trong arm if I had
some day to follow a fish down from boulder to boulder, and I am not
ashamed to confess that on many occasions both Ole, the gaffer, and
Knut, the boatman, rendered me assistance of this kind; they hauled me
up, and lowered me down, and kept me from falling when I was engaged in
a fight with a fish.

So far as the pool under consideration went this emergency did not
arise; it yielded me nothing but tired limbs, and a few precepts which
may be useful to brother anglers who cast from rocks, as, for example:
In moving about, keep your eye on the stones; if you support yourself
with the gaff handle, make sure that the end of it is not jammed in a
crevice; keep going when stepping from boulder to boulder, as the swing
of regular advance is a greater help than occasional pauses; do not put
down your rod save when actually necessary, if you would do a friend's
duty to it and your winch; keep on examining the point of your hook; do
not be afraid of sliding down a rock that cannot be otherwise travelled
over, for in these days of science the reseating of breeks is not
impossible, and any casual personal disfigurement that may ensue is not
likely to be obtruded upon the notice of even personal friends.

The nearest bit of fishing to our honest farmhouse gave us a charming
landscape, and it was not reached without some little difficulty. Just
above the village the rapids and fosses were finished by a broad pool
pouring over a fall, and creating the particular pool about which
something has been said. Then the river opened out to a lake-like area
from three to four hundred yards either way; the stream then took a
sudden turn at the lower end, charging direct upon a long line of
smooth, lofty, round-headed rocks, sloping considerably more than the
roof of an ordinary house. They would be of an average of 30 ft. above
the water. The river, after babbling over its expanse of shallows,
swerved sharply and coursed along at their feet in a kind of gut, which
was said to give the best low water holding ground in that part of the
river.

In the early part of July the view from The Rocks, as we called them in
special distinction, was most enchanting. The whole expanse was full
like a lake, only a single spit cumbered with logs showing above water.
One of our three boats was fastened ashore to a line of booms fixed to
direct the course of the timber, which was already beginning to come
down in force, and it was alw