safe enough on the grass a long distance round the
promontory. The man had made his observations (literally throwing a
light upon the subject), concluded therefrom behind what particular
rock the salmon was taking refuge, groped and waded his way to the
spot, and gaffed the fish at the first shot. Such an attendant, who
knows every stone, so to speak, in the river, is invaluable.

CHAPTER XV

CASTING FROM ROCKS AND BOATS

The reader of these sketchy studies of fishing in Norway has been
fairly warned already not to expect exciting records of slaughter
amongst salmon. Of course, no angler would be at a loss to explain
away his poor bags; his excuses are proverbial, they are an old joke,
they have long been a proverb. When people hear of unfavourable
weather, too much sun, rain, wind, or too little, they very sensibly
smile. I smile too, whenever, as so often happens, the necessity of
offering such pleas is emphasised by a discreet silence. The fisherman
who knows will be able, for himself, to read that the fates were very
much against us; and I would again remind him that my object is to
provide him with some knowledge that will be useful when the good time
of casual visits to Norway returns, and he sails across to make one for
himself.

To a student of geology anxious to acquire knowledge on the practical
methods of Mr. Squeers, or to the athlete who loves to skip like a goat
from crag to crag, I fearlessly recommend No. 8 beat of the Mandal
river. He may take choice of rocks of every sort and size. The
convulsion of nature that transformed this peaceful valley of Southern
Norway did it with a will that left stupendous evidence of thoroughness
through all the ages. There are rocks more or less along all the
higher portions of the river, but in our section we had them in
unquestioned abundance. Sometimes they acted as frowning walls for the
stream, running deep and dark through narrow gorges; elsewhere they
took the form of great round-headed boulders, varying in size from a
coalscuttle to a dwelling-house. At other times they were strewn about
miscellaneously, varying in size, angular, and abounding in traps for
the unwary; at a distance they might look innocent as shingle, but the
going when you once began to tread amongst them was most fatiguing, and
even dangerous.

Rocks are very well in their place, and as Norway is mostly rock they
give a distinctive character to the country. Peeping out,