farther brings the
tourist to Tyrena, which needs description. Some seasons since
Colonel Gore, to whom the district at time belonged, most
that .
kindly gave me permission to fish the water. I reached it late in
the season, during a week of incessant rain, and enjoyed such sport
as ever after placed Tyrena in my most affectionate remembrances.
This brook, from its source half way up the mountain side to its
debouchment into Clew Bay, cannot exceed, if it reaches, a length of

three miles. It flows through probably the wettest moss in Ireland,
yet with twelve hours' fine weather its bed becomes dry, a few black
boggy holes excepted. But in Mayo, happily, the sky is much given
to weeping, when the morasses, always saturated, instantly begin to
overflow, pouring into the watercourses a black deluge, and in an
hour or two afterwards the ton-ent is full of splendid white trout.
Not only is this mountain rill an
angling wonder, but it is one of
the most instructive in the country. Fancy a stream of only three
miles Why, there are thousands of despised brooks in the three
!
kingdoms of thrice this length which are absolutely valueless, all of
which are, however, capable of being made equal to Tyrena. If a

man has but water he can have fish, as surely as a cottager possessed
of a few square yards of ground can gi'ow cabbages. But this is
not quite the place to discuss or enforce fish culture, more especially
as it has just been done far better than I can hope to do it so I ;
will recapitulate the advantages of Newport as an autumn quarter

foranyone blessed, as I was, in the possession of angling powers,
and then go to rest. If the weather be fine the sportsman has
Burrishoole. During the fall of a fresh, and some days after-
wards, the Beltra is sure to yield sport, and in wet weather

216 A YEAR OF liberty; oe,
there is the best brook of its size in the kingdom to be found at
Tyrena.
Except my landlord, a more melancholy gentleman than myself
that night never laid his head on the pillow nevertheless, worn out ;
with a long and rather laborious day, I soon fell asleep. After a
while Queen Mab drove her dreamy chariot through my brain. I
was in an auction mart, and constrained by some mysterious
influence to bid frantically for every lot. Nine gorgeous parrot
cages were knocked down to me. A tenement in Bow Street next
became mine, under a penalty of lOOZ. per annum if I failed to
reside therein seven months in each year. Then I was made the
happy possessor of a cradle and four children's cots. How wretched
I felt. Parrots were my aversion ;
an enforced residence in Bow
Street was an abomination ;
and what had I to do with babies ? I
could not have held, far less have nursed, one to save my life.
But another lot is up. Hark at that remorseless " Going, going,
gone!" "With that light rap the nightmare agony reached its
climax, and I awoke. What can that noise be ? There was a sound
as if
twenty thousand hammers were beating the uncomplaining
earth. Intelligence slowly returned. Can it be ? Yes ;
now I
recognise the well-known sound. It a perfect deluge of is it is
rain. Eagerly I struck a light only three ff.m. How the torrent
;
poured and poured. There was not an air nothing but one dull ;
and incessant thud thud thud. If I lit one match in the next
hour and a At last the long hand stood at six, and
half, I lit ten.
the short hand midway between four and five and then, springing ;
out of bed, I dressed at full speed, hurried down stairs, and so out
into the dawn and the rain. Not a soul was stirring the ducks ;
and I had the whole of the steep street to ourselves. The Beltra,
so pellucid last evening, was now dark and turbid, and two rival
torrents were leaping and foaming down either side of the street.
But rain is a fisherman's fine weather ; trusty boots and an oiled
coat formed garments of proof ;
and I was as much at ease under
the pitiless pelting as my web-footed companions. No Irish village
wants either horse or car, yet now I looked in vain for an announce-
ment of these desirable things. As usual, the blessing sought lay

close to my door, and had been overlooked. On my return I found
it. Near our palace was a narrow court or passage, at the end of
which was a car standing on end, with the shafts in the air, getting
the unaccustomed luxury of a good wash. Nearer inspection showed
me a small board, nearly a foot square, of a flaming yellow, with
some extraordinary obsolete vehicle painted thereon, attached to
which was the picture of a wonderful animal belonging to a species
now extinct.
A few steps brought me to the house.

"
Tommy, Tommy O'Boyle !
Hollo, Tommy O'Boyle !" A

portentous snore was the only reply.
Bow-wow-wow was the answer to a few hearty kicks on the door.
"
Nick, ye villan, lave the pigs alone."
kick kick, bow-wow- wow, performed in true classic strophe
Kick
and antistrophe, at last awoke the owner of the patent safety
vehicle. Nick's invocation, joined with my own, had been somewhat
potent, and Mr. O'Boyle suddenly appeared in a suit of primitive
buff, tastefully overlaid with a white tunic, called by the vulgar a
shirt. On the advent of his master, Nick kindly pardoned my too
earlycall, and, being a dog of practical mind, improved the occasion
by making a light and cheap breakfast by licking the grease off my

boots.
" Could I "
go at once to Tyrena ?
" Is it a kar
yer honour '11 be wanting this fine momin'?" observed
Mr. O'Boyle, with a pleasant smile.
" Of course. "
What else can I want ?
"I'm thinking it's to Pat's yer goin'. Fait, I'll be wid ye

immadiately."
" "
The coachman
was as good as his word, and by the time I had
roused up my servant he drove to the door and we were off.
Mile after mile we sped on towards Tyrena over barren wastes.
The peat bog through which we moved, with its blackened surface
and dark piles of dried fuel, heaped in immense mounds and cast in
every variety of form and bore a fanciful resemblance to a city

size,
consumed by fire.
Everything looked charred. It seemed as if the
218 A YEAB OF LIBERTY ; OR,
element had done its work effectually, leaving nothing but discoloured
walls and blasted earth. The scene grew more and more wild
as we advanced ;
bleak and sterile mountains without a trace of
cultivation dark valleys and tracts of morass dripping from the
;
recent rains whilst from every hollow, rivulets blackened with bog-
;
water dashed across the road and threatened to stop our farther
progress. Below lay Clew Bay, with its many islets decking the
sparkhng waters. Beyond rose the Eeek, its lofty cone catching
the light clouds as they drifted from the ocean. Far in the distance
towered the highland ranges of Connemara, with the twelve pins of
Bunabola, and the bold cliffs of Clare Island ;
whilst before us
stretched the Atlantic, rolling onwards to the beach with a long
and measured swell.
Making sweet music on the lonely shore.
^'
Here's the place," observed our driver, pulling up suddenly before
a cabin situated on the edge of the bog at a little distance from the
" Here's the and the
road. hotel, best, too, any way from this to
Belturbet."
Now, Belturbet lay some thirty-two miles off, and in declaring Pat's
the best hospitium within that space, Mr. O'Boyle for once spoke the
truth, for it was the only one.
Leaning against the door was a slight active peasant, with a

round bullet-shaded head, close curling hair, and eyes as quick
and wandering as ever shone in human orbits. If Pat be not the
most restless spirit in creation, there is no reliance to be placed
on eyes.
Well aware, from the rapid rise and fall of the waters of Tyi-ena,
that if we expected
sport we must remain on the ground and take
advantage of every shower, we decided on securing such accommo-
dation as Pat's domicile afforded. The exterior of the cottage
certainly did not promise much. The kitchen was a fair sample of
those usually found in the better class of Mayo farmhouses ;
on the
lime-ash floor children were playing and pigs sleeping moreover, ;
there were ducks, geese, and fowls, two cats, an outdoor farm boy,
and the hostess, all waiting for their common breakfast a few stone
of potatoes which were successfully progressing under the super-
intendence of a very pretty girl, daughter to the said hostess. The
stateroom was placed on the left of the common apartment, and, in
the opinion of the good people of this primitive district, was fur-
nished with every luxury man could desire. It contained a bed,
table, two chairs, and a three-legged stool, all admirably uniform in

colour bed, bedding, floor, chairs, and table, being of a dull choco-
late hue from the accumulated dirt of years. One would have
conceived from their appearance that water was as scarce and
valuable a commodity in this locality, as in the great desert of
Sahara. It seemed' impossible to remain, and I hinted as much
to Willie, who, with a cool unconcerned air, desperately provoking at

such a time, was trying to look through the dirty windows.
"Lave it to me, sir," was his reply. "When you and Pat come
back from taking a walk up the river, see if breakfast an't ready and
iverything snug and comfortable."
With all reliance on the speaker's versatile genius, I had little hope
of his being able to fulfil his promise.
The little river was in a terrible taking from the rain foaming,
and leaping over rocks and stones, hurling along
fretting, chafing,
huge fragments of turf, and behaving altogether in a very turbulent

and headstrong manner. It was, moreover, nearly as black as ink, and
had been put on my oath I should with a quiet conscience have
I
sworn would be impracticable for the next two days. Pat was,
it
however, of a different opinion, and employed himself as we walked

along in setting up various hydrometers of a primitive construction,
consisting of a series of twigs placed in the sand at the edge of the
stream.
As far as the eye could range not even a hut was in sight. Before
us the Morne Tomas mountains formed a glorious amphitheatre, and
from Carrig-a-Binniogh (the loftiest of the group) rose the stream
whose course we were following. Midway up its side the brook had
its source,was instantly joined by a hundred little rills, and soon in
considerable volume rushed down its sides with a voice of thunder
220 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; Ofi,
and in a robe of snow. From this point to the sea its whole length
did not exceed three miles. As we returned, Pat's divining rods
gave the welcome assurance that the water had attained for the
presentits utmost limits. It had ceased to rise, and in an hour would
be in order.
If Pat hardly knew his own house, it was no wonder I failed
to recognise it. The hostess appeared to have yielded absolute

submission to the Saxon to have calmly resigned her sceptre,
;
relinquished the cares of state, and retired for ever from the
turmoil of public life. I can hardly help laughing now at the
aspect of affairs on our return. The spirit of reform was in full
activity, and the innovations in Mrs. M'Hale's dominions were

alarming. WilHe, in a huge pair of fishing-boots, was paddling
over the streaming floors, steering his way successfully through an
intricate mass of buckets, tubs, and boxes of sand ; trotting from
one part of the room to the other, all the while encouraging,
exhorting, and directing the labours of half a dozen old ladies, who,
under the unusual stimulus of a shilling a head, were working with
praiseworthy industry. Beds, bedsteads, and bedding had vanished.
Whether the colony which inhabited those ancient settlements had
transported themselves and their homes to a quieter shore I never
inquired, having no doubt of the physical capacity of those indus-
trious insects to have walked off with the furniture at any moment.
Chairs, tables, and stools were enjoying the unwonted luxury of a

bath in a little lake beside the house, waiting patiently till the
ladies had shampoo them. Floors were rapidly assuming
leisure to
their pristine whiteness, windows were cleaned, doors washed, walls
swept, and in a corner was a pile of blooming heath, a couch for a

king. There had not been such a demand for labour in the district
in the memory Mrs. M'Hale stood by the fire in a state

of man.
of such utter bewilderment as to be wholly incapable of giving
assistance or framing a remonstrance, staring in dull astonishment

as each of her chattels walked in or out of the establishment, or
presented itself to her wondering gaze in some new garb. In short,

it seemed as if the whole furniture was bent on a masking
BALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 221
frolic, and a levee m masse collected to deck them out for the
fete.
Bedad, your honour," observed Pat, who had all the while been
**
standing on his own threshold with a puzzled air and a humorous

"
smile on his extraordinary countenance, Bedad, your honour, next
time we clean house you shall have it rint free for a fortnight."
The indefatigable steward had forgotten no single point. On a
flowery knoll a clean cloth was spread, and the fair Margaret busy
in culinary preparations. Oh, the luxurious happiness of that
humble meal A
plate of oatmeal porridge, a pile of potatoes, a
!
slice of rye bread, and a cup of delicious coffee, brought by my

provident comrade, formed the entire carte; but time, place, and
circumstances lent a gusto that all the sauces of Lazenby or art of
Soyer could not have afforded and seating myself on the fragrant
;
cushion nature gave, with the sparkling waters of Clew Bay before
me, the majesty of Mome Tomas above me, the murmuring river
at my feet, I ate, laughed, and drank as if life had no sorrow, and
the world no care.
"With his pockets full of potatoes just removed from the pot Pat
steamed into our breakfast parlour, and, without a word, led the
way down the knoll. The stream, dark and turbid, swept furiously
through the inistic arches of the bridge which supports the Achill
road. About twenty yards above this point the brook turned at a
sharp angle, forming a most tempting pool, the eligibility of the
spot being further increased by a huge fragment of granite, which
broke the current, sending it off in two long rippling lines. All
this was seen at a single glance as I stood on the bank, striking the
line from the rod, previous to making the first cast. Scarcely had
the touched the water when a quick dash showed there was
fly
game afoot soon the line was again flying towards the opposite
;
bank in another second there was an eager rise, and we could just
;
see a heavy trout well hooked shoot off into the boiling torrent.
Just then the swept past the rock, and was instantly taken
tail fly
by a small salmon of seven or eight pounds. The strain of the

tackle was tremendous, and the fish, now in full current, were
settling bodily towards the bridge ;

the danger was imminent ;
in
fact,the only chance of success lay in bringing them again within

the eddy. Once the object seemed nearly attained, when a heavy
lunge of the largest fish again hurried both in the centre of the
stream. Inch by inch they neared the bridge. Pat danced before
us like a frantic dervish ten men would have been unable to
;
execute his contradictory orders and my faithful follower, feeling

;
the case hopeless, was silent. Stones were hurled into the raging
flood, and produced as much effect as so many rain drops in vain ;
we endeavoured to tuni every eddy, every stone to our advantage.

The leading fish was within a foot of the centre pier. Now for a
last effort ;
the good rod, already bent double, was still further
pressed, when a sharp crack announced it had been taxed beyond

endurance, at the same instant the fish entered separate arches, the
casting line crossed the pier, snapped, and I, like the miller's maid,
was left lamenting. Fortunately the catastrophe was not irreparable ;
an idler was forthwith dispatched to the cabin for a second rod, with
which he returned by the time I had extracted a fresh casting line
from the book. In a few minutes we were again at work, and at
once commenced doing a very pretty business, as will be faithfully
shown in the following chapter.
CHAPTEE XXXII.
A Day after my own Heart Dinner by Proxy The Spoils Night

Pat redivivus.
September 16.
Pat led the way through the swamp, pushing on from pool to pool
more rapidly than we deemed advisable, certainly far faster than we
should have done had we been left to our own guidance in this the
deepest morass in the kingdom. Every point at which he paused,

however, held a rising fish or two, and as the trout were remarkably
fine, the basket suspended by a hayband round his neck soon became
heavy.
If satiety be the death of enjoyment, novelty lends it fresh life,
and here everything was new. A brook, the width of which hardly
exceeded half the length of my rod, a mountain torrent of black
water rushing down the glen, and a savage wilderness whose recesses
still held a remnant of the original red deer, all helped to heighten
the charm and then Pat was so polite that
;
it was as much as I
could do to keep pace with his courtesy. No sooner was a flat

lightly fished over once, than my obliging attendant relieved me of
the rod and trotted on as hard as he could go to the next lodge,
which he usually contrived to get half through before I came up.
On one having succeeded in catching him, I held
of these occasions,
out my hand for my property the usurper did not actually refuse,
;
but said, with a feeling I at once recognised and respected, " Yer
honour, I ris him three times, and, Mary, wam't he king of the
trouts ! The crathur's tin pounds if he's an ounce." And he cast
an imploring glance at my face, in hope, perhaps, of finding some

trace of brotherly love and I understood the appeal.
"
charity. Try
him again, Pat ;
he's yours if you get him." I had not seen the
fish, nor did I believe him to be anything like the size stated, or my
self-denial might have been less heroic, as I watched the impulsive
party hurl his fly right at the head of the enemy. How I regretted
my rash promise as a magnificent fish flashed under the gaudy lure.
"It must be a salmon, Pat."
" A salmon A salmon, yer honour ? Don't I know a
No, no ! !
briddawn when I see one ? He's a trout, sir, I'm telling ye."
This was said with considerable asperity. With some difficulty
we persuaded Mr. M'Hale to be calm and rest on his oars for a
minute, at the expiration of which the line once more flew over the
water, and before the fly had sailed a couple of feet, the same fish
dashed up and took it. The first desperate leap showed him nearly
allthat Pat had stated him to be, and the second bound, landing
him high and dry on the bank, gave us full opportunity to admire
224 A YEAR OF libeety; or,
the finest trout that ever died under m}^ rod, though unhappily not
by my hand. With a diminutive head, high shoulder, deep side,

and a weight of 8-^lb.,
what a beauty he was. and what a warning
against making rash promises !
From hag hag Pat again bounded over the bog, the enormous
to
basket with which he had provided himself bumping against his
shoulders in a manner truly perplexing. Now this basket, which
had for some time been attracting my attention, was nothing more
nor less than a horse-pannier, a machine much in vogue in this
cartless country, being in fact the only recognisedmode of conveying
the crop from the field or the turf from the bog as for filling it, ;
that was surely an impossibility it could hardly, therefore, be said

;
to have been brought out exclusively for use, neither could it exactly
be considered ornamental. Had Mr. M'Hale's versatile genius
suggested its
employment, impress on the minds of two
in order to
luckless foreigners the famed qualities of the water ? or was it only

to be considered as an exaggerated allegorical emblem of plenty a
species of piscatorial cornucopia? No matter look at it how I
would, there was comfort in it.

The meeting of the waters was a pretty spot for a few hundred ;
yards before their junction they ran murmuring on, gradually

approaching each other, parted only by a low narrow slip of land,
sweet from the breath of the Myrica gale then, like lovers long ;
parted, they hurried into each other's embrace, rushed joyously over
a ledge of rocks, and mingled their waters in a pretty granite basin.
Here for a few minutes we were unsuccessful at the lower end of ;
the pool the water became more shallow, and there a salmon dashed
at the fly, but turned short as if disappointed a second and a third
;
rise followed in rapid succession. " Oh

Terry, Terry, I fear your
!
handiwork is anything but what it should be." On the morning of

our leaving Ballina the said Terry had given me parting advice and
a parting gift. The gift consisted of a dozen flies, carefully done up in
brown paper the advice was, to hover near Tyrena, and pounce down
;
on the river the moment the weather broke up. Whilst mournfully
inspecting Mr. Diver's donation, my meditations were rudely interrupted.

" Don't stand

looking at the casting line, yer honour," observed
Pat,
*'
but cover him again there you have him !"
Mr. M'Hale was wrong, however ;
it was no salmon, though a fair
substitute for one, tuniing out when netted to be a white trout of

51b. I had now an opportunity of examining, more closely than I
had hitherto done, the articles with which Teny had provided us.
" Did ever man see the " I'd not wonder
like," remarked Pat. if
the maker had caught a rainbow and given you a handful gold,
green, blue, crimson, yellow, violet, and orange," continued he,

" divil
reading one of the despised articles from tail to shoulder ;
such a thing ever I see."

In fact, the flies were rather remarkable, and deserve description ;
so, whilst Pat is extracting the hook from the jaw of the trout, we
will examine our stock. Whether shade, shape, or steel be con-
sidered, never were twelve more unpromising specimens. The hooks,

remarkably the wire, inordinately long in the shank, and very
fine in
small in the bend, were of a kind sometimes used in trout-fishing

for taking full-length likenesses of the palmer family, and, as if such
ridiculous implements were not already three times too long, Terry
had bedecked each with a topping by way of tail. But the bodies
ah ! there lay the core and marrow
of my grief they would have ;
exhausted the patience of a but nearly drove a sinner like

saint,
myself stark mad, as they lay glittering before me in an endless

variety of short joints, composed of the brightest and most opposite
coloured relieved here and there with a patch of gold or
floss,
silver. No
hackle shaded these naked beauties, unless a single turn
of jay at the head could be considered as a sort of ballet equivalent
for the ordinary garb in which salmon flies are wont to appear and ;
even this poor apology was more than half obscured by the long
turkey wing. Strictly speaking, they looked like nothing on the earth
or under the water and though Pat's idea of their resembling so
;
many inch stripes of consolidated rainbow might give some faint

notion of their general appearance, to my fancy they seemed more
like agroup of harlequins with yellow tails and long brown coats.
To expect sport with such flies, Pat declared utterly impossible the ;
Q
book was hasstily looked over, and a small orange silk body, grouse
backle, and owl's wing selected as point, wMlst a golden olive trout-
fly was elected to the office of dropper.
The good change were soon apparent, and every
effects of the
pool became the scene of a fresh triumph. This was too good to
last. The mist which had been lying all the morning in heavy
masses on the crest of Carrig-a-Binniogh began now to wear a more
threatening aspect even to an inexperienced eye it looked ominous.

;
Pat knew its import well.

*'
Yer honour's sport is nearly over for the
present ;
there's a
lump o' and
rain about to fall on the mountain,
the flood will be on us afore ye can try the three next pools."
This additional stimulus was not required. The wild glen, the
tall mountains, the dark torrent, and the stern and lonely character
of the scene all conspired to fill me with enthusiasm. The enjoy-
ment was no longer of that tranquil kind so faithfully depicted by
honest Izaak and his follwers ;
it had grown a fierce and eager
passion. But three more pools ! Could fate be so cruel ? On we
dashed to make the most of the brief space which remained. The
three pools mentioned by Pat were the most tempting I had seen for
the day. No sooner had the fly lit on the water than a small
trout under 21b. marked it for his own, and was soon safely stowed
with his kindred in the pannier. He had hardly disturbed the
water away flew the fly, again it was seized, and this time by a
larger fish. Bearing heavily on the tackle, I snatched a hurried

glance at the mountain which seemed to tower almost immediately
.above us. The cloud had burst, and its contents were leaping
towards the glen in a thousand petty channels, rapidly uniting, and
then thuiidering on with increased speed and volume. Heavier and
heavier the line was strained on the struggling captive, till he neared
the surface, and was dexterously netted before half his energies were
exhausted.
" Hooroo there's time for another
^hooroo
!
; go it yer honour 1" ;
Suiting the action to the word, my excited companion sped away

towards a point some fifty yards ahead. A 51b. trout floundering in
the net, and resisting all Pat's attempts to extract the hook, sadly
SALMON ANGLING IN EBELAND. 227
impeded his frantic efforts to reach the pool before the flood, which
could be seen too plainly not a hundred yards above, speeding
towards us with ruffled crest and angry voice. Pat still kept the
lead by a few strides, intent only on hurrying on, and unmindful of
the old saw, "look before you leap," he set his foot on a more than
ordinarily soft part of the bog, and at the next bound was fairly
planted deep at his waistcoat pocket. Plunging desperately forward,
he gained a momentary footing on a tuft of rushes, lost his vantage
ground, and rolled helplessly into the quagmire. His fall broke the
light gut of the dropper, which was still firm in the jaw of the fish ;
and the line drifted clear of the net as it fell from Pat's hand. A
slight bend to the left afforded firmer footing, and in a second I was
at the goal. The flood wasfilling a pool not twenty yards from the
one at which I stood again and again the fly swept across the
" Once more the
surface. What, not another ere it comes ?" line
flew over the lower part of the lodge a dull ruffle followed. A
salmon ! a salmon Huzza! I have him.
!
On rushed the flood carrying all before it. The strong fish breasted
it for a few seconds, but, impeded by the line, shot rapidly round
and darted down the torrent like an arrow. To give line was to
lose him brushwood, rushes, and turf sods were whirling along
;
for
in wild disorder, thick as leaves in June. The narrow course of the

its numerous abrupt
brook, turnings, and the luxuriant growth of
heath and whin that fringed its banks, made it a work of sufficient
difficulty tokeep the line clear, short as it was, so I pelted full tilt
over bog, rock, and heath as well as I could. Fast and furious grew
the race 'twas for life or death. Of Pat I thought not ^nay, for
the time, forgot that such a person ever existed.
Splash, splash, splash. Can it be the echo of my own steps ? Had

existence depended on it, I could not have avoided turning nervously
in the direction of the sound ;
and what a sight met my eyes ! Minus
his hatand boots, the big trout flourished in one hand, and the net
brandished in the other, his whole person dripping from the late
immersion, and his face a bright Modena tint from the colour of the
bog, Pat sped like a gallant knight to the rescue,
Q 2
Two to one are long odds the fisli could hardly hold his own
;
before, and now comrade's opportune arrival soon settled the

my
contest. The salmon, utterly exhausted, floundered towards the
bank ^his hour was come ; helpless and motionless he was lifted
into the net and borne off by Pat, who had just breath enough to
exclaiiii :
" now
Quick, quick, yer honour ;
for the shelter, any way !"
The rain descended in torrents; the very windows of heaven
seemed open. The little river was by no means a pleasant neigh-
bour, but roared and reeled along like a drunkard. As Pat subse-
" She had
quently observed, just taken a drop too much."
In the morning I had been inclined to despise Mr. M'Hale's
castle ;
but now, as I passed over the threshold out of the pelting
rain, and beheld a goodly array of three-legged iron pots, odorous of
dinner, it rose marvellously in my estimation. In the great chamber
a block of and by its light we were
bogwood blazed cheerfully,
enabled to lay out our drenched tackle, and make some slight
preparations for dinner. These were scarcely completed when

Willie, with a very broad grin on his brown face, announced that
the meal was ready. Throwing the door open, I was horrified to
find the kitchen crammed with the entire population of the neigh-
bourhood, and a procession organised to conduct me with all honour

to the salle a manger. Naturally shy and averse to all public demon-
strations, I felt the infliction in full force, but there was now no
help for it ;
in front tripped the
Margaret, followed by Mrs.
fair
Mac, then came the scribe, guarded by Pat, and in this order we
passed through the crush-room. Instead of feeling puffed up by this
great ovation, I felt more like a man passing from the condemned
cell to the drop than an honoured guest being marshalled to the
banquet-room. In the apartment stood a prodigious rough deal

table, whereon, at long intervals, appeared a boiled trout, a mountain
of potatoes, a soddened chicken the size of a young partridge, and an
enormous dish of cabbage each and all of which, doubtless, at
some were in themselves excellent, but in passing

earlier period
through the hands of Margaret and her mamma had acquired a

peculiar and uniform flavour not much prized by Saxon palates ;

in
fact,the food, animal and vegetable, had been converted into conso-
lidated peat smoke. To feel thankful for the kind intentions. of the
ladieswas easy to eat was impossible. How grateful I was to the
;
miserable cur that at this moment rubbed his nose against my

knees in secret I blessed him as my deliverer from a gi-eat diffi-
;
culty. I was expected to consume certain viands, not a morsel of

which could be swallowed. My unexpected ally was less nice. Slily,
pieces of fish and fowl were slipped into my lap, and as slily con-
sumed. The corpulence
attained by that dog during my stay was
regarded as quite miraculous.
The phantom dinner at length came to an end, and then Pat
pointed to the spoils of the morning. Two salmon of 121b. and
81b. held the post of honour, then came Mr. M'Hale's great trout,
then a brace, whose united merits were good for ten pounds next ;
figured the rank and file, in number about twenty-four, of all sizes,
from 31b. to Îb. I felt as though I had fared sumptuously. Down
fellthe heavy rain, making sweet music as it dropped unceasingly
from the eaves. One by one the guests departed; gradually the
household stole off to mysterious holes and comers.
Presently a
chorus of snores mingled with the sounds of the mountain stonn,
yet there sat your scribe polishing off a batch of flies, by the light
of a couple of home-made rushlights, dreaming pleasant
waking
dreams of what the mon'ow would bring forth.
During the
remainder of our stay there was rain more or less each night, the
sport being proportioned to the amount of water. At the end of the
week the weather cleared up and sent us back to Newport, to haimt
the Beltra and Burrishoole.
In this and the previous chapter Pat M'Hale has
figured as my
host. Kind and gentle spirit, I have called you from your
bloody
shroud in memory of many long-passed happy hours spent in
your
company. Had
not some cowardly murderer's bullet sent
you to an
untimely grave, you would have been my comrade as you once were.
Doubtless you inhabit realms brighter even than the
heathery slopes
of Tyrena on a cloudless September noon. Pardon me that I have
summoned you back to earth once more to walk tlie banks and
braes that in life you loved so well. But now the spell is broken,
and you must depart. The play is over ;
the curtain is falling.
Vale Ite missa est.
CHAPTER XXXni.
After a lazy Day on the Banks of the Beltra, we become more lazy still ;
abandon our Duty in a shameful Manner, and go Sight-seeing to the Island
of Achil.
September 20.
The district
surrounding the head of Clew Bay contains the pretty
towns of Westport and Newport the former situated on a small
;
stream running into the south-eastern angle of the inlet, and the
latter on the river which discharges the waters of Lough Beltra into
its north-eastern comer. Westport is a well-built and handsome

town ;
two of the principal streets are parallel to the river, the
borders of which are laid out as a public walk, with rows of trees.
Westport House, the residence of the Marquis of Sligo by far the

finestmansion in the county stands in the immediate vicinity of the
town, near the sea. Between the two " ports," the head of Clew
Bay is studded over with green pasturable islands, varying in size
from a few acres to half a mile or more in length, and in number

amounting to 1 70. The shore along the head of Clew Bay is rich,
and worn into numerous peninsulas an^ low promontories, many of
them wooded, which greatly increases their picturesque effect. On
one of them stands the residence of Sir William O'Malley, and at
Newport, close to the town, is the seat of Sir Eichard O'Donnell,
proprietor of large
tracts in the neighbourhood. The scenery of this
district is remarkably striking the beauty of the bay, with its
;
labyrinth of islands, appears to have been known from an early
period,
since they are distinguished as the "Fortunate Islands"
in an Italian map of the sixteenth century.
The absence of rain for the last twenty-four hours, which reduced
SALMON ANGUNO IN mSLAND. 231
the brook at T3rrena to a condition midway between a mountain rill

and a mountain road, brought the Beltra into excellent tune, so we
will suppose permission asked leave obtained
;
the great melancholy
;
house left behind and Willie and his master padding along the road
;
leading to the bridge; for here, as elsewhere in this kindly land,

leave is seldom refused, unless the water should chance to be specially
leased for the rod. Compared with Tyrena, where, from the source
to the sea, I cannot recall a single bush higher than the
bog myrtle,
the Beltra may, in its lower pools, be called woody. Here and there
a group of ash trees cast a shade over the water, and so far repre-
sented timber as to make the angler cautious how he propelled his
line. Halting on the bridge we got our machinery into working
order and commenced operations. The water was all that could be
desired, but the day was by no means favourable there was too ;
much sun and too little wind. Nor were the streams on the Beltra
of sufficient volume to make an angler independent of calms and
cloudless skies. The work of the previous week had been hard, and
the sport admirable ;
now I was indisposed for exertion, and
unreasonable in my expectations. The fact was, experience showed
circumstances were against me, and I was too fagged to fight the
battle with that spirit and determination which could alone win the
day against adverse fortune. Then, again, many of the pools pos-
sessed a quiet beauty that required to be sketched, and several flowers
presented themselves, which needed dissection and examination under
the lens. There was also another impediment to exertion in the
shape of a solitary robin, who, unquestionably banished from the
company of his fellows for malpractices, took a great fancy to me,
and fluttered on from spray to spray as I moved lazily forwards.
There never was so loquacious a bird. Did I rest for a moment, he
was sure to open his nor was he satisfied with plain prose, for
grief ;
he put his wrongs into poetry, and chanted the lay so soothingly,
that I could not choose but listen. Later in the day this lazy, dreamy,
disposition leftme some of the old energy returned, and, though lost
;
time could not be recalled, I thought myself rewarded to the full of my
deservings by the possession of ten white and a few small brown trout.
532 A YEAR OF liberty; OB,
Who has not heard of the sufferings of the peasantry of Mayo,

*'
where, every three or four years, famine and pestilence do their

work ? Look at that wretched hovel (there are many such) the ;
roof hardly rises six feet above the level of the moor, and the walls
are formed of sods fresh dug from the swamp. It boasts no window ;
'
*
from reek exhalations from the bog its bent covered roof
its floor, ;
is pervious to every shower and that acre of potatoes forms the sole
;
hope of the miserable inhabitants through the long winter, spring,

and early summer. Let the crop fail, as it probably will, and the
owner must waste day by day from starvation, till he falls before
fever or dysentery. Miserable farming, sour wet lands, and the most
uncertain climate in the empire, contribute in this part of Mayo to
render a general failure of the crops a matter of frequent occurrence.
Then the papers teem with heart-rending details of the inhabitants
of an extensive district perishing by hundreds in all the horrors of

starvation.
" ' '
Why do they not work? asks the Englishman. Why? Because

there is no work to be had. Can a man support a family from an
average of one hundred days' work per annum, at sixpence or eight-
pence a day ? Can six or eight human beings be clothed, fed, and
pay house-rent on less than three pounds sterling ? The wretched
father has but one resource, to till an acre of bog, and ward off
death as long as he may food of the worst description, and in
;
miserably insufficient quantities constant exposure to wet, rags

;
open to every blast, and all those evils uncheered by one ray of hope
to brighten the time of trial and suffering. Soon sickness comes ;
breath be so light as not to shake one petal from the rosy

let its
cheek of a well-fed child, it will drag the half-starved sufferer

to rest."
The truth of the above extract struck me forcibly as we rolled
towards the Sound of Achil not that the country was exactly as
;
it had been when the sketch was drawn, but because sufficient proofs
remained to show how correct the remarks must have been when
they were written.
Achil, which during the last quarter of a century has attracted
considerable attention from the divine, the philanthropist, and the
statesman, was previously less known than the Friendly Isles are at
the present day. This lonely district contributes but little towards
our speciality, for, as a general rule, its lakes contain (I believe) only
small trout still, we were anxious to see a place about which so
;
much has been said. Crossing the sound we rolled over a tolerably
level road, and reached Dugurth (the capital) a little after midday.
The mission buildings were as neat and orderly as when Mr.
Nangle presided over the infant colony, and seemed still to exercise
a wholesome influence over the place. These pages, however, are
not suited to discuss the failure or success of an undertaking, which
was here attempted on a scale so large as to comprehend little less
than a design of converting the entire Romanist population to
Protestantism. That the plan failed is certainly not to be wondered
at each party viewed the matter from a different point of sight,
;
and could by no means attain to a happy unanimity on the question

of " names."
But enough of this. There lays Black Sod Bay, with each strand
and and mountain, so lovingly described and immor-
creek, river
talised by Maxwell in his " Wild Sports of the West." As my eye
ran over the place where his youth was passed, I could not but think
of his age the one so bright the other so sad. There shone the
river he loved so well, yonder rose the mountain where the deer fell
before " Hennessey's unfailing rifle." I fancied, too, I could distin-
guish the hut on Carrig-a-Binniogh, where so blithe a party will

never more meet nor should I have been surprised to see Patigo
;
get under way, beat the hooker out of the bay, and, standing in for
the anchorage, hail a shore-boat, and land two sportsmen bright and
joyous from the possession of youth, health, and strength, for three
days' sport over the mountains and morasses of Achil. If ever man
was formed for happiness it was Maxwell. Alas ! that it must be
said, if ever man earned sorrow and laboured after poverty and
contempt, it of "Wild Sports."

was the gifted author To my
thinking, notwithstanding their joyous spirit, truth and sentiment,
these sparkling volumes are the most mournful books in existence.
2^4 A YEAR OF LIBERTY :
OE,
Whilst gazing far over mainland and sea, we stood about

tlins
midway up the steep side of Slieve More, which, rose immediately-

above the village of Dugurth. The poor nag that brought us from
Newport^ now patiently undergoing a minimum amount of grooming,
seemed close to us ;
the ducks that waddled up the street, the
ragged urchins that sprawled in the sand, appeared almost within

arm's length the lichens on the thatch, the curraghs on the beach,
;
the rough fishing gear on the stones, were plainly visible, and gave
a living interest to a scene otherwise sufficiently solitary and desolate.
The heather on the More was exactly as poor
sea face of Slieve
Maxwell described "short and stunted," yet it made a delicious
it,
carpet for our feet as we walked over the finest cliff scenery in
Britain.
Below, many a narrow and dangerous path led down to the black
and slippery rocks, on which, notwithstanding the profound calm
that prevailed, a great green roller would at uncertain intervals break,
sweeping over the ledges with irresistible force yet, in the midst of ;
such seeming danger, many a man and boy sat calmly fishing for
lythe, glashens, or cuddings, happily oblivious of the many tales

that could be told of those whom some treacherous wave in an
unlooked for moment
bore from time to eternity.
There was a delicious coolness in the light currents of air playing
ever and anon over the side of the mountain, that mado fatigue out
of the question . so we walked on stoutly, and presently halted above
Lough-na-Kerogh ;
seemed to be the pronunciation to
at least such
my Saxon ears. There, on a low ledge of rocks, were a pair of

ospreys, calmly viewing themselves in the blue and unruffled mirror.
So dignified and composed were their motions that we had time to
note distinctly their appearance and attitude before they spread their
strong wings and sailed away in all the might and majesty of power.
It has already been said that Achil presents some of the finest coast
scenery in the kingdom and this, as we continued to ascend, grew

;
more grand and striking till it attained its culminating point at Keel.
Here the whole side of the mountain, which seemed to have been
rent assunder in some convulsion of nature, constituted a precipice

of 2222 feet, springing directly from the water's edge. We stood

on the summit looking over the wide ocean, which bore no sail on ;
turning landward, beheld the island spread out before us an occa- ;
sional patch of oats, still green, relieving the monotony of the sterile
and the black peat bogs. Some small flocks of goats crouched
hills
amongst the boulders, or wandered over the nearly naked ledges of

rock, and seemed quite in keeping with the scene.
The short twilight of an autumn evening was drawing to a close
as we once more entered Dugurth, nor do I ever remember appre-
ciating more fully the comforts of a good inn than I did on that
evening, when we discussed a hind quarter of Keel mutton, which,
from its exquisite flavour, must have quaffed nectar, or fattened on
ambrosia.
Northward from the range of Nephin lies a vast tract of desolate
moorlands, bounded on the east by the of the Moy,
fertile valley
and on the west by the mountains ofTyrawley and Nephin Beg. A

nearly parallel ridge divides this district into two portions, the
waters of one flowing into Lough Conn, whilst the streams of the
other, passing through a gap in the centre of the range from the
Owenmore river, fall into the head of Black Sod Bay. This savage
wilderness known, perhaps, than any other part of Ireland is
less
of great beauty, and possesses special interest for the sportsman.

South of the valley of the Owenmore, the mountain outlines are
particularly bold and striking, being broken into lateral defiles, and
containing many lakes of surpassing beauty. The chief heights are
Slieve Cor,Nephin Beg, and Cush-cum-Curragh, the last rising
immediately above the shores of Clew Bay, and, with its offsets,
occupying the entire promontory of Corraun Achil, and beyond it
towering again in many a bold elevation through Achil proper.

This island is of triangular form and of considerable extent, its
three sides being respectively twelve, fourteen, and fifteen miles.
Having swallowed all this geographical knowledge from a stout

quaiix) borrowed from the landlord, the effect, as might naturally be
expected, proved powerfully soporific. Instinctively my thoughts
turned bedwards, and then flew off at a tangent towards
Alphonso
236 A TEAR OF LIBERTY; OR,
Jones. At first sight it

might seem difficult to establish any
connection between that gentleman and my dormitory but the fact ;
is, our very comfortable hospitium some years ago, under a former
management, had the great misfortune to get into my friend's

black books.
"
*'
Oh aw so you are going into the west! he observed one
"
evening during the preceding winter, 'Spose you'll find your way
to Achil ? Every fellah does. But mind you come to a clear under-
standing about your bed. You remember, Julia" (to his sposa),
" what an awful wow I had about ours ? "
" How can "
be so absurd ?
you remarked the with lady, something
very like a blush, as she made a rather sudden retreat.
"
'Spose I ought not to have talked about it to you before her ?
Never mind, this is the

way happened. it During our honeymoon
we visited Achil ; everything was delightful ; weather, fine ; country,
beautiful ; whisky, unexceptionable and on the morning
fare, good ; ;
of our departure I asked for my bill, with a feeling nearly akin to

that with which refined minds repay an obligation. Running my
you have
'
eye carelessly over it I remarked, There is one little error ;
charged me for two beds.'

" Ah '
yes yourself and
!
; lady.'
" '
Gracious heavens Do you
suppose I have quarrelled with my
!
wife?'
"
Oh, dear, no, but two persons require two couches.'
'
" ' That

depends,' I remarked, somewhat ruffled. 'It can't apply
to me and my Julia that is, to a man and his wife, who, according
;
to law, gospel, and popular usages, are not plural but singular.'
" Not in this
'
but if you wish it I will consult the
house, sir ;
principal.'
" '
Consult the d Hark ye, my friend, you may spare
.
the trouble there's my card, but if I pay for two beds

yourself ;
for one flesh may I be hanged.' So you had better take warning,
Walter, and come to an understanding if you don't want a wow."
This was evidently a very sore point with Alphonso whether it ;
was a fact or fiction, whether it occurred here or elsewhere, I cannot

determine, for my friend was a great traveller, and, like some other
people, apt to tell his own stories till he believed them.
Even the prospect of being charged for three beds would not have
disturbed me, as I opened my window and looked out over the quiet
village and the lonely sea. What is an error in an inn bill, or even
peculiar opinions touching conjugal privileges, compared with a

man's peace of mind ?
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Achil Taken Captive Western Village New Style of Trolling Inn Bill
Tyrena in "The Dry Season" Father Ned Perseverance Erica Medi
terranea Carrig-a-Binniogh A Quiet Evening Under the Stars
September 25.
If any man and long life, let him

desires the blessings of health
eschew " Parr's pills," avoid suppers, and sleep with his window
open. Through that balmy autumn night I was more than half
conscious of the solemn strains old Ocean drew from rock and
cavern heard the light rustle of the curtains as they swayed to and
;
fro with the breeze, and felt the exquisite sweetness of the air as it
stole laden with mountain fragrance down the sides of Sleive More.
To wake with the lark is almost a necessity under such conditions ;
"
and those " sweet spirits mere specks against the blue sky were
singing the praises of early rising as I strapped the razor- on the left
palm previous to making some small portion of my countenance
visible. At this important crisis there was a sound of tiny feet
rushing up the stairs, and in another moment the door was flung
open, and two as fine little fellows as ever plagued mamma bounded
into the room, without the least regard to the sacredness of the
sanctuary so rudely violated.

" "
Oh, I say," observed a precocious specimen of nine, pa told me
you were sure to be up. You must make me a fly and give me a
line now, won't you ? We're going to Keel, you know. Mamma
is packing up such a cake, and won't we have a jolly day !"
Any vague ideas previously entertained of personal adornment
were of necessity abandoned the razor fell back into its case, and
;
soon I was doing suit and service at the bidding of the juvenile
tyrants who had thus taken forcible possession of me.

One reason for leaving Newport was the pleasure we anticipated
from wandering over this wild region ; another, a wish to see an old
friend who had located himself and family in this Ultima Thule of
civilised life. I found him as men who steadily do their duty
always are found ^bright and cheerful, without an idle hour or an
unsatisfied wish. After a prolonged chat on the previous evening,
he proposed to lionise us on the following day over the west or most
primitive portion of the island, in order to give us some idea of its
condition, before the Saxon, backed by a whole aimy of good inten-
tions, invaded it.
The young tyrants who surprised me in a defenceless condition,
held me bondage till pater and mater came to the rescue some
in
three hours after, and set me at liberty.

As we drove down the level road which led from Dugurth to Keel,
I could not but feel how dreary it was. The
green thing to tallest
be seen was the Osmunda regalis

the only shrub the bog myrtle.
Peat swamps, intersected with watercourses and dotted with innu-
merable pools of black stagnant water, fonned the chief features in
the landscape. Here and there patches of potatoes, laid out in the
usual lazy beds, with the intervening furrows full of water, or a
small inclosure, said to contain oats, relieved the monotony. So
disguised, however, was ''the farm" with marigolds, polygonum,
and divers other natural productions of the soil, that I should
had I been left to the unassisted
scarcely have recognised the crop
exercise of my own genius. As we approached the my philan-
sea,
thropic spirit felt quite revived by the sight of a considerable

number of small circular ricks, apparently thatched with more
regard to neatness and security than is generally found in regions

even better cultivated than Achil. Here at least was corn stored up
for the winter. A

nearer approach dissipated the illusion, and
" wind "
showed my imaginary mows to be a cluster of wigwams
constituting the town of Keel. Altogether I believe this weftem
village to be unique in my experience, at least, Britain shows
;
nothing like it. In Africa such town architecture is not uncommon,

and any illustrated work on that highly civilised country will show
many such settlements on the Zambesi and elsewhere ;
but misery
is no subject for jesting, and ere this I trust that the village of Keel
is being rebuilt on a more European plan.
Not far from the beach was a lake, on the shores of which the
ladies proceeded to unpack their baskets and make extensive prepa-
rations for dinner, pending which the juveniles deteimined to launch
a miniature cutter some two feet in length, and of course the seniors
were bound to attend. It was a likely piece of water, and I natu-
rally asked my if it held
friend any good fish. On this point he
could afford me no
information, but suggested that, by way of trial,
we should fasten to a hook a diminutive trout Master Harry had
previously killed, and with this freight send the cutter forth on a
voyage of discovery. After considerable rummaging, four or five old
flies and a little waxed thread were discovered in the lining of my
hat, and with such materials a sort of trolling trace was manu-
factured, the topsail halyards making not a bad line. "We i.e., the
children large and small watched the graceful little craft, now
close-hauled, then running up into the wind, and anon falling off,
till summoned to dinner, when the Dolphin sailed quite out of
remembrance. Lobsters and kid had vanished, the cake had grown
considerably smaller and a stout jar much lighter, when a dismal

shout from the boys recalled our attention to the forgotten Dolphin.
That adventurous craft had, it seemed, performed about half her
voyage across the lake, when she suddenly went down, stern fore-
most, to the great dismay of her owners, causing the cry of despair
before-mentioned. Springing up, I was just in time to see the bows,
jib, and bowsprit rise suddenly above the water and as suddenly
disappear. My friend's conversation had interested me ;

the boys'
startling cry had bewildered me ;

and for a moment I forgot all
240 A YEAR or LIBERTY ; OR,
about the trolling apparatus fastened to tlie belaying pin of the main
sheet. Soon, however, the stanch little cutter once more came to
the surface, made rapid stem way, paused in this unusual mode of
progression, forged ahead, and then, obeying some unseen

filled,
force, was whirled round and round, and once more descended
towards the locker of Mr. Davy Jones'. The Dolphin had indeed got
a freight, but whether she would ever come safe to port was quite
another question. The storm still raged, though with diminished
fury partial plunges succeeded perfect immersion
; slowly and ;
gradually the boat drifted towards the opposite shore, bearing her
exhausted prize with her. And now a general race commenced; the
ardour of the boys would not be restrained, and by the time we got
round the lake and neared the scene of action they were a hundred
yards ahead and beyond all control. I was, however, able to see the
Dolphin on her beam ends in about five inches of water, and could
distinguish the form of a heavy fish lying on his side a couple of
feet or so towindward, when the leading urchin dashed at his boat
and gave a desperate heave. There was a momentary splash, and
then the youthful angler received his first lesson, and experienced
his first piscatorial disappointment. From the little I saw, I con-
jectured the fish to be between 111b. and 121b., but whether a ferox,
salmon, or overgrown brown trout, was beyond my power to decide.
That night I asked for my bill,
intending an early start on the
following morning and deem it simply an act of justice to declare
;
that one dormitory only figured in the account.

It was not yet eight o'clock when the car crawled slowly up the
inclinefrom the bridge of Tyrena towards Pat's hospitium. Near

the summit was a dark stout figure which we knew well.
"You had better ask Father Ned to dinner," remarked Madame,
" and I
you something out from Newport."
will send
The kind and simple priest was a favourite with us all. Warm,
though was the greeting, and, as the carriage rolled on, the
brief,
good father and myself turned in to seek some breakfast before going
to the brook for the last time.
There had been a little rain during the night, sufficient at least to
raise my hopes, but, alas ! insufficieDt to move the stream, the bed
of which was nearly dry. Still I was bent on trying a few of the
dark and stagnant pools that lay about a couple of miles up
amongst the mountains, and felt sure of a pleasant day in the

company. Now the P. P. of T3rrena was, doubtless, a sound
priest's
churchman, yet his geological education had been sadly neglected

at Maynooth for, the conversation happening to turn on the
;
" "
Causeway, like a pragmatical ass I must needs enter into the
doctrine of its igneous origin, and forthwith incurred the censure of

the Church.
'^
Oh, docther dear, it is not that ye mane," în the mild and
earnest spirit of an apostle condemning some heretical opinion held
" Sure
by a friend and a brother, ye know 'twas huilt by the gi'eat
min in ould ancient times, and, by raison of thim, isn't it called the
Giants' Causeway to this day ? Oh docther, dear, take a friend's
!
advice, and niver talk about what ye don't understand !"

The propriety of Father Ned's advice struck me forcibly, so I was
silent and left the victory in his hands. He was but mortal, and the
flush of his triumph shone on him all day. How pleasantly we
trudged through the rare Erica Mediterranea, now dropping our
single fly on a pool as smooth as a great slab of black marble, and
then following the pathless swamp, gradually came nearer the base of
Carrig-a-Binniogh. The good father carried the net with as much

if it had been a crosier
dignity as spoke of the loneliness of his
;
position the; pleasure of meeting a companion poured forth his ;
troubles about his flock and finally proposed we should plant rod
;
and net in the bog and scale the summit of the mountain. To this
proposition I willingly assented, and after half an hour's stout walk-

ing, stood on the topmost peak. Spread out before us was a sight as
lovely as ever filled the heart of man with delight. To the south lay
the Eeek, the mountain tops of Murrisk, and Clew Bay, gemmed with
its many islands whilst at our feet was an interminable wilderness
;
of heather. To the north stretched Black Sod Bay, and all the wild
region, made classic ground by Maxwell. To the west was Achil,

and beyond rolled the boundless, sparkling Atlantic. In a nan-ow
pass my companion pointed to some droppings and footprints, which

he declared to be those of deer. I fear, however, the race, once so
numerous, must now, if not extinct, consist only of a few stragglers.
In the chapels of this " the rint "
district, hardly twenty years ago,
was diligently collected. Now the "Liberator" has long been
forgotten, and that household word, his name, is unheard. Such
is fame Who would spend health, peace, or life in the pursuit of
!
such a bubble ?
Eeluctantly we began the descent found the rod and recom-

menced " water-holes " that the bed
fishing the eight or ten of the
river contained. Had
been wise I should have passed Tyrena in
I
the morning and been put down at Burrishoole; but the sight of
Father Ned decided my movements, and having promised him a fish
course, I was bound to get one if
possible. Never had sport seemed
so utterly hopeless. In the earlier part of the day we had not risen
a fish ;
what chance was there of doing so now ? Half inclined to
give it up as hopeless, I turned to depart ;
but the good priest,
waim with had already seated himself for the double
his walk,
purpose of rest and observation. At this juncture some good genius

recalled to my memory an angling trick I had as a boy often
practised in calm weather. Casting the fly on the broad leaves

of an aquatic plant, the line was gently shaken till it dropped
off noiselessly and smoothly into the water. This manoeuvre had
been repeated ten or twelve times without any results, but on the
next cast, a capital rise startled me completely. It was the last
thing expected, and when I felt a two-pound trout tugging at my

line, wonder on my own account, and satisfaction on the score of the
good father's first course, had reached their climax. With renewed
faith the remaining pools were treated in the same way and when, ;
finally, eight of these fish all, with the exception of the first,
however, less than lib. in weight were counted out on the heather,
I felt disposed to believe the science of angling contained no
impossibility.
This must have been one of Father Ned's lucky days, for on
entering Mrs. Pat's kitchen my stomach felt a delicious emotion
at seeing my honest servant cooking a joint of lamb. From that

moment bright visions of an eatable dinner gladdened my inner
man, and the contents of the creel were committed to his care
without fear of their being larded with turf ash or saturated with
peat smoke.
As the shades of evening fell over mountain and moor, the first
course appeared. Father Ned blessed the fish, flesh, and fowl,
though the latter was iion est. In sober converse we saw the stars
come forth, and ere I bade the simple priest good night, the moon
was high in heaven to light two belated travellers along the solitary
road.
" I
forgot to say, master, that the mistress bade me tell you she
hoped you'd be home by half -past nine."
This message was rather superfluous, seeing it was near eleven
before our adieux were made, and long past that hour ere I lost
sight of Father Ned's dark figure standing on the crest of the hill,
as he watched his heretical friend fade slowly away into the
darkness.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Donegal ^We lodge by the Castle A Morning Walk to Mount Cliarles The
River Strong Run
after the Netting Season The Blacksmith attends our
Summons A
ministering Angel Return in a Deluge, and, the lost One
being found, the Bells are set a-ringing !
September 30.
I WONDEB whether all jackdaws are as matinal as those which reside

in the town of Donegal ;
if so, I trust no gentleman fond of lying in
bed after dawn will lodge as close to a colony of those very early
birds as we did. Our situation, however, had some advantages,
which shall be duly set forth for the benefit of those who may come
after.
B 2
244 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OE,
Donegal lies at tlie head of a quiet estuary, decked with grassy

shores, each abrupt swell being green as an emerald. At low water
the channel is nearly dry, but at the top of the flood the tide flows
above the bridge nearly up to the old Castle. Five-sixths of the

town lie on the south bank of the Esk, whilst a long, straggling
row of buildings on the opposite side, lovingly follows the curva-
tures of the clear and flashing river. Here, "out of town," stands
a house of comfortable aspect belonging to Mrs. S , with whom,
as on two former occasions, we have cast in our lot. Now, small
Irish towns are not generally pleasant places in which to dwell.
Neither sights, sounds, nor scents are what a traveller would select ;
so, like prudent people, we preferred the circumference to the centre.

By doing so on the present occasion we secured three or four
advantages, being within twenty feet of the river, in imme-
diate proximity to the most beautiful ruin in Ireland, on the
high road to Lough Esk, and in sweet air from morning till
night.
There was, however, one drawback to our felicity. On the oppo-
the stream stood ''O'Donnell's Castle," a very charming
site side of
specimen of a mediaeval dwelling-house, sufficiently ruinous to be

picturesque, yet sufficiently intelligible to inform us how the great
chieftain lived when at home. Never were walls more luxuriantly
draped with ivy, and never was such tapestry so thickly studded
with jackdaws. Had our lively and garrulous neighbours got out of
bed at a reasonable hour I should have made no complaint had ;
they risen with the sun I might have been silent but their conduct
;
was far worse than they talked in their

this, for I verily believe
sleep. During my sojourns on the margin of the Esk I have been
up at all hours, and could swear that at such times I invariably

heard some members of the colony either mumbling to themselves
or holding forth to their friends, the harangue uniformly producing
a wild outbreak of popular fury.
A short distance below the bridge stood the ruins of a fine old
religious house,commanding a pleasant view down the quiet estuary.

Here, on many an "impracticable day," I have sat in the shade
reading the names of O'Boyle, M'Swire, or O'Dogherty, impoverished

descendants, probably, of the savage chieftains who once did suit
and service to the O'Donnell.
Donegal forms the north-western extremity of Ireland, and, taken
as a whole, is probably the wildest portion of the island. The
entire county is uneven and mountainous, and, with a few small
exceptions, is made up of lakes, streams, swamps, rock, and moor-
land ;
in fact, just the region in which to wind up the latter
it is
part of the season. As a general rule, small rivers are late rivers ;
for the fish, as if warned by traditionary experience, are not easily
seduced by early freshes, but hang about the coast till the autumn
and winter rains ensure them a safe ascent, time to deposit their
ova, and full power to return.
In Donegal generally, the rivers are small and late, but as each
spate at this season brings up a good store of fresh salmon and

trout, the sportsman's pannier will not contain an undue proportion
of red fish or ill-made white trout, and therefore, as we said before,
this county is just the place in which towind up the angling year.
We, however, shall not be able to follow the plan here recommended,
aswe have promised an old friend to kill a fish in his company on
Wednesday, the 1st of November, in one of the mountain streams
of Kerry a great favourite of ours, where we have ended many a
season triumphantly. We have reached the
end of September,
and on Monday, when we float on Lough Esk, the results will have
to- be chronicled under the date of October 2.
The fish have now lost much of their excellence and more of their
beauty, and, with rare exceptions, are no longer the strong active
creatures they were in July and August. Nature shows, in short,
that the protective season should commence but, though compelled ;
to write this truth, the charm of following a brown and dashing

stream over the purple moor seems now greater than when, in breezy
March or scorching July, we trolled the lakes, or wandered along the
banks of the glorious Erne or prolific Moy. But, alasl mingled
"
with the pleasure comes a feeling of pain, that the year of liberty"
is drawing to a close, and that a time of such exquisite happiness
246 A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OE,
must soon be a portion of the dead past, and no longer a part of the
living joyous present

Donegal, if the season be wet, makes excellent head-quarters for
the autumn. Our rod is never taken to pieces, but stands ready in
the yard night and day. Close to the door flows the river, and
atany moment, before breakfast or after sunset, the Esk is at our
and seldom fails to yield us two or three trout. Whether,
service,
under favourable circumstances, the river would offer occupation for
an entire day I do not know, as it was not in order during any of
my visits ; nevertheless, the pools round the walls of O'DonneU's
Castle were rarely neglected, and for an hour, night and morning,
regularly formed part of the day's work. Should the weather be

dry, there is always plenty of water in Lough Esk a lake
unsurpassed for beauty ^from which the angler will rarely return dis-
appointed. In the event of rain the Inver cannot fail to delight him,
and should he possess any power of appreciating grand combinations
of rock, heath, and mountain, a day on its banks will, I venture
to say, live long in his memory. Thus, in our present bivouac,
we are nearly independent of weather a great matter to a keen
sportsman.
In the old-fashioned window sat my patient follower, pulling to
pieces the wings of certain used-up insects,in order to collect
sufficient fragments of brown mallard to tie a few salmon and white
trout flies for the Inver. It was not yet six o'clock, and the rosy
east showed that the sun, now sadly givento lying in bed, was only
"
just preparing to rise. They'll never do, master," remarked the
" there an't no
perplexed artiste, looking at his small collection ;
"
more to strip to-monôw, and how will it be for the last month ?
This was a poser, for no feather answers so well on mountain
streams, and of this particular article we were, unfortunately, fairly
cleaned out. "We could make a good many things, but we could
not make what was now wanted. In a desponding frame of mind I
walked down stairs into the yard, took the rod from the corner,
and. stepping across the road, commenced casting below the Cutts.
Presently a soft quacking caught my ear. I could hardly believe my
eyes, for there, sailing at the head of a bevy of ducks, were a pair
of mallards, in plumage as rich as ever gladdened the sight of a needy
angler. Except being a little larger, the markings were identical
with those of the wild birds. Who could be the proprietor of such
treasures ?
Boys are plenty in Donegal :
"
"I say, Patsy, do you know whose ducks those are ?
"Ned Casey's, your honour."

"Would he lend them for a few minutes? I should like to
borrow as many as could be got, for threepence apiece ;

the two in
front I mean."
" That's observed Patsy, scratching his head in a
quare now,"
" Who ever heard the
contemplative manner berrying drakes
;
!
"
like ? But your honour's will must be done ;
it's plinty ye'll have ;
and then, in a parting " What he do wid

soliloquy, 0, Peter I will
"
'em at all, at all ?
Anxious on the score of the flies to be used that day on the
Inver, I soon returned, my servant had completed three
and found
for grilse and half a dozen for white trout, as far as the shoulders.
These were duly disposed on a sheet of paper, whilst he rummaged
our stock in hope of finding what he needed. In this hunt I
joined ;envelopes were opened, papers examined, manifold tin boxes

searched, but not a mallard could be found. The rain, which had
ceased an hour or two before sunrise, showed symptoms of again
coming on, whilst the wind sighed and rustled through the poplars
"
below the Castle. "How provoking! to my poor follower, who
" 'twill be a
was gloomily re-arranging the disordered bundles ;
glorious day, and here we are without anything fit to use."
Stepping to the window to make a more correct estimate of the

" all in a
weather, I noticed an unusual number of boys row," on the
low parapet by the river, gazing earnestly at the window. Could
the chimney be on fire ? But what on earth had each urchin under
his arm? I had quite forgotten the liberal order about the drakes,
and was now agreeably reminded of it by seeing a green head and

yellow protruded half a yard or so beyond the line of each
bill
"
borrower's person. There they are !" cried I, pointing into the
"
road. By Jove they really are come run, run, and bring them
!
;
up one by one." For the first and only time in his life Willie
believed his master to be hopelessly insane the expression of his
;
countenance was a compound of terror, wonder, and distress, as he
glanced from the window in the direction of my finger. In another

instant he was clattering down stairs, and in the next was pounding
up again. Seven first-class animals were rapidly despoiled of the
five or six good feathers to be found on each wing, eight others were
indignantly rejected, and the moderate sum of Is. 9d paid for

''
the
"
loan made us rich for the rest of the season. The transaction
took wind, and for the rest of my stay waterfowl became a source of
anxiety to their owners. The mania for borrowing became universal,

nor did a single morning pass in which during breakfast my servant,
with a very broad grin, did not report, "Sir, the drakes is come
again."
The flies were soon winged, the breakfast dispatched, and in half
an hour after my friend's mind was relieved on the score of his
master's supposed lunacy, we were trudging along the road towards
Mount Charles. The walk was a pleasant one, winding upwards
towards the moorland, and affording now a glimpse of the grey
ocean, now a clearer view of the brown hills. Passing through the
village, we soon reached the descent leading down to the bridge, and,
as directedby our kind friend Mr. S made straight for the

,
smithy, where we found his trusty ally hammering with might and
main on a ploughshare at white heat. Having told our story and
craved his aid, the name of our friend proved a tower of strength,
and the best guide to the Inver flung away hammer, pincers,
and red hot iron, pitched a hat on his head, and marched straight
off to the nearest pool.
With an brown peat water, a more tempting
extra foot of
mountain than the Inver cannot well be imagined.
river Many of
my readers, am sure,
I have such a stream in their memory, now
sweeping along in broad shallows, now curling over rocks, and anon
resting in a darker pool,

the head and tail of which are sure to hold
many a bright-eyed salmon and silvery trout. At one such as this

SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 24^
my guide paused, and arranged on the 'casting line a Ballina grilse

fly, and for droppers a small fiery brown and golden olive, which
in another moment were skimming over the pool. I had made up
my mind for a rise at the first throw, and felt
proportionately
disappointed at not getting one. Never was hour more favourable ;
there was a gi-ey sky, a stiff westerly breeze, a smir of rain, and
beautiful water. The lodge was rather a long one, and every inch
was tried down without the smallest sign of a fish. Bryan, the
smith, though near was not visible. I heard the voices of mv
companions, and was able to detect certain odours indicative of
" So this is the
pipes, but that was all. way you look after the
'
interests of
*
the master's friends, is it, Mr. B. ? And that
fellow, Willie, too.Evil communications corrupt well, of course
they do. National schools ought to teach one hundred proverbs

with the catechism." Left to my own devices I tried a claret body,
black hackle, and mallard wing with equal want of success, and
next mounted a dark olive, which, for all the good it did, might
as well have remained unwetted.
Whilst mournfully brooding over the conduct of the deserters,
Willie's honest face appeared above a fragment of rock.
There was
an odd smile on it as he walked up to his master.
"
Bryan advised me to tie this, seeing the fust fly failed it's ;
a queer article, master but he says, when the rig'lar patterns won't
;
do, this one, inhigh water, often answers uncommon well."

" advice " was
Bryan's sufficiently uncommon to justify my giving
a sketch of the insect. Here is an attested copy Gold tag, yellow
fur body, gold tinsel and red hackle, with black centre two or three ;
fibres of blue macaw for horns and two for tail complete the picture.
In hot weather I had often found a large black palmer kill grilse
when nothing else would move them, but I did not believe in this
"
gold spinner," and felt indisposed to waste further care on the
lodge, as I had been steadily over it three times. Bryan's faith,
however, was unshaken he declared there were plenty of fish in it,
;
and that a new fly might do something so, walking to the head of
;
the pool, I commenced thrashing it once more. At the second

cast a salmon came gallantly at me, previous disappointment

was
of modern
forgotten, and, in my eyes, Bryan was the greatest
discoverers.
I think it is Byron who says :
I care not for new pleasures

So that the old but hold.
This song has probably been chanted by every son of Adam, and
I could not but take up the burden. Here was the last day of
the thrill of as the line tightened under my
September yet ; delight,
fingers, was as new and fresh as when the first fish of the season
was hooked eight months before in "the scholar's throw" at
Lismore. As the brave creature flew round the pool and then
dashed down the stream, I felt, whilst steering him clear of
difficulties, that no new pleasure could equal the zest of the old.
My servant, seeing that his last work of art was likely to command
public attention, immediately commenced another, and, giving the
gaff to Bryan, hastened on with his work. After a sharp burst
our prize turned to bay, and, for a while, fought with stubborn
determination. At length, in an evil moment, the poor fellow
exposed his side to the action of the stream. Taking advantage of
his error I rolled my man over, ran him down the stream, edging the
unfortunate nearer and nearer to the shore. The smith's practised
eye saw the end was near, and, dashing before me, stepped lightly
on a slippery and projecting point, and in a manner worthy his fame,
gave the coup de grace to a thirteen-pound salmon, on whose side
the slightest tinge of copper was apparent. Once more hopefully
this time we stood at the head of the pool, and were again
successful and before we left it, two grilse and a fine trout were
;
added to the bag, attesting the goodness of the river, the excellence
of the "queer article," and the advantages of perseverance.
Netting had ceased for some weeks, and a large supply had
accumulated in the river. There was, therefore, on a day so
favourable, no lack of sport, and ouraffairs prospered till after two
o'clock, when a sudden and unexpected fall in all descriptions of

stock took place. For the last hour the storms of rain had come
down more heavily, and those disagreeable wet stains on
stones
which and I know so well to make

previously dry you ^began
themselves too visible. The river was rising there was no longer
any possibility of doubting it and, what was worse, the fish had
;
ceased rising too ; but with seven salmon and nine trout in the bag,
and the sun likely to continue above the horizon till 5.40, retreat
was out of the question. The rain might cease, in which case
the river would soon fall, and perhaps give us a splendid half -hour
before dark ;
at any rate it was a chance worth waiting for, and
one we were throw away. Bryan, however, thought

little likely to
the prospect hopeless, and was, moreover, tortured with visions

of cold iron that should have been glowing, and damaged plough-
shares that long since ought to have been mended. His potatoes
were growing cool in the pot by the whitening embers excitement ;
was over the future promised little, and conscience, taking advan-
;
tage of the opportunity, was reproving his late abandonment of

duty for the flowery path of pleasure. As I knew the river pretty
well from former visits, there was no excuse for keeping even so
able a guide as Bryan ;
with many thanks, therefore, for his services,
and an appointment for the coming Tuesday, I saw him scutter over
the bog like a wild duck, and soon disappear in the mist.
Three four o'clock the water has attained its maximum. Half-
past four a quarter of an inch lower. Five heavy shower river ;
rising. All this weary while my sober companion had been sitting
under the very insuflScient shelter of a bank, vainly trying to save a
wetting. To say he was like Patience on a monument would have
been a similitude most disparaging, for poor Patience, if left too
long on her silent seat, is apt to grow green and melancholy with
mildew and rough weather but that dear brown face was as calm
;
and bright as ever.

A few minutes more and twilight began to fall, when prepara-
made " Do you know the
tions were hastily for departure. way
back to the road in the dark, master ? I think it's somewhere over
there," observed Patience, pointing with the butt of the rod vaguely
along the south-eastern horizon. Alas I did not, and my heart sank
!
within me but what was the use of confessing my ignorance to one

;
equally ignorant ? With a stout assumption of superior knowledge,

with a feeble "all right," and an invitation to "come along," we
struck into the swamp, whilst the darkness rapidly settled down,
making doubt more than doubtful.

" Holloa holloa there." What a delight to hear a voice
!
stop ;
!
besides our own. Facing quickly round we saw a horseman strug-

gling through the bog, and presently recognised the brave, kindly
face of Father T
" At what hour do .
you expect to reach
Glen ties ?" he said, laughing, "for it seems you are going there.
Bryan told me you were out, and that he had not seen you leave the
river. Knowing what a stubborn heretic you are, I expected you
would wait and perhaps come to grief in the darkness,
to the last,
so I rode up to look after you. Give me the bag we have not a ;
minute to lose take hold of a stirrup leather, and Barney, may be,
;
he'll pull us all through."

Cold, drenched to the skin, weary, and half famished, I held on,
sinking midway to the knees in the wet moss at every step. The
good steed showed himself worthy of his charitable master, and after
half an hour's floundering brought us to a high bank, outside which
lay the high road to Mount Charles.

The long, single street of the village was reached at last. Here
"
and there asolitary "dip made darkness visible in some huckster's
window, and, oh how I rejoiced when that good Christian Father
!
T flung open the door of his hospitable dwelling, and sent the
bright firelight streaming across the dark and reeking road. My
was " Do as
friend's charity ample measure. of you would be done
"
was his rule of action, and all he had to give he gave. Bread
by
and cheese were at once set before the famished wayfarers. Next
a bottle of sherrry was produced, and dexterously decapitated by a
single blow. A full tumbler of the generous fluid was filled for
each of his guests, and a scant modicum taken by the host. But
his real kindness did not end here. "No, no," he said, "no sitting.
Tou are too wet for that. Another glass, take my horse, and
get home as fast as you can." Declining his ofifer of the horse,
I swallowed a bumper, and was soon trudging down hill towards
Donegal. this ever meet your
Dear and worthy Father, should
eye, pray believe hold a grateful reinembrance of your
I still
kindness, and hope yet to stand once more by your side on the
banks of the Inver.
It was a darkness that might be felt, whilst the rain poured down
in torrents as we toiled along. For every drop that fell on my

devoted head, a corresponding quantity flowed over the top of my
boots. We were perfectly wet through regularly saturated so
there was no need to hurry. An hour's pounding through the
slush brought us to the banks of the Esk. little figure stood A
in the doorway, and peered out into the gloom. " Oh master, !
dear, we thought you were kilt entirely." The words were few
and the voice low, yet they reached loving ears far away. A
door was hastily flung open, and light feet flew down the stairs.
*'
Oh !
Walter, is that you ? You horrid fellow, you will some
day frighten me to death !

Eun, Mary, for hot water !
Dry
clothes are by the fire. Don't stand in the passage as if it was
a summer's day. You are making the place in a flood. Dinner
was ordered for seven, and now it is near ten. I shall ring the
bell in a few minutes."

Do you remember, dear one, that happy meal the cozy pipe
the nocturnal chat? how I drank the health of a friend
whose last letter was dated not a hundred miles from Eaton-
square, and how you vowed that amongst the many good Christians
who walk this fair world of ours, none could compare with
Father T ?
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Donegal Lough Esk A Journey through the Wilderness.
October 6.
The males of a family either are, or, for the maintenance of

domestic doctrine and discipline, are assumed by Materfamilias to
be, sadly troublesome delinquents, and this evil reputation, which
begins with childhood, continues to old age.

The knight and his squire were quite unable to see the iniquity
of coming home four hours or so too late on Saturday night. True,
the weather was such as no respectable dog would have been abroad
in ifhe could have helped it but that was our misfortune, not our
;
fault. We did not make the rain or the darkness ;

in fact, would
gladly have dispensed with them, and considered it very hard lines
to be held responsible for what we neither desired nor could prevent.
It is with no wish to raise our virtue to an undue height that I say
we, the poor ill-used masculines, behaved nobly. I drank half a
bottle of vin de greve (by desire) to obviate the evil effects of so much
rain water, and, as the quality was good, finished the remainder
(also by desire) as a prophylactic against aches and pains in general ;
likewise at night a tumbler of whisky punch screaming hot

stiff
(again by particular request) as a diaphoretic and what could man ;
do more ? These sacrifices, though acceptable, were inefficient. The

health of her Majesty and her prime minister had received a severe
shock even the tranquillising influence of the Eev. Dr. O'Callaghan's
;
evening sermon failed to produce perfect repose in the minds

of these unhappy females. Our sins required further expia-
tion we were delinquents still. On the following morning,
whilst passing through the yard for my rod. Mademoiselle
accosted me.
" Is it to Lough Esk you'll be going after breakfast, master ?"
" Yes. do you ask ?"
Why
*
I'd like to know, that's all. It will be hot like yesterday, I'm
thinking. won't be good for the fishing."

Willie says it
The weather had again become fine, and we were about to enjoy a
little longer the last days of Indian summer a season so beautiful
in the highlands of Donegal. The mist lay heavy on the river, and,
moved by a blowing up the estuary, curled in a thousand
faint air
graceful wreaths, slowly sailing upwards till lost in the blue above.
Doubly beautiful looked the ivied ruins of the castle weird and ;
spectral the aspens showed on the low parapet under its walls ;
whilst an occasional yellow leaf dropped silently into the water,

eloquently reminding us that summer was over and winter at
hand.
A few steps carried me across the road to the shingles, where I at
once set to work for my family. The fish were neither large nor
numerous, yet a decent one was presently dragged on shore, rapped
on the head, and laid on the stones which served as a larder. Before
breakfast time the industrious workman, having provided for the
immediate wants of his household, was doubtful as to the propriety
of once more trying the last stream down again for his own special
amusement, when the question was settled for him.
**I can only find three, master," said a very demure little maiden,
arranging the trio more symmetrically on a dish. Mary had come,

as usual, to carry home what was wanted for present use, and whilst
we hunted among the stones for a brace of small sea-trout which
" "
she had overlooked, that spoiled young person took up the con-
versation where it had been left an hour before.
" Willie We
says it won't be a good day for sport. shan't have
more like it this year, and I'm sure the mistress would like to
many
go on the lake."
I saw what was expected, and resolved to do it
handsomely.
" the missing fish beside their
There," placing companions in
" Eun away home.
misfortune, now, you have all. I'll see what
can be done."
The proposition was favourably received ; Micky Doolan's car was
ordered, and soon bore us towards a low-wooded point, where the
streani, gliding under a rustic bridge, breaks away from one of the
most beautiful mountain tarns in the kingdom.
Lough Esk, a gem of the first water, lies in the midst of heathery
which, at its northern extremity, seem actually to drop into

hills,
it,whilst the winding western shore is flat and richly wooded.
Leaving her Majesty and lady-in-waiting for a time under the charge
of that gentleman-usher Mr. Doolan, we embarked, just as that
individual, having unharnessed his nag and tethered him to a
sapling, lifted a hamper on his shoulders, and stood prompt to obey

theh' orders. Small in size, this lake has few rivals in loveliness,
but, lying out of the track usually followed by wandering anglers,
is little known to the sporting public. That it afforded good white
trout-fishing I knew from a friend who resides on its shores ;

and
from knowledge of the gentleman who owns the principal part
my
of the land adjacent, I believe no angler will apply in vain for
permission. It would be difficult to imagine a day more un-

favourable. The dark purple water was smooth as a mighty sheet
of glass, and were mountain, rock, and tree reflected in
so perfectly
the mirror that Scott's beautiful lines might have been written here
some still autumn day long ago, to paint what we saw :
Reflected in the crystal pool

Headland and bank lay fair and cool,
The weather-tinted rock and tower,
Each drooping tree, each fairy flower,
So true, 80 soft, the mirror gave.
As if there lay beneath the wave,
Secure from trouble, toil, and care,
A world, than earthly world more fair.
" If don't try, you can't succeed," is a maxim
you peculiarly
applicable to the brethren of the rod. We were paddling carelessly
along the western shore, crossing little bays and skirting miniature
headlands, the ground all the while looking very likely but there :
was a hopelessness about the day that induced a laziness in painful

contrast with our usual energy. Were we, too, falling into the sear
and yellow leaf? Notwithstanding our extreme deliberation, a
phantom minnow and kill-devil were at length twirling far astern,
SALMON ANQLINQ IN IBELAND. 257
and lolling in the stern sheets I occasionally caught a momentary

glance of the baits as they crossed alternate patches of shade and
sunshine. Midway up the lake the boat glided within an oar's
length of one of the fairy promontories a miniature cliff, some six
base.
or eight high, with broken fragments strewed at its
feet
Dreamily thinking of some of the great ocean rocks, I had seen in
my wandeiings, I still continued to watch it, and felt certain a heavy

fish ran warily at the minnow, and equally certain that it was a
trout of unusual size. Willie, who undoubtedly was
paddling in his
sleep, when appealed to stoutly protested he had not taken his eyes
off the minnow as it passed the point, and as obstinately maintained
"
that not even a "pinkeen had stirred. I had great faith in his
judgment in matters piscatorial, but in the present case, though
silenced, I was not convinced, and was as ready as ever to swear,
not only that I had seen a trout, but had naiTowly missed being
introduced to the king of the lake. Before reaching the northern
side we picked up two or three small things, one of which, a little
salmo ferox, was made heartily welcome, because, though insignificant
himself, he had unquestionably powerful relations.
That day fly-fishing was a dismal practical joke. The artiste,
whose spirits were saddened by misfortune, viewing everything
through a very gloomy medium, was tortured with dark forebodings

about the dinner, his mistress, Micky Doolan, and *'our maid."
It was past twelve o'clock breakfast had been hurried, and I
too began to feel a natural anxiety, which shortly after was much
relieved by a thin column of smoke that began to steal up through
the trees about half a mile to the southward. Simultaneously lines
were reeled up, rods laid over the stern, and three oars being put on
(we were glad at last to find something to do), the boat flew swiftly
over the glassy water.
With a consciousness of merit, the ladies were graciously mys-
terious, so of course there was mischief afoot. Micky was all
smiles. Two iron crocks were on the embers ;
one contained
potatoes ^what else could there be in it ? But the other I hate
concealments, especially on the subject of dinner. There was a

s
258 A YEAR OF LIBERTT ; OE,
scent of onions, subtle, provoking, delicious ;

there was a whole
pile of plates ;
no wonder the party were so long invisible ; they
must have been foraging half over the country, and had, perhaps,
committed a burglary, for Micky's ideas on the question of meum
and tuwn were believed to be rather vague. Shall I ever forget the
emotion with which I beheld the wooden cover at last removed from
crock number one ? Shade of immortal Soyer ! it contained L'ish
stew flavoured to perfection, done to a bubble. That the entire
party were not taken ill was a special mercy, and that Messrs. Micky
and Willie left the place alive was simply miraculous. The human
mind has a fatal tendency to forget the future during present enjoy-
ment. Fully occupied with the savoury mess before me, crock number
two had faded out of my mind, nor could I at all understand why
Mademoiselle so frequently left the circle and vanished through the
bushes in the direction of the fire, and returning, exchanged mirthful
and meaning smiles with the queen of the banquet. Clean plates were
served out to the astonished guests, and, everything being ready,
Micky was ordered to bring in the next course. When the cover
was removed a mighty pudding became apparent, and a triumphant
shout arose when the first incision revealed apples and bilberries. It
was impossible to resist the call, and the health of our entertainer
was diTink enthusiastically. Subsequently it appeared that, whilst
botanising along the shores, a considerable quantity of these delicious
berries had been found. Micky was sworn to secrecy and taken into
" He knew," he
partnership. said, "where there was an apple-tree
about a mile off, also a shop" near to garden of the Hesperides.
this
These were great tidings ;

the horse was put to the car, and the
adventurous Micky being sent forth on his embassy, returned with a
hat full of pippins, a bag of flour, sugar, onions, and a magnificent
stock of plates, which timely supplies enabled mistress and maid to
achieve the wonders we have recorded. I have been to many grand
spreads before and since, but none ever did, or perhaps ever will,
come up to that unrivalled banquet at Lough Esk.
Our party was now united, with the exception of Mr. Doolan,
whose duty it was to return the crockery and look after the nag. A
had sprung up, of which we being on the lee

light easterly air
shore enjoyed the full benefit. It would hardly have blown out a
match, yet it raised our spirits, and confidence is near akin to

success. Notwithstanding the dinner, I remembered the point past
which we were now paddling.
"
There, Willie, between those two stones, just where the fly is
dropping, that was the place where

saw the big trout."
I
The obstinate party slowly opened his mouth, probably with the
intention of stating at length his reasons why my opinion was erro-
neous, when a tearing rise cut short the proposed oration ;
he was,
however, incorrigible, for I heard him murmur to himself, " Well, I
never did see the like ;

but it's no trout anyway, that's one comfort."
Whatever it was, the great unknown afforded me full occupation ;
for, surprised in shallow water, he went off at a pace that promised

soon to arrive at the end of the tether. Whether it was the Irish
stew, or the whisky, or the pudding, or the surprise, or a little of all
combined, it would be difficult to say, but there sat the most accom-
plished angler in Ireland, with the oar in his hand, vacantly staring,
alternately at his mistress, the fast-revolving wheel, and the counte-
nance of his master, who was rapidly waxing very wroth indeed.
" Do
you intend to see me run out ? I believe you are dinink, sir.
Pull ;
don't you pull ?"
why
As if suddenly roused to consciousness, the poor fellow glanced
for a moment over his shoulder to mark the direction the fish was
following, and then bent in earnest to his work. A sharp spurt

enabled me to regain a considerable quantity of loose capital, and
though the fetter which held Mr. Ferox was nothing stronger
than a small-sized trout-hook, still our hopes rose as we got into
deeper water and the pace diminished. Twenty minutes of delicious

anxiety, and our prize, yielding to pressure, slowly approached the
surface. Willie had long abandoned the oar, and, gaff in hand, was
peering into the purple water.

"I know'd it," he said at last with dogged deliberation; "I
know'd it were not a trout."
Now I had made up my mind that it ivas, and this obstinate
s 2
perseverance in what I could not but regard as factious opposition,

provoked me greatly. However, I held my peace, feeling sure that
the hour of my triumph was at hand.
" It's a red
salmon, master."
" Are "
sure it is not a cod ?
you
Even as the words came from my lips the line grew suddenly
slack, there was a slight plash, and then a dull sound as of a falling
body, and hope, doubt, and fear were alike at an end. My companion
was correct, and our first prize for the day proved to be a fine fish
of nearly 141b. Somehow I had not associated Lough Esk with
salmon, and had limited my expectations to white trout or a
ferox or two, so this unusual good fortune put us in the highest
spirits. The light air still held up, and was just sufficient to
produce the smallest possible curl on the water. We had yet

between two and three hours before us ;
as evening came on, the
trout rose well, and when in the dusk we landed at the bridge fifteen
of these fish had been added to the bag. They were, however, no
longer the stout silvery creatures they had been six weeks before ;
they, like the year, were passing into the sere and yellow a darker ;
shade had fallen heavily on each bodies had become thinner, heads
;
and seemed to have grown larger in fact, they were rapidly

fins ;
getting out of season, and this change was more marked in the lake
than on the river.
During the remainder of our stay at Donegal the weather con-
tinued too fine for first-rate angling, yet each day was spent either
on the Inver or the Lough. On the former, when there happened
to be a good breeze, we were able, by the aid of very small black
and red palmers, olives, clarets, and fiery browns, to get a few
trout ;
but the full harvest of this lovely mountain river is only to
be reaped when the rain-clouds from the Atlantic are brooding over
the hills, and when a thousand rivulets are pouring their tribute of
brown water into the main channel. On the lake we did better,
picking up with the troll many a good ferox, no one of which, how-
ever, exceeded 6lb. in weight. Nor did we ever walk home in the
gloaming without a fair load of white trout, amply sufficient to
justify my praise of the autumn virtues of the loveliest mountain

water in the world.
The last morning of our stay has amved ;
so has Mr. Doolan ;
so
has the car ;
and we pause before mounting to take a last look at
the bright river sweeping round the old walls of O'Donnell's Castle,
and to bid adieu to the restless, noisy jackdaws, whose loquacity, by
the way, we had long since graciously pardoned. But the best
friends must part a weary journey lies before us, and it will be
;
dark long ere we crawl over Crotty Bridge, and roll into the court-
yard of Lord Q-eorge Hill's hotel.

The district of the Rosses is separated from the more reclaimed
country about Qlenties and Ardara on the south by the river Gwee-
barra, the sandy channel of which is from a mile and a half to a
quarter of a mile in breadth throughout the last eight miles of its

course,and can only be passed by fording in dry weather. On the
whole line of coast from Bloody Foreland to Malin Beg Head there
is but one gentleman's seat this is at Ardara, a village at the head

;
of Loughrosmore Bay, from which there is a pretty good communi-

cation over the heights that stretch from Bluestack to Malin,
Beg, Killybeggs, and Donegal. Westward from Ardara the coast
again becomes precipitous, being lined with cliffs from 500 to 600 feet
in height on the northern side of the great promontory terminated
by Malin Beg Head. The loftiest cliffs, however, on the whole line
of coast, are those of Slieve League, immediately east of Malin
Beg
where the height from the sea to the summit of the shelving rock
above, is at one point 1964 feet.
This description, extracted partly from the ''Memoirs of the
Ordnance Survey," introduces the reader to a vast wilderness of
swamp and mountain, glens, lakes, and rivers but it affords him no;
aid whereby to feel all the magic of the scene. Passing through
Mount Charles, we entered on a track of moorland that appeared
endless. Hour after hour the car rolled along the solitary waste,
through Ardara, through Glenties, and across the Oanea, now
shrunk to half its size.
Wilder grew the landscape as we toiled slowly up the lofty

262 A TEAE OF liberty; or,
mountain range which forms the eastern boundary of the Gweebarra,

and wilder still as we hurried down the long descent which ends at
the police barrack beyond the bridge. Whilst our wearied horse rested
we had ample time to admire this most
solitary spot. On every side
shut out from the world by uninhabited wastes but the glen
it is ;
through which rushes this glorious mountain river is indeed sublime.

Running between lofty hills, toiling with innumerable rocks, it frets
its way to Gweebarra Bridge, below which it forms a long, deep
reach, and then falls into the estuary. As an angling station I have
no personal experience of its though often halting here
merits, for
to bait my horse, I never threw a on any of its pools. That it
fly
affords admirable grilse and trout fishing in a wet season is, how-
ever, indisputable. More than one of my acquaintance have rented
it at various times, and I have no reason to believe they were ever
dissatisfied with their sport.
The sun was sinking as we walked up the steep road towards
Dunglow. Lights were shining in the hospitable house of my old
friend at Roshane, as we wended our weary way slowly towards the
ford, and when at length the kindly voice of the host, and the
sharper tones of his worthy wife, bade us welcome to Gweedore, the
night was far spent, and mistress and maid, master and man, were
as weary as any four wayfarers in Her Majesty's dominions.
CHAPTER XXXVn.
Gweedore Poison Glen Dunlewey Lakes Arigle Valley of the Claddy
Angling Regulations "Waters of the Neighbourhood" The Middle Lake
A Mountain Storm Old Dan.
October 13.
In the most solitary nook of the Rosses, two lofty walls of nearly
perpendicular rock hem in a narrowing strip of level swamp, through

which flows a small and shallow stream. This pass is the Poison
Glen, the stream, the head water of the Claddy and happy is he ;
who for the first time stands on the gravelly strand of Dunlewey, to
gaze on a picture that may be paralleled but can hardly be sur-

passed. The little river (if the weather be fine) tinkles over the
stones, and is lost from whose margin Arigle, the
in the long lake,
loftiest mountain in Donegal, rises abruptly. To the east is the dark

glen, whilst westward the valley widens and widens till it meets the
sea at Bunbeg.
Separated from the upper lake by a short stream (it is barely

a hundred yards long) is a second sheet of water of considerable
extent, on whose northern bank a large brook debouches. Then
there is another connecting river joining another small lake to the
chain. From this point the Claddy finally breaks away from all
restraint, and after lingering for a short space round the hotel, with
scarcely a moment's pause, runs its brief race of prodigal riot to the
sea.
Having thus roughly mapped out the scene of our future opera-
tions, we will as lightly sketch its sporting qualities. From the
latter part ofJime to the end of the season, the Claddy, after rain,
is all that man can desire pelding salmon, white and brown trout
;
in ample measure. When the water has shrunk, from a continuance

of fine weather, the angler will do well to shift his ground and take
to the lough, instead of tramping daily over the black and charred
peat bog.
At the bottom of the garden, boats belonging to the hotel are
always riding at anchor, and one of these will soon bear him to a new
field of operations while, if there be anything like a breeze, the
:
middle lake will not send him home salmonless. Before reaching
this point the stranger will pass through a wide and shallow sheet
of water, thickly fringed with bulrushes. The pool is not remark-
ably tempting at first sight but only try it with three small flies of
;
any shade or pattern. I did so onie, and remained there the entire
day, pulling up to windward and then drifting to the lee shore. The
number of small but beautifully-shaped trout taken on that occasion
I should not like to record ; though I did hear subsequently that a
certain inquisitiveyoung lady counted as far as one hundred and

seventy-six, and then gave up the task in despair.
Separated from the river only by a narrow grass plot, a mountain
road, and a kitchen garden, stands the hotel, which well deserves a
few grateful words from me. Shall I record that the managers are
upright, civil, and obliging that the house is thoroughly comfort-
;
able ;
that the food and the cooking good ? All this
is excellent,
might indeed be said without fear of contradiction, but yet would

leave much untold. Three times it has been my good fortune to visit
Gweedore ;
each timemy visit was long and I felt at home.
Before me liesa printed form headed *' Fishing Regulations for
1866." As the reader may like to see them, I give the paper
verbatim et literatim.
Terms on which gentlemen staying at the Gweedore Hotel will be permitted

to fish in the rivers and lakes belonging to Lord George A. Hill are as
follows :
The
lakes and that part of Gweedore river which belongs to his lordship may
be fished without any charge by persons staying at the hotel, they being
required to return all salmon caught to Mr. Cunningham, the manager of
Gweedore Hotel, and to pay 4s. per day for boat and two men, and 2s. 6c?. a
day for boat and one man.
Gentlemen fishing the river Claddy, between the lakes and Bunbeg, to pay
by the day, week, month, or season, according to the following rates ;
When all salmon caught are either returned to Mr. Cunningham or paid for
at market price,
Angler to pay per day 3 6

per week 18
,, per month 2 2
,, per season 5 5
When angler keeps all salmon caught by him,
He will pay per day 6 6
,, per week 1 16
per month 4 4
per season 10 10
Gentlemen will be required to 46liver all salmon in good order to Mr.
Cunningham, and are requested to land as many as possible of the fish with a
net instead of with a gaflF, as the latter injures the fish veiy much, and
consequently lessens their value.
Gweedore, April, 1866.
SALMON ANOLINQ IN mBLAND. 2fi5
About a couple of hundred yards below the house is a bridge, with

one high arch, over which runs a road straight across the moorland.
Dipping over the shoulder of a hill, it drops rather abruptly into a

narrow, boggy valley, through which flows the Gweedore river ;
and
this, like the lakes, is free. The lower half mile is deep and still,
but from thence to the Fox's Leap the little stream presents a series
of charming pools. Let there be but half an air from the north-
north-west, and I know no more pleasant angling than is to be
found on that narrow, deep, and dark "lower half" mentioned

above.
The journey of the previous day had been severe. During the
earlier part of it, master and man padded up the hills for the mere
pleasure of the thing, and down, entirely out of consideration for

the quadruped and, as about five-eighths of the road consisted of
;
alternate ascentand descent, it is evident that we walked much and

drove As night fell the poor horse grew more and more
little.
weary, and then we were obliged to use our legs. To add to my

troubles, some months previously a new member had been adopted
into the family. Jack, an infant at the time, had since become
a great and in our various wanderings always insisted on
cat,
perching on somebody's shoulder. Unfortunately, that spoiled

animal usually elected me as bearer in ordinary, and during the
present journey rode at least twenty miles on my back from

which he would occasionally spring and race over the bog till
regularly planted. He was worse than the " old man of the
mountain," for that individual did whilst
sit quiet, my cat o'
mountain was never still for a moment. Once I tried to lose him
in a hamlet through which we passed, and wept crocodile tears
with Madame on her bereavement, but an hour afterwards was
nearly frightened out of my wits by being unexpectedly clasped
round the neck from behind. Jack had a good master, and knew
it. My back aches even now at the remembrance of the anguish
I endured from the claws of that harpy.
Completely done, I went to bed supperless, and awoke, nearly as
tired as when I lay down, to see the glorious mountain
peaks all
266 . A YEAR OF LIBERTY ; OR,
around me showing clear and purple against the sky. Standing on

the grass plot, one glance at the river warned me to avoid it, but a
crisp north-west air whispered a pleasant song about the lake. At

this season the angler's day need not begin before ten, and seldom
extends much after five, so we strolled slowly back to make the most
of Mrs. Cunningham's capital breakfast. Seated at my side of the
table, quite unconscious of the pains endured on his account, was that
hairy monster Jack, eyeing alternately the milk and a polished

metallic cover, from beneath which savoury odours were rising It
was a pleasure to see him. Well, well ! I must make up my mind

to carry him all the days of his life.
Lobster and eggs, cutlet and toast, coffee and tea, are wonderful
restoratives ;
at least, they restored me so completely that an hour
afterwards I shouted lustily for Willie and his mate, and was soon
moving warily over the shallows towards the middle lake.

Less than half way up its northern shore, a long bar of sand and
gravel stretched across the mouth of the mountain river previously

mentioned. Here salmon bred in the stream congregate till the late
autumn floods tempt them to ascend ;
and as this season many fish
were on the lodge, we expected at this point to find sport. From
west to east the bank was tried with a dark cast of flies ;
from east
to west was flogged with the most sparkling beauties our book
it
contained. The first experiment was a total failure the second ;
attempt was little better. We rose a fish certainly, but that was
all. Five times out of six, unless a salmon be very stale, if he comes
once he will come again but we could make nothing out of this
;
one. Ten times the flies were changed. We tried him deep, we
tried him on the surface ;
he was attacked from the shore side, from
the lake side, from the east, from the west. For one mortal hour
that creature stood siege ;
then the baffled assailants drew off their
forces, and very they were. Still following the north

crestfallen
shore, we presently reached a low reef of dark water-worn rocks,

where with renewed hope we recommenced our labours. When
about half over the cast a fine fish of 13lb, or 141b. sailed quietly
up to the dropper, but if his mouth was not closed I am much

mistaken. Taking exact marks, we rested on our oars for a short

time, and came over him again and again but neither would;
he say a civil word to us, notwithstanding all our efforts to please
him, so we the house promising to call again on our way back.

left
When we quitted the hotel there was eveiy probability of a fine

day, but for the last hour all things seemed to portend a change.
Over the dull grey sky countless small dark clouds were flying ;
mists floated over the peaks of Arigle, and then lingered there,
first
growing denser and more dense till they rolled in heavy volumes
nearly to the base. Then the gusts of wind grew louder and louder,
darkening over the surface of the lake. A storm was at hand, and
the conduct of our scaly friends was explained. They had long
noticed what we, with our boasted superiority, had not been able to
see until it was close at hand.
How the big drops danced over the surface! How the wind
shrieked and raved through the mountain passes! Presently the
dry channels in every little hollow became wet, soon a thousand
streams were in motion, and in an incredibly short time after the
storm commenced they grew into torrents, and foamed and raged
down every glen.
The best cast was before us, for we had reached the short stretch
of river which connects the upper with the lower lake. In many
places salmon rise well during rain, especially when it is of a
character likely to produce a fresh and now it seemed that
;
Dunlewey was one of these. We had not made haK a dozen casts
when there was a deep eddying swirl at the dropper, and in an
instant all was life and animation. Who cared for the rain ? As to
our boatman, it was a normal state of existence. My faithful
comrade was as contented when wet as he was when dry, and for
his master he never thought about it at all, for the tackle was
light, the fish strong and active, and that person had enough to do
to attend to his business. The fight was too fierce to last furious
;
and desperate runs ended in leaps as wild and headlong. Now

here, now there, it seemed as if several salmon were continually
throwing themselves out of the water, and I could hardly believe such
a series of summersaults were delivered by a single individual.

Flesh and blood could not stand such goings on the pace was too ;
good to last, and in less than ten minutes he was in the basket.
As quick as possible another and another were hooked, played, and
lost then a fourth fretted his brief hour on the stage and died.
;
Presently there was a lull, not in the storm but in the sport flies ;
were changed again and again, but in vain it was time to shift our
;
" the reef."

ground and pay the promised visit to our friend on
I think he must have been anxiously expecting us, for no sooner
had the flies fallen on the water than he was at them. We had
guessed the fish to be 131b. or 141b. and were not far from the
mark, as when brought to scale he proved a little over the lesser
weight.
By this time the water in the boat was surging from side to side
with every motion, and the margin of the lake was already deeply
coloured by the boggy streams that poured into it. " There
may
yet be time to send a line of invitation to our early acquaintance
of the morning so turn ahead, boys, at full speed."
;
As we
approached, a large patch of black water with a semicircular outline
became too visible but was it all over the lodge ? That was a
;
question opinions differed.

;
It reached certainly very near its outer
edge, but then the shy customer of the morning also dwelt in that
part of the house. Well, here goes one can but try and in less ;
time than it takes to record it, the rod was arching over my head, as
rods always should. Suddenly remembering how long the business
of life had been neglected, our new attache flew towards the shore
and dashed headlong up the boiling and discoloured torrent. The
whole thing happened in an instant. I could still feel the fish, but
I also felt that the line was foul, apparently twisted round one of the
countless blocks of granite which filled the bed of the river. No
orders were needed ; every man saw the danger and the remedy. In
twenty strokes the boat's keel grated on the strand, and Piscator,
reeling up as hard as he was able, floundered and stumbled up the
stream in a line with the impediment. As usual in such cases, the
moment the rod came over it the difficulty vanished, and the fish.
once more feeling the strain, dashed on towards some stronghold

which perhaps then rose clear in his fancy. I dared not give him
an inch of line for fear of again getting foul, but rushed madly on
over ground that in cool blood I would not have faced for a trifle.
One false step would have been equivalent to a broken bone.
" There ain't no As my com-
getting over this here, master."
panion remarked, there ivas a difficulty, for the rocks were abrupt,
far apart, and slippery
as glass. Now came the tug of war. As the
fish shot against a strong column of falling water we gave him the
butt. For a brief space the forces were balanced and the onward
rush stayed a second more and he was weltering down, still
;
resisting the united action of the rod and the torrent. Willie
availed himseK of the opportunity, stepped lightly on a nearly sub-
merged stone, and as the salmon rolled past drove the steel home,
with just sufficient breath left to exclaim :
" If we hav'nt full price for you, 'tis a pity."

the
paid
All hands had taken in enough water for one day, so, hauling the
boat up high and dry, we turned her over on the heather, deposited
the oars in the nearest cabin, and set off homewards in such a deluge
of rain as rarely descends on man's devoted head.
The fairy web of night and day,
called twilight in vulgar prose, was falling around us, yet we

floundered merrily across the spongy bog, and splashed along the
road towards the hotel, not distant, but more than half obscured by
the mist, the rain, and the growing darkness.
What a wonderful thing is memory How vividly I now recalled
!
my earliest visit to Gweedore It seemed but yesterday that my first

!
season was drawing to a close. With the design of getting infor-

mation for the following year, I had been moving across a country
which to me was then a terra incognita, and had blundered by
chance into Dunfanaghy, to find Horn Head a delight, and M'Swine's
gun a perpetual excitement. How keenly I now remembered my
first introduction to the Midges, that close, sweltering night when
we drove under Muckish, on our way to Lord George's. How vividly
the pleasure now came back to me with whicli, on the following
morning, I saw for the first time the river, the mountains, and the
glen ! seemed walking homewards over the moor in a

Again I
deluge such as was now falling. It appeared but yesterday that,
confused by the storm, I took a wrong turn in the road, and should
in due time have found myself once more in Dunfanaghy, had it not
been for a little white-haired peasant, spiced with a concentrated
essence of peat-smoke 50 per cent, over proof. Poor old Dan my !
comrade for many a day afterwards, how I bawled at you, roared at
you, spoke slowly, confidentially, soothingly ;

and how your answer
was always the same gentle, patient smile ! You never knew that I
felt disposed to strangle you, nor how ashamed I was when, in the
extremity of your distress, you faltered out, No Engleesh." Do I '*
forget the five salmon you gaffed for me on the following day in
little more than an hour, out of a single pool at the bottom of that
" Leech
boggy inclosure yonder, which was to have been called
Park ?" No, of course not no man ever does forget such things.
;
It was just such an evening as this, old comrade long dead, that
we walked home together. To-morrow I shall think of the reverend
locks that streamed from under your old blue bonnet as we sat
triumphant on the heathery rock by that round pool. Ah, me how !
happy I was Such joy comes but once.

! You cannot share the
sport I hope again to meet there, yet you will be with me, for I shall
sit a few minutes where we sat, and dream once more of " the days
that are gone."
SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 27 1
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Expectation The Myrtle Grove In at the Death Ruined Cabin An

Impostor Down to Bunbeg Gweedore River, and how to get there
Mountain Lake Wo set out on a long Journey, but say nothing about it.
October 20.
All night long the river sang a pleasant tune there was not much
;
light or shade in the performance certainly, for it was rather of the

street minstrelsy order, which begins fortissimo and tries crescendo ;
nevertheless it was charming to me, its sole auditor, and might

therefore be considered a great success.
It was long before sleep visited my eyelids, and dawn was only
just stealing over the world when I awoke. The wind was still
gusty, freshening up with every shower huge masses of cloud drove
;
over the sky, leaving occasional bars of blue, and on the brown and
dripping moor sunshine and shade paved the earth with alternate
patches of umber and gold. In short, it was a fishing day nothing
;
was wanting ; clouds, wind, and water were just what they should
be they promised a rich harvest, and I longed to reap it.
;
was hardly nine when we walked out of the yard towards the
It
bridge, Willie lagging a few steps behind to fix some new device on
the casting line. So short was the distance that I was over the bank
impatiently waiting on the rocky incline slippery from the seepings
of the bog before he came up.
At this point the Claddy, rushing through a smooth but deep
channel in the rock, formed a pool so tempting that for the life of
me I never could pass it without a trial. The lodge, however, did
not deserve my partiality, for, though I had often bestowed much
time and labour on it, the gains seldom repaid the trouble. On the
present occasion we fared no better than in former seasons, so we
moved rapidly down the water, making odd casts here and there, to
any point that might possibly hold a running fish, and soon came to
a spot known amongst our party as the " Myrtle Grove."
^72 A YEAR OF liberty; OR,
Many of our readers will recognise the It lies,

pool. perhaps,
two or three hundred yards below the bridge, having on its northern
bank an unusually luxuriant growth of the Myrica gale. At its
neck the river spreads out into a broad and shallow run, which,
narrowing as it goes, forms as lovely a stream as ever gladdened

an angler's eye, whilst at the bottom it steals away in a swift and
smooth shoot. Here many a good brown and white trout, and many
and many a salmon, has died. Here we had often arrived light, and
gone away loaded, and now, with the surface crisped over with a
sharp squall and darkened with a coming shower, we did not doubt
that a triumph was at hand.
How well we succeed when hope is high Light and true flew
!
the line. With what a taking motion the glittering insects darted
hither and thither through the brown water It could hardly have
!
been done better, yet we are within three feet of the end without a
rise.
" "
How and disagreeable
du'ty !
The speaker had come up unnoticed. Turning, I saw a very

spruce gentleman sadly perplexed about his raiment, picking his
way with great care from one tuft of heather to another. Glancing
hastily back at the line, Iwas just in time to see a bright gleam at
the very edge of the pool, shooting towards the bottom.
"
Oh, dear, what's the matter ? I wish you'd look where you are
going."
There was little opportunity of asking my new
acquaintance what
was the cause on feeling the hook, had
of his grief, for the fish,
dashed straight away and was racing round the turn through
rocks and broken water, at a pace that made delay impossible, and
elaborate courtesy a thing not to be thought of. Willie was already
thirty yards ahead, doing his utmost, whilst I was getting over the
ground, which was wet and broken, as best I might, in momentary
fear of a foul. These sharp bursts do not last long the pace is too
good. Little by little the line was gathered in for longer intervals
;
an olive fanned the water, and then a side yellow as burnished

tail
gold gleamed for an instant on the surface.

"What is it?" to Gaff, who was panting and labouring, still
about twenty yards ahead.

*'
Should say it's a trout, if
puff he wasn't puff, puff so
big."
The fugitive, now in deeper water, turned to bay, but the rod was
by this time well over him, at
high pressure, and he yielded.
What a group we should have made had some Leech been at
hand to sketch us In the centre a glorious trout, with diminutive
!
head, deep flank, broad shoulders, and a side tinged with the ripe
glow of a tropic sunset over him stooped the reader's old acquaint-
;
ance, fumbling in his pockets for the weighing machine, whilst,
wiping an inflamed countenance and getting choked in an abortive

I was afraid to say so,
effort to hide his laughter, stood the scribe.
but in my inmost soul I wished the gentleman who knelt beside the
dying fish in an agony of delight, had a change of raiment never ;
did man want it His patent leathers would never again bear
more.
a polish ;
that waistcoat, lately white as snow, was henceforth and
for ever destined to wear a dirty purple hue. As for his Lincoln
and Bennett, and superfine frock coat, I shuddered as I looked, yet

the wretched man was utterly oblivious of his condition every ;
faculty was absorbed in the contemplation of the expiring

beauty.
"I would'nt have missed this sight for a pound," he said, stroking
the vermilion spots for the twentieth time. "I say, you there, you
are never going to squeeze it into that basket, are you," to Willie,
who, having bent the object of his idolatry head to tail, was about
to deposit him in the creel.
"Dear me" rubbing face, waistcoat, and inexpressibles with a

delicate pocket handkerchief an admirable uniformity of shade
till
was attained "I must go home and change. Only let me have
him, I will take him back without brushing off a scale. What
weight did you say ? Oh, eight pounds and a half thank you." ;
Glad to be rid of such an incumbrance so early in the day, we

bade our new acquaintance good-bye and pushed on to the next cast.
This was a long nanow reach of deep water, with just such a stream
T
as salmon love. Had there been but one in the lodge he could
hardly have helped rising, and to-day few rises were likely to be
made in vain that break so sharp looks like business. In such a
;
place no fish could have a chance ;

there was no need to give line ;
from first to last a heavy exhausting strain was on him nothing ;
could stand it long. Sharp eyes were on the watch; the gaff was
''
always ready ;
the next turn, Well done, Willie ;
not bad for
number two."
Besting the water for a few minutes, and changing both drop and
trail, we tried it over again, and were so unfortunate as to play and
lose a fish at each attempt.
This round pool is the place where, many a day ago, during my
first visit, I landed five salmon. It was my opening season, and
success had been small. Once only in that happy time three fish
had fallen to myImagine, then, the pride with which I saw
rod.
Jive ranged sideby My wildest imaginations were surpassed,

side.
and henceforth nothing seemed impossible. " Dan, my poor dead

friend, there is not a drop wherewith to toast your memory, so I will
e'en sit on this tuft of blooming ling, smoke a meditative pipe, and
watch another hand your favourite lodge." The daydream was
fish
a long one, for when my honest companion woke me up with the

inquiry, ''Will we go on now, master? I've put four flies over it,"
the weight of the creel was increased by the addition of one salmon
and two white trout.
The Orotty is smaller than the Inver, but remains longer in order,
owing to the size of its lakes and during the Lammas floods I know
;
no prettier or more hopeful river on which to while away that

magical time. In the north, the flax destroys all autumnal fishing,
generally finding its way into the streams in spite of the water-
bailiffs during the first week of August; but here, happily, the
obnoxious plant does not thrive, and the unpoUuted Claddy is as

*
lively and sweet in August and September as most other rivers
are in June and July. If the truth must be told, 'this station
is a great favourite with us, not only because it attains its best
condition when most other waters are useless, but also for the rare
SALMON ANGLINO IN IRELAND. 275
beauty of the neiglibourhood, which, though most solitary, possesses

all the appliances of civilization.
Inexorable time, which drives us all forwards whether we will or
no, warns me to "move

There, in the midst of that aguish
on."
swamp, stand the walls of a cabin long deserted; and, close to the
ruin, the river forms a deep pool, which, in the changeful light,
seemed black as ink. Willie drew closer to his master, and pointed
with the butt end of the gaff to a small wave which, rolling towards
either bank, was at the moment breaking against the peaty shore.
No explanation was needed it was plain that a salmon above the
;
average of the water had risen, and equally plain that he was
marked out exultingly as an object to be murdered forthwith.
"How big ?" in a husky whisper to my companion, who at the
moment was rapidly " Did
turning over the leaves of our book.
you see him ?"
" master that not exactly, but I think I seen the
Why, no, ; is,
rim of his tail."
"Well, what was he like ?"
"Maybe he's fourteen pounds, maybe more."

No unnecessary time was
you may be sure. The casting-line
lost,
was speedily yet carefully examined. Knots and loops were in-
spected, and a new fly mounted for trail. Already the squall of
wind and rain darkened the surface, as the line dropped easily on
the water at the neck of the pool. Cast followed cast, and now we
were over him ay, and into him.
" The fish feels
uncommonly light, Willie."
"Wait a wee, master; he don't know what's the matter yet.
He'll grow heavier presently. He's fourteen pounds if he's an
ounce."
Round and round his prison flew the captive, now on the point of
dashing out of the back door, now meditating an escape by running
straight ahead. Still, though active, there seemed nothing in him.
My poor companion looked from the bending rod to the tension of

the line, and from the line peered vainly into the black water. He
seemed puzzled.
T 2
" I can't make it out

anyhow. I'm sure the salmon as rose wor
a big one for the Claddy, and this, whatever he is, ris at the same
spot. Oh, worra, worra, it isn't z,jish at all, at all."

The honest was bending over the stream in order to get a
fellow
better insight into the difficulty, and now stood at my side with a
very crestfallen expression on his brown countenance.

" Bear on He ar'nt worth nothing we're
him, bear on him !
;
only losing time."

A stiff strain solved the mystery, by bringing a 41b. white trout
wallowing to the surface. The river was naiTow, and "Willie, seizing
the opportunity, put the gaff into him. At any other time we
should have admired the broad, thick, little fish, which was now
unceremoniously knocked on the head and huddled into the basket ;
but he was in disgrace, having practised shamefully on our credulity
by trying to pass himself off as a great person. What was to be

done next? Should we show the fly at once to the real Simon
Pure, and ask him then and
there what he thought of it ? or should
we wait more favourable moment ? The squall had passed
for a
and the sun was shining, so, without a word of discussion, we moved
off to the cast below, in a spirit of unanimity that was quite
delightful.
On and on we trudged, taking a trout now and then at rather
long intervals. For the last half hour a dark mass had been slowly
gathering on the horizon, and now began to mount rapidly towards

the zenith. The hour of trial was at hand, so we walked back to
be ready to take full advantage of the opportunity. It soon came ;
the sharp rain fell in a slanting sheet, whilst the little wavelets curled
and foamed. One cast above him and one over him he has it firm.
Now, Willie, we shall soon see whether you are correct as to weight.
What boots it to describe the closing scene A salmon well hooked
!
in anarrow river cannot escape he might as well send for a ^' sea
;
lawyer" and make his will at once. I do not know whether our
present patient had set his house in order, but I do know he
played his part manfully, kept the great enemy at bay as long as
he could, and died only when he could not help it. Though not
quite so heavy as liad been supposed, the fish proved to be the best
I ever landed at Gweedore,
weighing a little over 13^1b.
In high glee we bent our course steadily downward, landed another
in the wild and rocky lodge some half mile above the Parsonage,
and yet another in a brimming pool nearly opposite that snug
dwelling of our old friend. Then came a lull in the sport, and
pausing a few minutes to look at the fish pass, we came to the
village of Bunbeg.
Here stands "the store," a huge omnium gathenmi kind of shop,
startedmany a year ago by his lordship as a depot whence his
poor tenants might procure all such articles as they could by any
possibility requu'e, at little more than cost price. Fame is hard to
win, and human the last thing Lord George would desire,
praise is
but efforts such as his must at length succeed nor can I doubt that ;
even in this world his long patience will reap its reward, and a wild
tenantry will yet hail as their great benefactor the man whose long
suffering they have so cruelly tried, and whose love they have so
vainly laboured to extinguish.

The early autumn evening fell before we had fished half our way
home but we had done our
; best, as our backs testified, whilst we
trudged wearily along the last two miles of road. Did we wish the
load lighter? You may swear we did not. How well I can still
see our host's quiet smile as he surveyed the spoils spread on the
floor.
"
Eight salmon and eleven trout. Youi' honour hasn't forgot the
way to do it."
" Where is the fish I sent home in the ? I should like to
morning
look at it before the cook has it."
"
*'
Do you mean the one the gentleman brought in ?
'
Yes, exactly ;
he kindly offered to take it."
"
Why, he ordered it to be boiled for his early dinner, before
starting for Deny, and the servants finished it. I hope you did not
want it."
If ever I catch a curiosity again, see if I part with it on any

pretext whatsoever.
278 A YEAE OF LIBEETY ; OE,
Through the night there were heavy dashes of rain, and the
Oladdy was as high as on the previous day. How tempting it
looked as we leaned for a moment over the parapet of the bridge !
But there is an irresistible charm in novelty, so we walked a short
up the road, and then struck across the bog to the right.
distance
The moor looked dark and dead; in every crack between every
hummock water was lying. Ever and anon a snipe sprang at our
feet, whilst the soft whistle of the golden plover seemed to say,
" Autumn is passing, and winter is at hand." In less than a quarter
of an hour we struck into a rough bridle path, half road, half
rivulet, and passing some ruinous cabins, soon stood at the head of the
inlet where the Gweedore river falls into the sea. For some distance
above this point the water is as still, and about half the width
of an ordinary canal. Level with its banks, it is readily acted on
by any wind from the north-west or south-east, and now, on this

breezy, showery day, was in excellent tune. In the first hundred
yards two salmon were risen, and one good trout bagged, but the
stout gentlemen first mentioned could not be brought to close
quarters. Again and again we returned at stated intervals, only to

find them perfectly impracticable ;
so at last, making a virtue of
necessity, we bade them good-bye, and went our way.

With such wind and water sport was inevitable, and by the time
we reached the leap, we had made an excellent basket of fish,
ranging from |lb. to 41b. These higher pools, sheltered from the
breeze, were less productive than the lower still, having time to
;
spare, we took the rough and smooth they came, and fished
as
straight on. Standing at the head of one of these, polished as a
sheet of glass, I played the flies quietly across till they reached the
side under a low bank of brambles, the dropper rising and falling in
a manner as lifelike as I could make it. Which was the most
astonished, the 11 -pounder who, intending to take possession of a
midge, received a sting, or a certain person who "was busily
thinking of nothing at all," it is impossible now to ascertain but ;
I do know that in that individual all other feelings were merged in
delight at his unexpected good

fortune. The prize, however, had
yet to be won. Patience, a quick eye, and light hand did some-
thing towards the winning, when my gallant squire, seizing

his
the coup de
opportunity, rushed manfully into the iiielee and gave
grace to our enemy. This brought our afifairs to an end on the
Gweedore river. For the next five or six days we were faithful to
the Claddy; and as the water, though falling still, kept in good
trim, we did very well, bringing home each day two or three salmon
and more or less white trout.
Taken as a whole, Gweedore Hotel forms an admirable sporting
residence from the 20th of June to the end of the season. During
the last eight weeks of that time, the gun may be taken into
partnership with the rod but to the sportsman who prefers

;
the
angle, I may say, without fear of contradiction, he will find few
days in which a salmon may not be taken, either in river or lough ;
and when this cannot be done, close to the house he will meet with as
good small brown trout fishing as can be had in the three kingdoms.
There is stiil one water in the neighbourhood which must be
mentioned. On the summit of the lofty mountain, in front of the
house, lies a tarn of ten or perhaps fifteen acres in extent (at all
events it does not look more), called Lough Na-Brack-Baddy, or the
Lake of the Saucy Trout. I never visited it but once, and then
during a long spell of impracticable weather. No boat, to my

knowledge, ever floated on its surface ; yet it holds noble fish,
unsurpassed for beauty of foim and excellence of flavour. The one

whose capture is recorded in the earlier part of this chapter came out
of it, and would in due time perhaps have returned, had he not
been taken in by your scribe, and subsequently devoured by an
" mercantile ambassador." Old Dan was never weary
unprincipled
of describing its glories,and every word he spoke was true. Give me
a Curragh there in May and June, with a few good baits, and a cast
of ordinary lake flies, and I should be well content to bide the issue.
Private and confidential Some day we intend to try it. Should
:
the experiment fall beloiv the level of our gi'eat expectations,

depend
on it, my dear Sir, i/oit shall immediately receive the fullest infor-
mation of our exploits.

CHAPTER XXXIX.
Old Ground The Major discourses about Prawns Snipe-shooting Autumn
Surf Old Gun On the Mountain Banks of the Cummeragh My Friend's
Yacht We anchor the Horse, and launch forth on the Lower Lake Black
Trout Upper Lough Red Salmon We leave off in the dusk, and go
home in the dark.
October 28.
Once more we are journeying over well-known ground. As we
roll along the road from Killarney towards Killorglin the Reeks
show clear and purple ;
a stream of sunshine lights up the Gap of
Dunloe, and the islands, clad in the gorgeous tints of deepening
autumn, invest the lake with unrivalled loveliness.
Summer is dead buried under the falling leaves. Winter is at
hand, and the air has a coolness which makes us wrap our cloaks
closer, and meditate a walk up the next hill. Again we pull up at
Killorglin, light our pipes, hear the news, and discourse of old com-
rades. Again we admire the

lofty pine-clad hill near Lady Headley's.
Against the porch of the hotel leans a solitary rod, reminding us

that the season is not yet over, though the dull hue on the moor-
lands is more suggestive of the gun than the angle. Cahirciveen is
as wretched and dismal as ever. By-and-by we run merrily down
the long which terminates at Inny Bridge, and slowly
descent
mounting the opposite hill pass the Butler Arms, with a triumphant
whoop from the driver, and soon pull up at the long, low, hospitable
cottage of my friend Major D ,
whom we had come thus far to
visit in fulfilment of a long-standing promise to kill a November
salmon.
What a joyous evening we spent in the snug little dining-room !
The ladieswere not banished, but drew round the sparkling bog
deal fire, talked of their mutual experiences, the angelic nature of
woman, the iniquity of mankind in general, and, in fact, attained

SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 28l
the highest pinnacle of matronly happiness. The Major, whilst
scientifically compounding a fourth tumbler, opened his heart and

became communicative. He told how in the previous month " his
"
lady fair required stock for her aquarium, and how, the weather
being impracticably fine, he shouldered his landing-net, ordered
Patsy to follow with the stable-bucket, and betook himself to the
sea- shore at low water. " The first
few rock pools did not yield us
so much as a ' tittlebat ;' but the next
scoop under a ledge fringed
"
with pink weed by Jove, sir stirring his glass with dangerous
" I had
energy, a dozen prawns as long as my finger and thick as my
thumb. Hang the aquarium, sir. I worked like a horse, and brought
home the bucket half full of these delicious crustaceae" (he was fond
of parading the profound learning to be gained from sixpenny
" about
treatises, the foreshores and their inhabitants") "and by Jove,
sir, and I stick to business so long as the springs lasted !"
didn't Patsy
When the prawns were discussed we came to matters of more imme-
diate concern. The host declared with his usual energy that fishing
was out of the question there had been a long spell of fine weather,
;
the Inny was nearly dry, and as for the lakes, there had not been a
ripple on one of them for a week.

It appeared, however, that my old friend had made ample prepa-
rations for our amusement. The morning broke as grey and calm
as those which preceded it. The potted crustaceae were all that
could be desired. Men, guns, dogs, game-bags, and ammunition
enough to decimate the country, were collected on the little grass
plot under the solitarywindow of our salle a manger. Yet stUl the
Major, with feet in his slippers and back to the fire, continued
puffing and puffing with a gan'ulous tranquillity that was mad-
dening. At length the gigantic cheroot came to an end, and the

procession getting under way, shaped a course nearly due east, and
in less than half an hour reached some small
swampy inclosures at
the edge of the beautiful curved strand, through the centre of which
the Inny cleaves a passage to the sea.
The long ling, with narrow black fissures between the hummucks,
was literally full of snipe. The autumn had been unusually dry, and
this swamp the deepest in the neighbourhood was in high request

with the Crossing the bank, we had hardly taken three
birds.
steps before one sprung at our feet, and was knocked over by my
comrade in the first style of art. So numerous were they in this
small inclosure that the setters were coupled, and we walked the
birds up. During the next three or four hours we could not have
fired less than a hundred shots ;
but whilst my friend performed
admirably, I did not kill one out of eight, and felt rejoiced to quit
the scene of my disgrace for a walk along the firm dry strand
leading to the swampy meadows which border the debouchment of

the Inny.
The heavy surf, so common on the Irish coast, at this season, was
thundering on the shore. Like charging squadrons the huge rollers

rushed on, their long white plumes floating "wildly as they hurled
themselves headlong on the stubborn sand, thickly strewn with lines
and patches of foam. What a picture of a battle field The gallant !
onset the unflinching defence the shattered ranks the cumbered
gi'ound and fame enduring as the foam !
Near low water-mark, half buried in the sand, lay a brass cannon
of antique workmanship. Heaven only knows how it came there I
When the Armada, battered by shot and crippled by tempests, fled
along the coast, and some goodly ship went down in the bay, this
gun perhaps then sank like lead in that moment of horror, and now,
uncovered by the surf, rose to recall the tale of wreck and disaster.
As we watched this memento of half forgotten wars, the advancing
tide flowed up to it; each wave heaped sand on its head, till it
seemed to sink down into the grave. None of the party had ever
seen it before, and half a century may elapse ere the spectre again
becomes visible to mortal eyes.
Before we separated for the night the Major pointed to a glass of
Admiral Fitzroy's. The crystals had risen an inch since morning.
" 'Twill be a near
shave," he said, "but there will be a fresh in the
Inny before the month is over."
Cock shooting in the open is one of the most delightful of Irish
sports, provided you have a brace of setters that understand
their
SALMON ANQLING IN IRELAND. 2^3
work. affords constant variety.

It Now an old grouse rises in a
terriblehurry yet, inveterate gi'umbler that he is, finds time to
;
complain of our invasion of his rights then a brown hare glides

;
through the heather next a snipe with shrill cry and wavering flight
;
rises before Ponto's nose, whilst a flock of

golden plovers, with
plaintive note and rapid wing, flit past from time to time. From
each and these mountain races we had taken toll one day as
all of
we traversed the heathy range to the westward of Lough Currane.

A change was at hand. Lower and lower drooped the clouds more
thick and fast fell the mist. The house at Derrynane close to its
solitary little harbour, where poor Dan O'Connell passed probably the
only peaceful days of his busy life, grew less and less distinct, and
finallyvanished out of sight. The restless ocean lay under " the
blanket of the dark," but the drizzle did not extend to the south-
ward and the Cummeragh, its head waters, and the glorious range
;
of the Iveragh mountains spread out beneath us, gloomy yet clear.
For an hour or more we crouched under the lee of a boulder. No
change for the better occurred ; so, making the best of it, we trudged
home through the soaking drizzle.
After prolonged fine weather rain comes on slowly. The follow-
ing morning, though dull, was dry. No man could predict with
certainty how the day would turn out, but the Major was an old
campaigner, and always kept an eye to his communications. The
commander's arrangements for the day were eminently judicious. If
calm, we were to shoot ;

if
breezy, fish ; and, as it was calm at
nine a.m., we and guns, together with a couple of
collected dogs
bare-legged boys to carry the game, and started for the wide tract
of bog and heather which stretched from the head of Lough
Currane to the sources of the Cummeragh. We had scarcely reached
the ground when the character of the day showed itself un-
mistakably. The hurly-burly had commenced, and we were in for
a westerly gale. Anxiously the Major looked down to the road
from time to time as we shot our way towards it, for Willie had
been left behind to put the boat on a cart and bring her on, in the
event of the wind getting up. It was blowing great guns, and just
the weather for making a last successful trial of Larnaena and

E-a-li-a-nane.
The binocular was in frequent request. After a more careful
survey than usual my friend deposited the instrument in his pocket,
and gave a sigh of relief.
" Where did that fellow of
yours steal the flag ? By Jove, sir,
there it is, flying in the stern-sheets of my boat."
On nearer inspection the bunting appeared to belong to no nation
in particular, and turned out to be a smart apron of Miss Mary's,
purloined for the occasion.
we halted on the margin of the lower
It was near one o'clock when
lake. The miserable horse was taken from the shafts, tethered to
the mooring-rope, and anchored with the boat's kedge. The cart
was turned on end, and served as a landmark, to which the dogs
were secured, representing the owners of the property. The small

chain of lakes we were about to try formed the head of the Water-
ville fishery, after the first autumn spates are usually full of
and
fish. We weresoon afloat and sculling round the low treeless shores,
composed of patches of shingle and peat. Ere long the Major was
into something tolerably heavy, but languid as a fine lady and in ;
three or four minutes one of the boys landed a trout called white,
but now black as my boot, and reduced to about half its summer
weight. My military friend admired many old things, particularly
old wine and whisky, but ancient fish were his abomination.
"
Right
"
about face, in with him ! was the order. Presently it came to my
turn. Then we were engaged simultaneously ;
but the cry of the
" In "
ruthless Major was the same, with him ! In fact, the inhabi-
tants of the water seemed to have gone into a general mourning.
After losing an hour and more we got the boat into the upper lake,
and here we succeeded in landing half a score of trout in decent
condition. A
wilder day I have seldom seen. Larnaena and
E-a-li-a-nane mere mountain pools were breaking with a sullen
plash on their pebbly margins, the low clouds were hurrying along
in black and threatening masses, and the dark, overhanging hills
looked particularly savage. My companion, however, was bent on
BALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND. 285
getting a salmon, and refused to knock ofiP whilst a chance remained.

Premature twilight was coming on over the desolate mountains as we
reached the southernmost side of the lake, where a' small stream ran
murmuringly over the stones. It was now or never.

*'
There, take You have
kept us waiting long enough,"
it !
remarked comrade, striking so vigorously that I turned my

my
head to see the result, and at the same moment became conscious
of an increasing weight on my own rod, and a severe voice at my ear,
''
There he is !
Why dont you give him the butt."
How often it
happens that perseverance wins the fight at the
eleventh hour ! He who has done so knows how sweet such triumph
is. It made the Major less critical, and the Scribe excellent
company. If the truth must be told, the pair of salmon we landed

some fifteen minutes after were far from being in condition, for one
was black as my hat and the other red as a brick ;
but the soldier's
"
eyesight suddenly became imperfect. There, pack them up ;
'tis too dark to distinguish colours. We'll decide on the shade

to-morrow."
By the time rods and tackle were packed there was little light
to spare, and when we reached the lower lake it was dark. As
to the exact point at which cart and quadruped were to be found, no
two of the party could agree. After a time a dismal howling was
heard, which on our nearer approach was exchanged for joyous
barking. Even the ill-used horse welcomed us with a subdued
neigh.
Whilst the nag was being harnessed, the Major, with increasing
irritability, fumbled silently about the wheels of the cart. " What
had he lost? Could we assist him?" These and similar
politenesses for a time produced no reply. When at length he

spoke, loud was the voice and powerful the brogue, and so fierce
was the flame of his wrath, that it licked the varnish clean off his
courtesy.
" "
Martin," he said, it's hanged ye'U be, so sure as my name is
Peter Dowd. Look at this. Here's the rope, but where*s Ponto, ye
"
thief of the world ?
The missing setter had gnawed his fetters and levanted. This
was bad enough ; but, unfortunately, I have sometimes an awful
inclination to laugh at unseasonable occasions, and the funeral
oration, pronounced immediately after by my disconsolate friend,
proved irresistible.
'
He's gone the like of
;
him is not to be found under the canopy.
"
I never will see him again ! Never !
Oh, never !
The poor Major's fury was too great for words, and in solemn
silence we jolted on through the rain and the darkness. Once
already on this luckless night we had been capsized into the bog, yet
the lips of the insulted warrior were hermetically sealed. Once more
we were sprawling in the swamp, and then those awful portals were
for an instant unclosed.
" The villain will be hanged some day, that's a comfort but oh,
;
"
murther ! I never will see him gain ! Never ! Never !
CHAPTER XL.
The Last Act The Inny in order Disinterested Advice The Major distin-
guishes himself Grand Total Homewards De mortuis The wind up
Vale.
The curtain rises for the last act of our domestic drama. Over the
dripping and cheerless mountains raves the boisterous winter wind.
The rain ceased at midnight the glass is getting up, and the Inny,
;
according to my host's prediction, is in condition for this, the closing

day of the season. From the energy and industry displayed on the
previous evening, the preparations seemed more suitable to the
commencement than to the close of a campaign. Two new trebles
and twice that number of single casting lines were made, a dozen
flies fabricated, and the rod and wheel which had seen so much
service were carefully inspected and pronounced in good working
order. Exposed to the influence the Major caught the infection,

and came down to breakfast with his lower extremities cased in
stout boots, instead of the gay embroidered slippers in which on less
momentous occasions he was wont to indulge. The short day

could ill afford luxurious hours, so my old friend gave up his cheroot,
lita mighty pipe as he crossed the threshold (an example instantly
followed by our attendants), and under a strong head of steam,
we were soon running down the incline at the bottom of which flows
the Inny.
This pretty mountain stream boasts a fair share of heavy spring
trout pe?'haps also a few early salmon, and might, if the freshes
were carefully watched, occasionally afford good angling in April
and May but being regularly netted by the proprietor, is of
;
little avail
except immediately after each spate. When the annual
close time commences a good stock soon accumulates two months ;
had now elapsed since the nets were withdrawn, and the angling at
least as far as numbers went had reached its culminating point.
The great prolongation of the rod season was no doubt intended
as a boon to the upper proprietors nevertheless, this gain was
;
obtained from the public loss. It was a sort of robbing Peter to
pay Paul, and legislation in the endeavour to propitiate extreme

interests steered the dangerous middle course which so often brings
the good ship St. Stephen on the rocks. During the last week of
September not one fish in fifty is in a condition fit for the table ;
and each day of the succeeding month renders a seasonable salmon

a greater rarity. After all, the diflBculty was to insert the edge of
the wedge happily that useful implement is now in situ, and only
:
waits a pressure from without, to be driven home.

little The
current of popular opinion is setting strongly in favour of river
reform ; even the rinderpest is not an unmixed evil, since by
increasing the price of one kind of animal food it has directed men's
minds to a source of supply hitherto neglected. But if we hope
to raise our waters within any reasonable period to the rank of a
national benefit, it can alone be realised by increasing the annual
close time. What we want is a suflBcient stock, and this can only
be obtained by legislation checking, at least for the present, undue
consumption. If the net season ended July 25, and the angling
season closed September 25, the fisheries would be benefited, the
sportsman satisfied, and the upper proprietors possessed of a property

worth improving. If these last were certain of having their waters
well stocked for a period of two months, artificial propagation
twenty-five times as profitable as the natural method would pay,

and soon become universal. Legislation in the dark ages of our
fisherieswas eminently one-sided to be successful it must be
;
impartial. Monopolies do not answer. The time has not yet

arrived when the doctrine of share and share alike, as applied to
river proprietors, will be tolerated ;
it must come, however, and
then, and not till then, will our water farms yield their strength.
Some day our streams, from the source to the sea, will represent so
many joint-stock companies, with shares in the ratio of ripal
rights, bound together for mutual defence and by a common interest.
I repeat that this time will come, and I can only add, the sooner the
better.
" Nice cast
that," observed my host, with a due regard to his
own interest, pointing to a deep run in a straight line with the
" You it whilst I move a little higher up."
bridge. try
In this wicked world who can be safe from the arts of designing
men ? Here was this faithless commander, with fair speeches,
beguiling his guest out of the best pool on the Inny. Even so, old
friend but we know the water quite as well as you do, and
;
it will
go hard if you do not find a Eoland for your Oliver before the day
ends.
About two-thirds down the lodge was a deep nick cut in the bank
by drainage from the bog, and at this point we obtained the first
rise. up the stream (whilst stretching out my
Instinctively glancing
hand change the trail) I saw one
to catch the casting-line, in order to
of the Major's imps warily watching a fish his wicked old master was
playing with enviable firmness and skill. Did his neighbours covet
his ill-gotten gains ? I fear they did. Making the best of a bad
business, we came over our salmon carefully, and were rewarded with
SALMON ANOLINa IN ffiELAND. 289
a secondrise, and in due time with a third, fourl^, fifth, and sixth.
More than half an hour had been spent, but not a scale had as yet
found its way into our pannier.
*'
There, he's stuck in a third," remarked my poor companion
with the calmness of " It's all
despair. right," tossing the casting-
line in the air ;
*'
try him once more, any way."
One of the honest fellow's peculiarities was a jealous hatred of any
man who chanced to
a fish in his immediate neighbourhood.
kill
Such an act always appeared to him as a personal injury, and, like

many of the followers of Knox, having a long memory for disagree-
ables, he usually held a large amount of unpaid debts, which sooner
or later he contrived to liquidate.
Stealing involuntary glances at my fortunate neighbour, we once

more came over our fish, who this time made a dashing plunge at
the dropper, more in sport than earnest ;
but it is unwise playing
with edged tools, and so our shy acquaintance foujid when the trail
sank deep in his flank. Master and man were savage, and the
tackle was new. Strong measures were in fashion ;
and a desperate
strain was kept up, and as the salmon wallowed over the surface
"Willie made a successful dash at him with the gaff. Huddling our
first prize into the basket, we proceeded to take vengeance on our
treacherous host by keeping ahead and fishing all the best pools we
could reach first.
But the veteran was not to be done in this way. As we hurried

on, he hung back, placing a longer and longer interval of time
between us, thus making the pools we had too lightly fished " as
"
good as new for himself. Whenever we caught sight of him the
wicked old commander seemed always to prosper, and in the opinion
of my jealous attendant, must have bagged at least half a score of
fish. It really was provoking, but do what we would, success still held
aloof. If we hooked a salmon, some disaster was sure to attend us.
Two had been lost by the mouth giving way, and a third had been
knocked off when ready for the gaff, by an officious trout
the line
taking the other fly and still the Major's rod seemed to continue in
;
a chronic "state of bend,"

IT
Less than two miles above the bridge was a deep pool of consi-
derable extent, having on its western bank a long low rock, and
here our sport commenced. The place seemed full of fish pleasant ;
rivalry had wound us up everything went like clockwork, and when

;
the soldier came hurriedly over the fence it was to find us still in
possession, and on the point of landing our sixth salmon. Notwith-

standing the splendour of this closing scene, the Major was still
confident of having won the honours of the day.
" I'll bet you a ten-gallon cask of potheen, Eory and I will make
the best show. Come, Willie, turn out your creel. What! only
six fish and a beggarly half score of trout ?
Eory, show the gentle-
men what we can do."
With a malicious grin that imp slowly drew out one salmon after
another, arranging them in order on the turf. Then appeared the
trout I What a show they made ! Ten of the former, eighteen of the
" Ah who was
latter. you may ! look," to my follower, suspi-
" them caught
ciously examining their mouths ; every soul of fair.
There, pack up the game the ground is soft

; ; twilight is
falling,
and we must be on the road before dark."
With a sigh I gave up the rod, and felt as if parting from a friend.
For nine months we had been inseparable. In heat and cold, in
storm and sunshine, it had been the humble minister of unal-
loyed happiness, such as I shall probably never more enjoy. In its
silence Ihad not been solitary it had neither deceived nor betrayed
;
me and of whom else could I say as much ? That night we drank

;
a solemn bumper to the memory of the departed season, and made

vain promises for the time to come. No one believed them. Yet
they served to cheat us of an hour of sorrow. Another week brought
"
our visit to an end, and made the "Year of Liberty a thing of the
past. Forty-eight hours after I was once more at work amongst the
poor, the sick, and the wretched, whose jubilee may commence in a
future world, but whose lot can never be bright in the present.
Noverriber 10, 1866. Since the last sentence was written scarce a
that brief space important events have
year has passed, yet in
occurred in our little household. Poor Mary, having sworn "to
SALMON ANQLINQ IN IRELAND. 291
love, honour, and obey," is now

in the tropics fighting the battle
of life. The good old Colonel has gone the way of all flesh, and
the grass is not yet green on the sod which covers the remains of
one who was in infancy my protector, in youth my guide, and in
manhood my best friend.
My gentle companion, however, sits near me her cheek, perhaps,

;
a thought more pale; whilst Willie is drawing the cork from a

bottle of hock. The lamps are lit, dessert is on the table, the ex
officio butler has received his usual glass of wine, and yet lingers
about the room.
" Them mum. The door looks illegant
painters is gone at last, ;
the holes where the screws went stopped up, so that no crathur
is
on earth can see where they wor, and I've buried the brass plate
imder the sawdust in the binn the master filled this mom. I s'pose
it's little we'll be here now, as every year will be a year of liberty ;
but oh !
master, won't we miss poor Mary l"
APPENDIX.
A TOURIST-ANGLER^S GUIDE.
Tms Guide, being a partial epitome of the "Year of Liberty,"
has been added to the work more for the benefit of the wandering
sportsman than for perusal by the general reader, its design being to
show the former at a glance the principal lakes and rivers that
lie in his route. Before proceeding further, however, it may be
advisable to say a few words regarding the arrangement which has
been adopted.
Designed rather for strangers than residents, the island has been
divided by arbitrary lines into strips or districts, generally extending
from one sea-board to another, each division being in direct con-
nection with some great route, leading to Ireland from England,
Wales, or Scotland. For example whilst the line from Holyhead
:
to Kingstown places the angling-tourist at the edge of the great

central lake district, that from Bristol to Cork would bring him at
once into the south-west division of the county.
The reader must not suppose that all the waters in the several
districts are here mentioned. Lakes and rivers, ordinarily of inferior
sporting quality,
are so numerous, that if each were to appear in
review before us, a volume, not a chapter, would be required for
But though these are now passed by in silence,
their illustration.
the angler must not imagine they are beneath his notice; on the
contrary numbers of the smaller streams on the coast, though
unsuitable for stations, occasionally afford admirable sport after
rain. The tourist should therefore constantly have an eye to
business, and everywhere institute diligent inquiries as to the con-
dition necessary to bring each up to concert pitch. By this means
APPENDIX. 293
he will frequently in the summer and autumn earn many days which
will henceforth and for ever be laid up in the storehouse of memory
amongst his treasures,
Having premised thus much, we will start vid Glasgow for Sligo,
and, if the reader will draw a line from the latter town to Galway,
he will find we have given him the whole of Mayo and a comer of
county Sligo as the district in which to make his
FmsT Angling Toub.
Lough Gill lies close to the town of Sligo, and affords good salmon
angling in the spring. Permission is given on application. Hotels
excellent. Private lodgings can be obtained.
Ballisadare River is about fivemiles distant, and yields admirable
salmon and grilse-fishing from May to the end of the season. The
present proprietor has, we hear, built a comfortable sporting-lodge,
and proposes to let the angling and house for 100^. per annum, a
moderate sum if the equivalents are taken into consideration.
The Eashey is well worth a visit in summer or autumn ;
the
Great Western coach-road to Ballina crosses the stream.
The Moy affords the best free angling in the kingdom. In the
latter part of April this river will well repay the sportsman, though
his journey cost him time and money. At this season he will meet
only with salmon, the grilse not arriving until about the 15th of
June. Should he wish for more general angling. Lough Conn,
whilst holding the king of fish, will afford admirable sport in
trolling. The lake abounds with heavy trout, pike, and perch.
Pontoon is about an hour's drive from Ballina, and should on
no account be neglected. In June the grilse throng into the Moy,
and the sport is as good above as below the weirs. The hotel is
very comfortable, and private lodgings can be obtained. Should
the tourist follow the coast road from this place to Belmullet, he
will cross several small streams which, if taken at the fall of a
fresh, may afford good white trout fishing in the autunm. Con-
tinuing his course along the shores of Black Sod Bay he reaches the
debouchment of
294 A YEAR OP LIBERTY.
The Owenmore River. A finer looking stream than this can

hardly be imagined. It is not, however, as good as it looks.
Over netting has for the present, injured the stock to a great
extent.
Ballycroy River lies a few miles to the southward, and affords

excellent white trout and salmon fishing {vide Maxwell's "Wild
Sports of the West"). This river is usually let to one or two
rods. Extensive grouse moors rise around its head waters. At the
head of Chew Bay lies the small town of Newport, which forms
admirable head quarters during the summer and autumn. This
station commands
The Beltra River, Burrishoole Lake, and Tyrena (a mere
mountain stream). The Beltra affords a little salmon fishing, and
fair sport with white trout. This river has been occasionally
let to a single rod ; leave, however, may generally be obtained.
Burrishoole Lake contains plenty of trout, and a fair stock of grilse ;

whilst Tyrena, in wet weather, yields admirable angling. Following
the coast road to Galway, the tourist first reaches
The Errive, which is generally, however, let as a private water,
and the same may be said of Delphi. A little farther to the west
lie the river and connecting lakes of
Ballinahinch. Here angling can always be obtained on fair terms.
All nets are withdrawn, so very superior sport may be expected
during the next five years.
The Screebe and Furness. The chain of lakes constituting this
admirable angling for white trout during the autumn
fishery, afford ;
they also contain salmon close to the best lake is a comfortable

;
lodge fitted up for the reception of tourists the terms are about
;
three guineas a week per rod.

Costello belongs to a club, and has little interest for the tourist-
angler.
The Spiddal is usually let for 100^.
per annum, and in average
seasons is well worth the money.
Galway. The angling here from April to the end of the season
is too well known to require comment. We have now reached the
APPENDIX. 295
south-west extremity of the line which marks the boundary of our

first tour.
Passing inland, we come to
Lough CoiTib and Lough Mask. The former affords excellent

salmon and trout fishing ;
the trolling is very good, the best station
is Oughterade.
The Second Tour (vi& Glasgow and Londonderry).
This north-north-west division is bounded by the Atlantic, and

by a line stretching from Lough Foyle, to the village of Bundoran.
A short drive of eight or ten miles brings the tourist to the shores
of Lough S willy, crossing which he arrives at Eathmelton.
Lough Fern (the property of Sir James Stuart), is one of the
earliest lakes in the kingdom, which the generous owner places at
the disposal of the angler; leave can be obtained through the

landlord of the hotel. Two or three spring fish and a basket of
trout may safely be calculated upon in any good day during March,
April, or May.
The Doe Castle Fishery lies a few miles north of Eathmelton.
The river and lake hold very early salmon the proprietor leases the
;
angling. Terms can be ascertained on application. The grilse and

white trout fishing during the summer and autumn are admirable ;
eight or ten miles to the westward, bring the tourist to Dunfanaghy.

A short distance beyond the village stands the union workhouse, near
which a lake affording excellent brown trout, ranging from one to
is
six pounds. There is also another lake not far distant on the
road to Doe Castle, said to abound with char. Ten miles to the
south-west is
Gweedore. This fishery, so far as the angler is concerned,

consists of a chain of lakes, together with the Crotty and Gweedore
rivers. The accommodation at the hotel is all that can be desired.
About a moiety of the angling is free to anyone staying in the
house, the remainder is let by tickets. Terms can be seen by
reference to the chapter on Gweedore. The botanist, the angler,
and the artist will be equally delighted by a visit to this district.
A drive of two hours enables the traveller to reach

296 A YEAR OF LIBEETY.
Dunglow, near which is a small stream, draining a chain of

lakes. During the autumn spates fair white trout fishing may
here be met with, and some of the lakes are said I believe with
truth to hold large trout. Accommodation by no means luxurious.
Ten miles to the south-south-west runs
The Gweeharra River, which is occasionally leased to the rod. If
not let, permission may be obtained. Within an easy walk of
Gweebarra-bridge are many good lakes the district is rather inac-
;
cessible, but the grilse fishing in the river is excellent shoidd the
season be wet. A few miles to the south-west is the village of
Glenties, close to which flows
The Oanea River. ^Here white trout are plentiful in the autumn ;
some salmon may also be taken. Accommodation can be obtained

at the village Inn. Due south lies Killybegs, and near it the
hamlet of Dunkeneely, where is a stream worth trying should the
weather be wet. A little beyond.
The Inver River crosses the high road to Donegal. This water is
the property of Mr. Sinclair, to whose kindness many a stranger is
indebted for a day or two's admirable angling. The Inver is a late
river. Three miles farther on is the town of Donegal, through
which flows
The Esk. ^Lough Esk head water. This lake holds plenty
is its
of white and brown trout the fishing is good in August, September,

;
and October permission can generally be obtained on application.

;
Ten miles to the south lies the town of Ballyshannon.

The Erne ajffords the finest summer angling in Ireland. The
fishing is usually let to about eight rods ;
for particulars, application
should be made to the lessee. Four miles above Ballyshannon is

Beleek, which a good station for Lough Erne, on whose wide
is
waters excellent sport may be had with red trout and pike.
Lough Melvin (good in spring ;

better in summer) is three
miles distant. Scott's hotel at Garrison is the best station from
which to fish this lake, which contains salmon, grilse, gillaroo, and
the salmo-ferox. The last attains a large size here.
The Drowse drains Lough Melvin, and falls into the sea at
APPENDIX. 297
the village of Bundoran. In the spring some salmon may be taken

in it, and during the autumn freshes this stream affords capital
spori;. The tourist has now reached the end of his district ;
should
he return to Derry,
The Swilly may be worth his notice for a few days ;
whilst by
following
The Finn, he may once more find himself at Derry with a full
pannier.
The Third Toue {via Stranraer and Lame).
The lines from "the Lakes" via Morecombe and Fleetwood, will
bring tourists from Cumberland, Yorkshire, and Lancashire to Belfast,

which commands the district we are about to visit equally well
with Lame. The section marked out for our third tour contains
the counties of Antrim, Derry, Down, Tyrone and Armagh. La the
centre of these lies
Lough Neagh, the most extensive sheet of water in the island, into
which the greater part the rivers of the foregoing counties
of
debouch. During the autumn

The Maine River affords very superior trout fishing, as at that
season the great lakers are running up the same thing may be said
;
in a less degree of many of the affluents of this inland sea. Toome

Bridge isprobably the best station for Lough Neagh, whilst
Eandalstown forms comfortable quarters for the Maine River The .
fish of this district are probably the heaviest in Lreland.
The Bann, the only outlet of Lough Neagh, is a noble river the ;
part best suited for salmon-angling is situated two or three miles

above Coleraine, and is rented by a club of a dozen members, each of
whom has the privilege of taking out a friend. Membership is
a thing to be desired, as the sport is good and the terms very
moderate.
The Bush flows into the sea close to the Giants' Causeway. This
river, however, has little interest for the tourist-angler, being always
in private hands it is at present leased to two rods.
;
Between Fairhead and Lame are two or three small rivers, the
X
298 A YEAR OF LIBERTY.
principal of whicli falls into the sea at Ballycastle, but for sporting
purposes they are of little value.
The Fourth Tour (via Holyhead and Dublin).
The district now to be visited by the angler contains a great chain

of lakes, extending with little intermission across the centre of the
island, from Mullingar to Sligo, comprising Virginia, Belvedere,

Dereveragh, Lough Owel, Lough Kay, Lough Garra, Lough Arrow,
and many others. Mullingar commands Belvedere and Lough Owel.
The green-drake fishing on these two lakes is excellent.
Dereveragh also is admirable in the May-jfly season. Boyle is the

best station for Lough Kay, Lough Garra, and Lough Arrow, which
are second to none in the kingdom in May and June. It may not
be out of place to remark here that all these lakes afford first-class
trolling in thesummer and autumn, containing, besides trout, heavy

pike and perch. I know no more delightful angling tour than
might be made by seriatim visit to the waters just mentioned.

a
The Fifth Tour (via Bristol and Waterford).
The angler, by following a line drawn between Waterford and

Limerick, commands several salmon stations on the Suir and the
Barrow, nearly all of which can be fished free of charge. The sport
to be met with in this wide range is often excellent throughout the
season.
The Greater Blackwater, between Lismore and Fermoy, is second
to none in the kingdom. Previous to the erection of the Queen's
Gap, Lismore formed a charming station during the spring and

summer the best angling, however, is now obtained above this
;
point. Some
stands are generally to be let ; there is a heavy run of
spring salmon in the Blackwater. A

few hours by rail brings the
angler to the shores of the Shannon nearly all the casts about
;
Castle Oonnell by far the best portion of the river are let at a
high figure the sportsman, however, who follows the course of

;
this noble river, will obtain some of the finest trout-angling to be
met with in the island.

APPENDIX. 299
The Sixth Toue (via Bristol and Cork)
Commands the counties of Cork and Kerry. The River Lee offers
no mean salmon angling in spring and during the summer. Grilse
are pretty numerous. All particulars respecting this water can be

obtained by application to Mr. Hackett, fishing tackle-maker, Cork.
A pleasant run by rail brings us to Killarney, where we have
the Upper, Middle, and Lower Lakes the Laune, the Flesk, and
Lough Guttane. The lakes of Killarney are free, and would afford
first-rate spring trolling, were it not for the cross lines of the
professionals.
The Laune occasionally gives a good day in spring, but is better
during the summer and autumn. The trout trolling on
Lough Guttane is often very good. Permission is rarely or never
refused to the stranger. Kerry, a sort of angler's paradise, abounds
in lakes and rivers. We will proceed to mention some of the
principal. A drive of two hours by the mail car conducts the

tourist to Lady Headly's Hotel at Rossbeigh. This inn forms excel-
lent head-quarters for
Carra Lake and River, and the Beigh. The angling on the river
is sometimes good in spring ;
the troUing on the lake in the earlier
months bears a high character. The salmon are of good size and
the red trout very fine. Part of this water is free, and on the
remainder, angling by the day, week, month, or season, can be
obtained on very moderate terms.
The Beigh is a little mountain stream close to the hotel, which,
during the autumn spates, holds fine white trout.
Ihe Black Stones River is an affluent of Carra Lake, and, during
the early months of spring, affords better salmon angling than
either the lake or Carra Eiver. It is usually, however, let with the
shootings. Ten miles to the south-west is the small town of
Cahirciveen, where is a stream that looks very
promising in wet
.veather. I have never fished there, but have heard good accounts
of the water.
The Lmy flows into BallinskelHg's Bay, and in August, September,
300 A YEAR OF LIBERTY.
and October (should the weather be wet), will afford excellent salmon
and white trout fishing. Three miles farther on is
Waterville, where is a capital hotel at the bottom of the village
the "Hartop Arms." Lough Currane is well known for the excellent
salmon trolling it affords in spring; here, also, red trout are

numerous and During the month of May the salmon rise well
fine.
to the fly. In July and August the lake is full of white trout, at
which season also a few grilse will fall to the share of the angler.
The Cummeragh is an affluent of Lough Ourrane, connecting it
with two small mountain tarns. Towards the close of the season
these waters afford good sport.

The Lesser Blackwater (station, "Old Dromore Hotel"). This river
is admirable in summer and autumn, but requires rain to bring it
to concert pitch. angler intending to visit the district should

Any
write to the hotel keeper for information, as the angling is occa-
sionally let to a club. At the head of Bantry Bay are two small
rivers.
The Owrane and Beal, which afford good angling should the
summer be wet.
Following the coast line back to Cork, are several small streams,
with which the writer has no personal acquaintance.
We have now conducted the tourist over most of the principal
waters in the island; and, in conclusion, have only to wish him
health and good sport when he visits them.
London : Printed by Horace Cox, 346, Strand, W.C.

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A Year of Liberty, Or, Salmon Angling in Ireland, From February 1 To November 1 by W. Peard (1867)

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A Year of Liberty, Or, Salmon Angling in Ireland, From February 1 To November 1 by W. Peard (1867)

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}

iiif I';/* MJ1 I

SALMON ANGLING IN IRELAND

VRINTKD BY IIORACK COX, 340, STRAND, W C.

The "Yeab op Libebtt," is as nearly as possible what the title

imports namely, a period of recreation after toil. During many

matters connected with his favourite sport. With the advantage

necessitated passing more than once through districts previously

claim to accuracy. That which he saw, he endeavoured to describe

various waters at the periods referred to, may safely calculate on

It does not, however, necessarily follow that statements which

were true in 1865, should be so in 1867, for the constant tendency

of the annually increasing passion for angling, is to convert open into

private waters. This spirit of exclusiveness prevails more in Scot-

in changes ; converting, rapidly and surely, bad streams into good

ones. Everywhere through the land salmon are on the increase,

not merely as regards numbers, but also as respects size, and in

systematically followed that increase has been great indeed.

by day becoming more scarce, in Great Britain it is growing more

Halcyon days are in store for the rising generation of anglers ;

stumble on this volume, then probably long forgotten, may he do

healing influence of a second "Yeae of Libeety."

Between Lismore and Fermoy On to Elillarney Cost of Journey The

CHAPTER VII. Page.

WatervilleDerrynane Spring Equinox Below Bridge Lake in

Lough Melvin A Week at Garrison What the Drought did Permission

CHAPTER XrV. Page.

The Bnah- From tho Soa to tho Leap Rod-making Hoadlanda Wo

Curing of Salmon The Day ends better than it promised 93

CHAPTER XXII. Page.

Ballyshannon Salmon Leap White Trout ^Evening The Grass Yard

CHAPTER XXXI. Page.

The Big House Head-quarters at Newport Advantages of our Position

amongst the Mountains Breakfast A Day after my own Heart, the

abandon our Duty in a shameful Manner, and go Sight-seeing to the

CHAPTER XXXIX. Page.

Old Ground The Major di3course3 about Prawns Snipe-shooting

^ ....^ mmm^ vm VMVirU tlX lOW lOX ilU IIUUIU. X IIQ

wander over delicious mountains, or rest by the sparkling river,

CHAPTER XXXIX. Page.

Old Ground The Major discourses about Prawns Snipe-shooting

Private and Confidontial Ai'rival at Lismore ^Misgivings Fish in the River

)HERE was no happier man in Her Majesty's dominions than

circumstances having bound me a close prisoner at home. The

year of liberty had actuall}- come, and was no longer a poi'tion

only necessary to say we left home on the morning of January SO,

food, rest, and fire, after a journey of thirty-six hours. . . . And

beautiful land, passing from one to another as circumstances may

watt^r to niv dressiiig-room between the thumb and forefinger of

the matter ?"

on earth do you mean ?

fair, coming up to spawn. These are of all shades in short, they

climbing, but subsequently lost it from want of practice.

follows it amongst the branches, and then a turn of the wrist

least, set out in hope of high achievements but on reaching the ;

river, which yesterday was so bright, we found it thick as pea-soup

by hundreds of mountain streams :

of the water," remains to be mentioned. There is little, of course,

Owing width and general unsuitableness for wading, the

Blackwater not an easy river to fish successfully, but the rods

employed are unusually long, and enable a skilful hand to deliver

we will extend our walk to the Castle