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YEAil  OF  LIBERTY. 


mh]<fmi7m;.]d~^i)ir.'i^[tib:imi^^^^ 


Samuel  Mmtstim  MarFarlmid 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


^•i.-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— Scholar's  Throw — Tendency  of  the  Black  water  to  get  out  of 
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. 

Waterville  —  Derrynane  —  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 — ^Leaf  from  an  Old  MS. — ^We  cry  for  Mercy 48 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Why  certain  People  are  neglected — The  Lake — Islands — ^Woodcocks  and 
Ducks — ^Trolling — Our  Last  Day — History  of  the  Week — The  Camp  is 
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 
Captain's  Throw— The  Lost  Gaff— "  Luck's  AH  " 125 


X.  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII.  Page. 

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 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  " — Pontoon — Unexpected  arrival  of  the  Colonel — He  dis- 
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  the  Sun — 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  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         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 — 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! 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,    „       6,  omit  the  word  "  whose." 
97,    „       2,  for  "  constitutes,"  read  "  constitute." 

102,  last  line  but  one,  for  "  produce,"  read  "  proceed." 
169,  line    4,  for  "  here,"  read  "  her." 

169,    „  28,  for  "  spite  Tom's,"  read  "  spite  of  Tom's." 
172,    „      9,  for  "  that  impression,"  read  "  some  impression.' 

190,    „  14,  for  "  ware,"  read  "  wares." 

208,  „  27,  for  "in,"  read  "  into." 
222,  „  4,  for  "  in,"  read  "into." 
227,    „      4,  for  "  strides,  intent,"  read  "  strides.    Intent." 


^ ....^       mmm^      vm       VMVirU       tlX  lOWlOX         ilU        IIUUIU.  X  IIQ 

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  difficult  to  believe  that  tl^e  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  in  the  Dark 280 


A  YEAR  OF  LIBERTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Private  and  Confidontial — Ai'rival  at  Lismore — ^Misgivings — Fish  in  the  River 
— Scholar's  Throw — Tendency  of  the  Blackwator  to  get  out  of  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. 

)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 
divide  the  salmon  from  the  grilse,  I  hope  we  shall  enjoy  many  plea- 
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  pools,  master — 'twas  the  pools  I  seen,  and  they  a'n't  as  they 
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  afford  time  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, 

All  is  soon  ready;  over  the  left  shoulder  flies  the  line,  whilst  the 
eye  follows  it  amongst  the  branches,  and  then  a  turn  of  the  wrist 
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  to  its  width  and  general  unsuitableness  for  wading,  the 
Blackwater  is  not  an  easy  river  to  fish  successfully,  but  the  rods 
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  river,  far  above  the  tops  of  the  forest  trees  rise  tower 
and  battlement,  and,  from  the  terrace,  the  view  over  mountain  and 
valley  is  exquisitely  beautiful.  In  the  shade  of  the  ancient  giove 
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  tlie  salmon-rod  must  rest  for  one  day  at  least,  we  will  take  the 
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  youi'self,  sir,  for  example,  will  not  only  bag 
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,  in  an  easy  obliging  manner,  eats  and  drinks  all  he  can  get, 
receives  his  money,  and  does  nothing  he  undertook  to  do. 

It  may  not,  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  rill  with  greater  constancy 
than  I  did  the  Blackwater.  From  morning  till  evening,  all  day  and 
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  it.  To-day  the  water  proved  in  good 
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  boots,  Willie,  and  do  your  best,  whilst  we  light  a 
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  run—the 
first  and  the  last. 

The  Island  yet  remains.  Twice  it  has  been  carefully  tned  without 
a  rise.  Our  third  and  last  chance  shall  be  with  the  orange  gi'ouse. 
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  w£ttched  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  faihire,  produced,  strangely  enough,  by  the  improvements 
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 
up  to  the  weirs  to  ask  if  the  door  was  open  or  shut,  for  ascending 
fish  never  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 
bridge.  It  is  a  quarrelsome  little  water — as  it  ought  to  be,  being 
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 
if  she  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. 

**  Shall  we  begin  here,  Willie  ?'* 

My  companion's  mind,  never  very  hopeful,  was  now  quite  out  of 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN    IfiELAND.  13 

tune.  *' Maybe,  sir,"  was  his  cautious  answer,  in  the  most  doleful  of 
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  cast  below.  There  was  another,  and  another.  All  our 
gfi-oanings  and  grumblings  were  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,  whp§e  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  flies  used  in  this  neighbourhood  are  the  ordinary  claret,  fiery 
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- 
sions. It  is  many  years  since  I  first  noticed  this  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- 
fessionals here  understand  their  business  thoroughly ;  but  amongst 
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  alas !  they  have  no  bait,  nor  present 
means  of  procuring  any,  for  the  midge  flies  are  left  behind.  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,  and  with  the  file,  point  and  barb  were  cut,  in 
humble  imitation  of  that  king  of  bookmakers — 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 
affords  good  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,  ticket,  and  travelling  charges  ad  lib.  But 
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  ill  one  direction,  and  in  another  for  miles  up  the  Flesk.  As  a 
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 ;  as  it  is,  the  professionals  have  put  fly-fishing 
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  I  heartily  wish  they  were 
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.  We  lay  on  our 
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  rai«ed  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 
parting  words  were  emphatic :  "  Be  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  this  as  it  may,  the  single  rod  grilse-fishing  is  veiy  fair,  and  the 
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 
in  many  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  to  Killorglin.  Not  knowing  the  water,  we 
worked  over  all  the  streams  and  pools  that  came  in  our  way,  asking 
questions  when  opportunity  offered.  This,  though  a  pleasant  mode, 
is  seldom  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  river  by  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 
his  sweetheart's  name  on  tree  or  stile. 

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  of  Killamey,  and  a  host  of  others,  whilst  justifying  the 
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- 
fully to  acknowledge  the  many  courtesies  so  often  received. 

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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  21 

Maine  debouches  into  the  head  of  Dingle  Bay,  and  offers  excellent 
grilse  fishing  ;  it  is  tolerahb/  independent  of  freshes — a  great  matter 
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  I  have  whiled  away  on  its  banks.  Now,  this  little  stream  holds 
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  are,  however,  very  small.  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  entire  days  we  flogged  the  uncomplaining  Caita  without 
success.  The  fine  rocky  pools  doubtless  held  salmon,  but  we  could 
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 — ^all  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  as  kings.  The  lakers  were  by  no  means  large ;  the  best 
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  arrear  had  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 
the  door.  '•  Please,  ma'am,  do  you  know  anything  about  your  spoon  ? 
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, 
feels  when  the  stolen  goods  are  in  his  pocket.  "  Is  this  it  ? "  I  faltered, 
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. 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  25 

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 
just  in  time  to  seize  the  butt  as  it  was  diving  overboard.  In  the 
hmiy,  line  and  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,  rip-rip-rip.  I  actually  felt  the  gaff  tearing  its  way 
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;  but  in  May  a  change  for  the  better  comes 
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; 


28  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;   OR, 

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  desolate,  the  black  pools  trembling  as  we  drove  along. 
Our  conductor,  however,  took  especial  care  that  the  silence  should 
not  be  oppressive.  *'  Ah,  Barne}?-,  ye  divil ! "  (to  the  vicious,  raw- 
boned  horse)  '•  ar'n't  ye  ashamed  of  yerself — ^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  had  grown  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 !  in  this  cold  March  morning  your  mountains 
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 ;  truth,  kindly  spoken  by  lips  we  love, 
seldom  does  wound  ;  and  with  you,  old  friend,  I  have  passed  so  many 
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,  let  us  say  (one  ought  not  to  be  personal),  our 
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  first  act  on  Lough  Currane  began. 

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  faces  of  master  and  men  grew  longer  and  bluer.  To  add  to 
our  distress,  John's  symptoms  pointed  to  a  severe  attack  of  colic.  At 
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  appefvrs  to  be 


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, 


32  A  YEAR  OF  LIBERTY  ;   OR, 

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 
the  inexorable  sleeper  "  to  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  colic  might  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 


SALMON   ANGLING  IN   IRELAND.  33 

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 
spirits,  and  in  full  talk  about  "  a  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  the  sweep  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  was  falling  when  we  left  home,  but  we  found  it  much 
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 
peat-stack  watching  these  beautiful  creatures  glistening  in  the  pool, 
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  visit  Waterville  in  July  with  the  hope  of  catching 
grilse.  The  lake  is  a  trout  lake,  and  nothing  more.  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,'* 
w^andering  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  ? 


56  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  OR, 

professor's  cliair,  I  will  finish  1113'  lecture  with  a  story,  every  word  of 
which  is,  however,  true. 

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 
easily  packed  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- 
sional, to  whom  he  put  such  questions  as  these ;  "  Have  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  first  unfortunate  angler  he  saw,  and  put  him 
through  the  same  examination.  If  prosperous,  he  said  as  little  as 
possible  ;  did  he  fail,  no  terms  were  strong  enough — "  The  river  was 
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  ; 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN  IRELAND.  37 

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  no  faith  in  man.  But,  indeed  and  indeed,  I  will  positively 
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  all ;  horns  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  traces  of  antiquity  scattered  over  the  county  are  very 
numerous.  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  deeply  learned  in  such  matters ; 
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.  I  do  not  understand  the  characters,  and  doubt  whether 
I  should  enjoy  them  half  so  much  if  I  did.  The  key  is  said  to  be 
found,  but  to  me  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. 


40  A    YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  just  finished  a  huge  tome  touching 
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,  0  reader !  If  I 
gained  nothing  else  from  the  perusal,  my  own  sufferings  have  at  least 
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.  I  know 
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 
grandeur  and  beauty.  Full  of  history  (the  guide-book  was  in  our 
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. 

Before  starting  for  Doonass  we  must  pay  a  visit  to  O'Shauglinessy. 
A  fortnight  ago,  sizes  and  pattern  hooks  had  been  sent  to  him,  and 
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 
of  pliers,  a  piece  of  boxwood,  and  a  tray  divided  into  compartments, 
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.  The  price  is  high,  but  when 
it  is  remembered  they  can  be  used  season  after  season,  in  a  series  of 
new  flies,  they  are  cheap  at  any  money. 

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- 


42  A   YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
forte — till  with  the  shout  of  ten  thousand  voices,  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. 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  43 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Our  Hobbiofj—JMorning  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  is  worth  half  the  day. 

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. 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  45 

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 
sufficient  stream,  yet,  as  it  approaches  the  lake,  the  shallows  in  dry 
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- 


46  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  fact  that  he  is  on  the  high  road  to  the 
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  of  which  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  to  see  a  neat  thirteen-pounder  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  faithfully  exhibit  them  all. 


48  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;   OR, 

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 
strangers  who  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 
like  him  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 


50  A    YEAR    OF   liberty;    OR, 

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. 

Now  look  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,"  says  something  hopeful  about  to-morrow,  and  with  his 
duddeen  in  his  mouth,  and  very  little  under  his  waistcoat,  talks  by 
his  bit  of  smouldering  turf  for  the  hour  together  of  what  you  did, 
he  did,  and  they  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  51 

either,  as  they  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 
toil  rewarded,  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,  if  another  rare  specimen  had  never  been  added  to  my 
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, 
however,  to  have  been  ample  compensation,  as  I  figured  in  "  some- 
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  certain  People  are  neglected — The  Lake — Islands — Woodcocks  and  Ducks 
— Trolling — Our  Last  Day — History  of  the  Week— The  Camp  is  broken  up, 
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.  S.  Ferox,"  would  doubtless  be  equally  correct  and  equally 
insulting.  "  Do  as  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  said  to  me,  "  Look,  there  is  President  Johnson,  and  the 
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  " — ^if  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  is  too  near  the  sun. 

In  fact,  he  is  remarkably  like  our  poor  friend  Splendidus.  I  see, 
my  dear  sir,  a  very  proper  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 
space  wanting,  for  our  lake  is  rather  more  than  seven  miles  Jong  by 
three  broad.  Of  course  it  is  not  a  first-class  water,  for,  comjjared 
with  its  neighbour  Lough  Erne,  with  Lough  Neagh,  Lough  Corrib, 


56  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OB, 

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 
shores,  and  "  do"  the  island  on  our  way  back.  Now  this  aiTange- 
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 
zealous  attendant.  "  Fortune  had  deserted  us  that  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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  57 

"  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 
this  devout  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 
at  his  master,  which  seemed  to  say,  "  I've  got  him  this  time,  though 
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  to  boast  of — ^may  I  never  do  worse. 

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.  There  is  Lough  Fern  for  a  week ;  then  two 
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 
our  bloom  and  smoothness.     "  The  United  Semce  "  will  not  give  to 


58  A    TEAR   OF   LIBEETI  ;    OR, 

hair  youthful  gloss  or  beauty;  the  wrinkles  are  there;  and  for  old 
cities  the  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  0  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  till  to-day.  Faint  with  famine,  weary  with 
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  over,  and  the  congregation,  with  haggard  faces  and  tottering 
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)^ 

despair  darkens  those  famished  faces,  as  the  vessel  reels  back  from 
the  barrier.  But  another,  with  a  freshening  breeze,  and  the  last  of 
the  flood,  comes  on  gallantly.  Will  she,  too,  fail  ?  No ;  the  stranded 
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,  if  they  would  only  agree  to  live  peaceably  together,  its 
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  to  visit  it  again  in  the  coming  autumn.  If  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   ANa^INO   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  of  it.  In  point  of  fact,  it  has  "  first 
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' 
lated  by  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 
lake  treasures  unknown  to  the  outside  world.  They  are  awfully  out 
of  the  way ;  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 
car  last  night  my  host  infonned  me,  "  there  had  not  been  a  drop  of 
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  m  Donegal,  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  j uncus  figured  by  Hooker  find  a  "  local  habitation,"  if  not  a 
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 
injured  man,  he  observed,  "  it  would  have  been  as  well  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, 

Silent  Charon  was  unmoved,  even  by  the  loss  of  his  property, 
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 
fortunes,  but  at  length,  as  we  neared  the  upper  end  of  the  water,  a 
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  are  now  exchanged  for  feeble  plunges ;  a  few 
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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  66 

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,  let  him  go  to  Lough  Fern  in  the  spring. 

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 
landlord,  he  shnigged  his  shoulders,  saying,  "  if  exercise  were  neces- 
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 


66  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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  is  it  with  places.  We  have  all  "  a  first 
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, 
lies  sleeping  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 
of  which,  in  gilt  letters,  is  the  word  "  Pet."  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  ver}'  satisfactory  it  looked,  in  the  shape  of  a  hind  quarter 
of  beef,  wrapped  in  something  that  appeared  wonderfully  like  a  sheet ; 
together  with  a  couple  of  hampers  containing  various  fluids.  Good 
eating,  it  is  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,  sir."  "  Up  with  the  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 
snowy  beard)  is  past.  Tliere  are  the  chalky  cliffs — "  the  white 
rocks" — full  of  galleries,  halls,  and  pillared  chambers,  into  which 
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 
prospects.  "  There  were  lots  of  fish  in  the  river,"  he  said,  "but  the 
present  warm  bright  weather  precluded  all  chance  of  catching 
them  ;  the  glass  and  barometer,  too,  were  very  high,  and  promised 


70  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  lot,  all  fastened  up  in 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN  IRELAND.  71 

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 
whistling  blast  right  well.  "  By  Jove,  the  wind  is  north,  and  lots 
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.  "  Change  the  fly,  Willis ;  we 
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's  Lodge  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  Ford,  and  "  the  Stone 
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 
improving  second  and  third-rate  streams,  will,  I  believe,  lessen  the 
angling  value  of  those  whose  reputation  has  hitherto  been  of  the 
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 
reply  he  receives  shall  be  as  courteous,  as  straightforward,  and 
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  I^eagh. 

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  it  passes  Buehmills,  and  enters  the  sea  close  to  the 
little  village  of  Port  Ballantrae.  Owing  to  natural  and  artificial 
causes,  this  river  holds  a  large  quantity  of  water,  and  is  probably, 
for  its  size,  less  dependent  on  rain  than  any  stream  in  the  three 
kingdoms.  For  a  considerable  portion  of  its  course  the  Bush  passes 
through  a  flat  marshy  valley,  and  then  thunders  over  a  cascade, 
known  locally  as  "  the  Leap."  From  thence  to  the  sea,  a  distance 
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. 


74  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  75 

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  stroll  is  the  Giant's  Causeway. 
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,  it  seems  insignificant.  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,  still  haunted  by  traditions  of  the  Bruce.  To  the  north-east 
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 — nothing  at  all.  But,  my  dear  friend,  we  can't 
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  still  falling,  but  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky  or  an  air  on  the 
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,  it  is  rented  by  a  club,  the  terms  of  which  are  very  moderate. 
The  run  of  salmon  is  late,  and  little  can  be  done  till  June ;  the 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  77 

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  slipped  on  "  the  scarlet."  Cast  after  cast  fell  light 
and  true,  but  not  a  fish  stirred.  The  soldier  gave  place  to  "  the 
silver  body,"  which  in  tmn  yielded  to  the  '•  golden  olive ;"  next 
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  fish  more.  Thus  ended  the  day, 
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  rise  black  basaltic  rocks,  clothed  with  tall  furze,  all 
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  : — 

"  My  dear  old  fellow, — You  ask  me  what  we  are  doing  here.  Here,  where 
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  the  average  has  been  so  much  as  fourteen  salmon  per  day  to 
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  angler  ;  and  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 

Bee  if  I  don't  rent  what  my  friend  calls  "  a  stand.'*  Lucky  dogs  are 
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  I  Your 
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  side  with  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  visit  the  "  Bound  Tower,"  if  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  !  A  thin  sti  ipling — 
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, 


82  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  set  to  in  high  hope  and  spirits. 
"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  repaired,  and  at  it  we  went  again.  "  There's 
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 
evening  it  came,  and  we  started  in  an  hour  after  ;  slept  in  Belfast, 
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  all  their  charms,  whilst  the  witching  light 
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  views  in  the  world.  It  was  built  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  the  current,  and  so  to  enable  the  Liffey  to  do  its 
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. 


86  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  line— Mode  of  using  it— We  drift,  and  what  we  do — 
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. 

But  I  am  bound  to  "  a  speciality,"  and  fear,  if  my  tongue  is  not 
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 


88  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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,  and  the  company  un- 
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  this  morning  the  street  was  vocal  with  the  quacking  of 
juvenile  ducks,  and  a  constant  inquiry  from  pretty  peasant  lips, 
"  Is  it  eggs  ye  are  looking  f or  ?  "  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  full  rivalry,  each  one  telling  his  tale  of  love. 

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  little  wicker  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  ^o  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  I  Was  there  ever  the  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. 

"  Master,"  he  said,  with  true  northern  solemnity,  "  the  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 


90  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  ceased.  But  we  had  not  yet  done  with  the 
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  tree  to  lunch.  Had  a  Cuyp  or  Sidney  Cooper 
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 
supply  "  the  house."  Ambushes  were  artfully  constructed  in 
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 
"  turning  in,"  we  decided  on  an  early  start  for  Castle  Pollard,  and 
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  sick  headache  put  such  a  move  altogether 
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  wish  to  see  him.  Of  course  he  will  keep  me  at  home  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 


94  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OB, 

for  wear.  Since  there  is  nothing  to  read,  we  must  try  to  write. 
What  shall  it  be  ?  May  we  assert  "  the  waters  of  the  United 
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  many  things  which 
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  of  '  fish  '  produced  by  the  Spey  is  equal  to  the  weight 
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  than  make  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  first  convenient   opportunity.     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 
theory,"  which  arises  out  of  the  question,  "  At  what  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, 
"  Well,  well,  it  doesn't  signify  much — 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  if  half  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 
it  not  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 


96  A   TEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
little  ones  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. 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN   IBELAND.  97 

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  icill  go  down,  and  the  other  will  come  up,  in  his  season ; 
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 


98  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
a  bow,  with  "  Sir,  I  am  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 
see  if  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 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  99 

hail ;  "  Pray  keep  farther  off,  sir  ;  I  have  got  a  splendid  trout,  and 
would  not  lose  him  for  the  world."  We  lay  on  our  oars,  and  shortly 
after  saw  a  very  nice  fish  secured.  **  I  have  to  beg  your  pardon," 
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  do  just  look  here ;  did  you  ever 
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 


100  A    YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

and  now  " — with  a  smile  on  his  lip  and  a  tear  in  his  eye — "  I 
am  half  ashamed  of  being  so  happy.  Poor  Ned,  had  he  only  been 
here !" 

As  to  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  et  sa  femme  de  chamhre,  in  full  travelling  costume,  are  hard 
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  all  our  manufacturing  treasures.  "  You  are  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 
over  his  shoulder.  "  How  much  would  we  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  ;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that,  with 
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  fly,  trout  are  of  course  only  to  be  taken, 
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 


102  A    TEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
the  bottom  boards,  and  commenced  a  fly  for  the  Erne.  "  I've  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, 
placing  the  half-finished  parson  between  his  lips,  he  gets  up  just  at 
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  soon  grew  admirable — no  quarter  of  an  hour  passed 
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 
"  tiffin,"  lay  down  for  a  siesta  under  "  the  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  own  catching  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- 
plished chef.  If  this  meat  be  eaten,  as  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' 


104  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OB, 

repose  before  again  feeling  comfortable.  Some  of  the  crew  felt 
exceedingly  like  boas  after  dinner.  But  the  breeze  was  once  more 
pla\ring  a  game  of  romps  with  the  lake  before  going  to  rest,  and  two 
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  cold  spring  retards  the  development  of  the 
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 
fluttered  away  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 
thought  so  common  to  man  rose  within  me,  "  Shall  I  ever  visit  it 
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, 
she  has  not  proved  "  all  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 
to  take  the  boat  to  Lough  Owel,  and  bring  back  "  the  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, 


166  A    YEAR   OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  rising  fish  was  seen  as  we  glided  on  ;  but  nothing  came  in 
our  way  till  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  of  the  rocky  shore, 
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  rolling  over  the  surface,  again  and  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  precise)  call  him  ten  pounds  lucky.  That's 
something  like  a  trout."  Over  and  over  again  the  same  course  was 
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  it  not  been  for  that  startling  plunge  he  might  have 
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  ?  Pull,  puU  for  your  lives ! "  A  few  dashing  strokes 
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 
in  deserted  districts,  swept  bare  by  emigration,  famine,  and  fever,  all 
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 


SALMON   ANQLINO   IN   IRELAND.  109 

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 
shutters,  fills  the  moat,  and  hauls  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 ' 
fell  on  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 
last  whilst  the  world  endures,  says :  "  There  is  nothing  new  under 
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  hills  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Why,  the  day  when  the 
blessed  sun  first  shone  on  Eden  he  managed  more  miles  of  telegraphic 
communication  than  man  ever  made  or  will  make.  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's  power  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 
conae  to  another  set  of  lakes  where  we  intend  doing  the  same.  There 
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  is  bounded  on  the  north-east  by  Leitrim,  and  on  the 
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  it  enters  Lough  Eee.  The  extent  of  some  of  the 
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  if  they  are  pleased.  I  am  content.  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  the  good  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 "  sufficiently  comfortable,  or  procure  lodgings  where,  if  not 
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. 

It  has  been  already  observed  that  the  drake  does  not  appear 
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. 


SALMON  ANQLINO   IN  IRELAND.  113 

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  to  send  you  an  account  of  my  proceedings  on 
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 


114  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

fished  under  unfavourable  circumstances ;  but  the  blow-line  when 
properly  managed  rises  above  most  of  the  difficulties  created  by 
weather.  With  tackle  of  any  other  description  sport  would  have 
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  Boyle,  we  quitted  it  for  the  season,  and 
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  I  "  At  that  moment  I  did  not  feel  as  a 
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  cannot  have  both.     You  must  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- 
fortable chamber  in  the  Mall,  waiting  the  expected  signal  announcing 
that  Pat  and  m.y  Jichis  Achates  were  at  their  post :  yes,  wide  awake, 
for  who  could  sleep  on  such  a  morning  ?  Through  the  open  window 
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 — splendid  in  your  streams,  deep  and  wide  in  your  pools,  grand 
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,  and  who  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  foes  and  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  I  knew  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  ?" 

"  Oh,  by  all  means,  "Willie.     Is  the  thread  good  ?" 


118  A    YEAR    OF   liberty;    OR, 

"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, 
till  that  portion  of  the  water  has  been  fairly  tried.  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  is  well-nigh  chained  to  his  post.  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  is  not  often  a  fresh  salmon  takes  this  steady  downward  course. 
Desperate  runs  in  the  direction  of  the  falls  are  inevitable  ;  but 
in  nineteen  cases  out  of  twenty,  while  strength  remains,  he 
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 
aside  as  worthless.  "  It  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 
it  your  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  diaoul,"  exclaimed  the  veteran,  "  but  he's  the 
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 
perseverance  as  kept  me  in  constant  difficulties.  "  Ah  !  there's  Pat 
at  full  speed."  "  More  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  121 

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  full  occupation  in  a  series  of  runs,  so  desperate  that 
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. 

"  Ay,",  he  said,  "  I  heard  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  place  this  is  to  me  ! — ^it  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  ?     Many  years  before  you  became  one  of  us,  Captain 

'  outdid  his  former  great  outdoings,'  killing  upwards  of  a  hundred 
heavy  fish  in  the  short  space  of  six  weeks.  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 


122  A   TEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 — to  think  of  two  Christians,  comforted  with 
a  reasonable  night's  rest,  outwitting  those  who  had  '  outwatched  the 
stars.'  It  was  better  than  a  month's  wages.  There  was  a  further 
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  est.  I  was  growing  seriously  anxious  on  his  account 
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  early.  *  I'll  do  it,  your  honour; 
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, 


124  A    TEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

'  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.  A  stout,  well- 
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 
they  are  conveyed  to  Liverpool,  London,  and  perhaps  Paris.  I  have 
said  they  were  such  as  probably  no  other  river  can  show — admire 
their  exquisite  beauty  of  form  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  125 

and  fifty  pounds  each.  This  draughting  had  been  going  on  for  hours, 
yet  so  great  is  *'  the  run  "  that  the  last  haul  seemed  to  equal  the 
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  to  the  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  is  he  who  meets  the  glorious  creatures  which 
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, 

differs  from  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  of  comparatively  little  moment,  and 
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 
try  it. 

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  is  indeed  perfection — long,  deep,  and  broad,  with  a  splendid 
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  the  line,  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  as  handsome  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- 
fully over  "  the  bank  "  four  times,  implies  a  considerable  amount  of 
exercise,  so  we  sat  to  consider  what  was  next  to  be  done.  For 
the  last  hour  Pat  had  been  busily  engaged  in  dressing  "  an  infant 
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 
good  a  "  rising  throw  "  as  any  between  the  bridge  and  Beleek.  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. 

I  proved  no  exception  to  the  rule,  for  it  required  the  utmost 
vigilance  to  maintain  and  defend  my  sovereignty.     If  excitement  be 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  129 

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  for  holding  fish  of  extraordinary  size.  That  this 
character  is  deserved  cannot  be  doubted,  and  once  (I  say  it  with 
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  insure  its  coming  over  him  again  under  conditions  exactly 
similar. 

"Wom't  he  a  large  one?"  asked  the  artist,  who,  guessing  in- 
stinctively what  had  happened,  hastily  shut  his  shop,  and  was  now 
paddling  close  behind  me  with  "  a  change."  "  Shure  he  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 


130  A    YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
skill  gaffed  as  gallant  a  fish  as  ever  died  a  death  of  fame.  "  I'd 
have  sworn,"  he  said,  thrusting  his  hands  into  the  gills,  "  that  the 
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 
the  smoke  curled  up  amongst  the  green  leaves  I  heard,  "  Blest  if  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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN   lEELAND.  131 

meditating  on  these  things,  a  light  step  sounded  over  the  shingles, 

and  my  friend  L stood  before   me.     "Look  here,"  he  said, 

pointing  in  great  glee  to  a  particularly  handsome  gaff  in  all  the 
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  you  going  to  do  next  ?  Is  there  any  one  at  the 
'  Captain's  Throw  ?' " 

The  latter  question  I  could  not  answer,  and,  with  respect  to  the 
fonner,  "  I  intended  to  try  '  the  Row '  again,  and  afterwards  follow 
the  stream  down  towards  the  town." 

"I  shall  go  on.  then,"  he  said,  "  and  wait  for  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- 
marking, "  that  the  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. 

"  Stones,  Pat,  stones — ^those  ain't  big  enough — where  the  deuce  is 
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 


132  A   TEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

"  Now,  now,  lie's  under  the  rock.  Och !  murtlier,  Captin,  dear,  mind 
the  line."  Splash,  splash,  splash,  went  stones.  "  He's  in  ;  he's  out ; 
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,  closer  and  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  settle  you." 

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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  133 

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.  "  Keep  off  you,  sir,"  to  poor  Willie,  who 
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  I  what  will  Rowley 
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 
Irish  waters.  Indeed,  the  river  is  a  perfect  paradox,  a  sporting 
contradiction  ;  and  it  has  often  been  found  that  days  seemingly  the 
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 


154  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

looks  sometliing  like,  generally  meets  with  the  damper,  ''  May  he 
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  there  rise  from  the  water's  edge,  form  a 
favourite  resort  of  strangers  as  well  as  residents,  who  appear  year 
after  year  to  watch  the  operation  with  undiminished  interest.  Eas- 
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  at  low  water  has  a  perpendicular  height  of  12ft.  All  fish  that 
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 
property  and  rejoice  the  sportsman  ;  a  stock  ever  increasing  through 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  135 

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  to  it  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  feels  less  sultry  than  usual,  for  a  pleasant  northerly  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 — 


136  A   YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  it.  Eegularly  done,  we  scrambled  along  the  rough 
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  lodge.  Never  had  he 
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 
her,  and,  completely  surprised,  forgot  courtesy — my  great  obligations 
— 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  my  department,  and  by  keeping  the  broken  parts  as  nearly  as 
possible  in  one  line  we  managed  "  the  runs  "  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IBELAND.  137 

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 
tricksy  familiar  heeded  not.  'Twas  too  bad.  "  Here's  another 
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 
stockings  in  his  hand,  he  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 


138  A    YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  up  with.  '  Holy  Mary,'  he  exclaimed, 
in  an  agony  of  despair,  *  oh.  Holy  Mary,'  what  a  murthering  sin,  and 
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  so  much.  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,  for  the  fish  was  within  six  inches  of  the  edge  of 
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  spite  of  our  superhuman  endeavours ;  whish,  whish,  wl^-i-s-h, 
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 

"  Faith,  then,  it  is  the  Monk's  Path  ;  and  the  best  o'  raisons  why 
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 
to  know  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  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  ! 

Jtme  27. 
My  stout  old  friend  the  Colonel,  though  fast  verging  towards  the 
fatal  "  three  score  years  and  ten,"  is  yet  hale  and  hearty  ;  place  him 
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  street,  and  then  rolled  heavily  along  the  old 
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 


142  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

hospitable  Mullens  ;  repaired  damages,  and,  passing  "  the  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  Angler  in  Ireland,"  as  the  scene  of  his  most  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  143 

a  moment  with  Killarney  ;  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  a  thousand  ways — ^in  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. 


144 


A    YEAR    OF   liberty;    OR, 


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  so,  and  must  pardon  the  infatuation,  for  the 
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  is  growling  like  an  ancient  "  grizzly,"  to  the  ground.  He  tells 
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  protested  it  was  high  time  for  tiflSn,  when  we 
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 


146  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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?  I  fear  your  magnificence  would  have  despised  our 
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 — every  man  having  a  good  supply  of  those 
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 
object  of  fishing  was  to  take  fish ;  if  they  would  behave  in  a  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 
opened  a  rural  kind  of  "  store,"  and  gave  out  gut,  bad  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  I  What 
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  a  huge  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 
certain  little  lady  and  the  dear  old  commander,  standing  on  a  beam, 
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  fish,  and 
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 
to  Lough  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IBELAND.  149 

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  held  up  as  public  benefactors,  whose  philanthropy 
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  in  jdress,  and  angling  at  present  is  undoubtedly  the  newest  mode. 
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  his  father  was  engaged  at  a  solemn  game  of  leapfrog,  the  law 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  151 

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. 


152  A   YEAE   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

During  tlie  present  campaign  we  have  not  made  the  acquaintance 
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  I  may  now  go  my  way  in  peace.* 

The  Ballysidere  (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  river,  together  with  a  pretty  cottage,  is  now,  I  believe^  to  be  let  to  one 
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 
king  "  under  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  was,  you  didn't  see  him,"  quietly  observed  my  com- 
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  it ;  did  you  catch  a  glimpse  of  him  ?  " 

"  Maybe  'twas  a  trout,  may  be  a  shy  fish  ;  but  we'll  change  the 
trail  anyhow.     It  wor  a  very  small  break,  but  mortal  quick." 

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  ? 

''  I  think  he  is  hooked  foul,  master,  for  I  seen  something  black  and 
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 
line,  is  not  quite  so  easy  a  condition  of  things  as  at  first  sight  might 
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 
plain  language,  we  were  all  three  tearing  along  as  hard  as  we  could. 
Ml*.  Grilse  led,  seemingly  as  fresh  as  ever.  Eod  followed  next, 
puffing  and  blowing ;  and  Ga£f  brought  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  more  out  of  "Willie  was  impossible,  as  he  was  doing 
his  best ;  so,  putting  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  my  fut's  all  in  a  jelly,"  as  he  slipped  the 
steel  under  the  grilse  ;  "  but  this  pays  for  all.  Will  I  ever  find  the 
shoe  ?  " 

In  the  act  of  falling,  the  rod  had  been  jerked  out  of  my  hand,  but 
luckily  dropped  on  a  bush,  where  it  lay  with  the  wheel,  clear,  but 
revolving  at  a  fearful  rate,  till  Willie  came  up  and  once  more  set 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  156 

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- 
pendicular leap,  quivering  for  an  instant  high  in  air.  "  Thim 
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 
true  ;  yet  there  was  considerable  uncertainty  as  to  the  "  catch  " 
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 


156  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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. 

''Jack's  Hole,"  "  The  Mill  Eace,"  "  The  Iron  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 
presently  "  stuck  "  in  a  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. 

"  Hist,  hist,  am't  ye  ashamed ;  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 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  157 

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  half-naked,  semi- 
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 
pace,  were  once  more  in  full  cry — "  A  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  till  the  proximity  of  the  next  hamlet  drove  them  from  our 
trail,  and  gave  us  for  a  prey  to  foes  as  ruthless  as  the  last, 


158  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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  !  What  pleasant  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. 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN    IRELAND.  169 

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  in  one  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  are  good.  The  characteristic  of  one  is  obedience,  of  the 
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 


160  A   YEAR   OF   liberty;    OR, 

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 
still  more  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. 

"  Fishery  Office,  ,  Ballina,  July  1,  1865. — Leave  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 
rheumatism,  though  by  no  means  sure  of  a  fin.  "  Interdictis 
imminet  ager  aquis,"  says  some  author  whose  name  I  have  forgotten  ; 
but,  0  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  casts,  and  many  a  heart  will  thrill  at  the 
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 


162  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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 


SALMON    ANGLINQ   IN   IRELAND.  163 

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  my  opinion,  very  questionable.  "  If 
you  are  sure  of  being  over  salmon,  stick  to  them,"  was  the  advice 
given  to  me  in  my  nonage,  and  very  good  advice  I  have  found  it. 

Acting  on  it,  the  flies  were  changed,  and  the  compliment  at  once 
acknowledged.  "  He'll  come  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  aid  him  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  till  within  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  165 

three  of  these  "  in  quasi  possession  "  at  the  same  moment — there 
goes  our  line,  and  lo  I  at  the  first  cast  a  grilse  is  hooked.  Whilst 
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  felt  time  to  be  capital,  and  so  well  did  they  employ  the  oppor- 
tunity that  in  twenty  minutes  the  last  prize  was  secured.  In  the 
"  Castle  hole"  we  landed  a  fourth,  and  rushing  through  "  the  Dock," 
which  it  was  not  thought  advisable  to  try,  were  soon  floating  over 
"  the  Flats."  In  this  portion  of  the  Moy  the  proximity  to  the  sea  is 
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  of  no  great  elevation,  but  considerable  beauty. 
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  fringe  its  banks.  They  cannot  be  compared  for  a 
moment  with  the  enamelled  meads  which  border  the  Thames  or  the 
Somersetshire  Avon,  yet  are  they  not  flowerless,  but  can  show  their 
Caltha,  Menyanthes  trifoliata,  and  Nuphar  lutea,  with  the  best ;  and 
as  for  "  the  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. 

On  our  way  home  from  "  the  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 


166  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

river  would  deserve  all  tlie  praise  bestowed  on  it.  Bunree  never 
was  in  condition  during  any  of  my  visits,  so  from  personal  experience 
I  am  unable  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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  167 

deliglit.  I  have  paid  fifty-four  visits  to  the  river,  to  measure  the 
abatement  of  its  waters  ;  can  minutely  describe  every  shade  it 
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, 
were  on  the  alert.  Every  order  in  "  the  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 


168  A    YEAR   OF   liberty;    or, 

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  fish,  whose  keenness  said  plainly,  "  Wait  an  instant,  and  I'll  be 
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 
up,  nor  did  it  improve  his  health  or  personal  appearance,  for  when 
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 
ordinary  Monday  mornings,  skulking  behind  a  comer.  "  Go  into 
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 
always  considered  my  "  cordial  "  friend  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 


170  A    YEAE    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

"  the  master's  hand  was  out."  Oh,  that  tattered  disciple  of  Izaak ; 
positively  he  has  another,  whilst  we  have  not  turned  a  tail.  And 
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  the  stream.  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  I  it 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  171 

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  task  was  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  oiled  coats  were,  however,  garments  of  proof.  "  Work  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  to  pay  out  rope  and  stir  him  up  with  the 
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- 
diately a  few  yards  farther  off.     If  the  "  individual "  was,  through 


172  A    YEAR   OF   liberty;    OR, 

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 
day  ?  in  a  week  ?  Certainly  not  in  an  hour,  for  I  had  laboured  for 
more  than  that  space  to  make  that  impression,  and  had  utterly  failed 
in  moving  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 
been  tried  behind  and  before,  on  the  right  and  on  the  left.  "  He 
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  side  lies  an  old  local  newspaper,  which  speaks  of  the 
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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  178 

relative  to  the  number  of  salmon  killed  within  the  present  season  on  tho  Moy, 
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  I  had  only  arrived  a  day  or  two  before  the  paper  was 
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 
the  Moy  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  the  way  back  I  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Little,  in  his  oflSce  by  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  observed,  "  The  direct  loss  to  the  lessees  was 
considerable,  from  the  numbers  which  escaped  during  the  rim  of  the 
grilse,  and  that  this  loss  was  by  no  means  compensated  by  the 
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. 

"  Suppose,"  said  he,  "  a  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  lost,  and  the  gravel  rendered  so  loose  as  to  be  unfit  to  secure  that 
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,  will  deny  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  may  be  assumed  from  the  larger  number  of  adults  then 
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, 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  175 

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  it,  even  should  a  particular  locality  suffer.  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. 

"  Up  the  River" — Pontoon— Unexpected  arrival  of  the  Colonel — He  discourses 
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  rivals  ;  yet  are  his  ships  admirably 
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 


176  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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  it  has  improved  wonderfully.  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 
silk  with  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  one,  I  know,  Pat,"  mumbled  Mr.  Willie,  whose  lips, 
at  that  moment  holding  a  topping  and  piece  of  tinsel,  were  not  well 
adapted  for  oratorical  display.  "  He's  safe  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  ;  but,  as  he  usually  had  his  own  way,  the  latter  was 
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  of  my  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 


178  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

boat.  If  these  are  all  charming,  what  shall  be  said  for  its  coast 
line,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Moy  to  the  head  of  Killery  Harbour, 
stretching  to  a  length — exclusive  of  the  minor  indentations  of  the 
shore — of  250  statute  miles  ?  Let  any  tourist  consult  his.  travelling 
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  safe  harbours,  noble  headlands,  and  peaceful  bays  does  it 
not  indicate  ?  If  a  poet,  what  themes  may  it  not  suggest  ?  If  a 
painter,  what  treasures  for  his  easel  ?  Beautiful  Mayo  I  to  me  there 
is  something  musical  in  the  sound  of  your  name.  Sweet  are  the 
memories  of  the  bright  summers  and  rainy  autumns  I  have  spent 
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  receiver  of  stolen  goods  is  worse  than  the  thief,  says  the 
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  in  their  dealings  with  this  county  they  were  more  splendidly 
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 
period  of  the  great  rebellion  in  1333,  when  the  William  de  Burgho 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  179 

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  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Royal  Irish 
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 


180  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  we  get  at  the  clubs  for  two  shillings  the  pound,  in  the  fond 
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  streams  was  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  air,  bagged,  drooped,  and  stuck  fast.  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  way  that 


182  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  beyond  measure.  Instead  of  flying  into  an 
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,  "here's  the  last  descent."  As  we  gained 
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  horse,  too,  pricked  up  his  ears, 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN    IRELAND.  183 

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 
if  a  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  say,  Walter,  no  poaching ;  that's  my  property,"  remarked  the 
Colonel,  jerking  his  fly  from  the  centre  of  a  dull,  deep  eddy.  "  Back 
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  try.  Master  Willie.  Back  her  again.  Very  ancient  birds 
are  sometimes  taken  with  chaff,  you  know." 

The  rising  fly  once  more  fell  near  him.  "  There's  luck  in  odd 
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 
break,  or  kill  my  fish  out  of  hand.  Shortening  the  line  I  gave  him 
the  butt,  keeping  up  a  strain  so  severe  that  the  light  grilse  rolled 


184  A   YEAE   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  so  we  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  185 

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  course.  Pat  protested  we  were  "in"  another 
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- 
thirsty commander  was  so  well  satisfied  that  he  determined  to  remain. 
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 
journey  and  an  early  meeting,  and  then,  with  their  "  God  speed  your 
honour ! "  sounding  in  our  ears  and  finding  an  echo  in  our  hearts,  we 
trotted  up  the  street,  and  were  soon  bowling  along  the  road  in  the 
direction  of  Gal  way. 


186  A   YEAR   OF   liberty;   or, 


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  the  exception  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-^a  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  187 

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 
proper.  Nothing  of  this  extensive  tract  is  known  to  the  general 
mass  of  tourists,  who  follow  each  other  like  a  string  of  wild  ducks 
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  heart.  For  my  part  I  soon  grow  sick  of  the  world.;  a 
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 


188  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  as  little  known  to  Britain  as  Borneo  is  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 
century  is  likely  to  discover  in  the  North  or  South  Pacific.  Olifden 
is  comparatively  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   lEELAND.  189 

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 
in  1189  by  Cathal  O'Conner,  sumamed  "  The  Red  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 
of  his  amusing  sketches.  "  He  saw,"  he  says,  "  whilst  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, 
consisting  of  poor,  ruinous  cabins,  "  with  walls  of  mud  and  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  this  portion  of  the  water  would  afford  admirable  angling  to 
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,  if  unbearable,  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 
information,  "  and  saw  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  left  the  fish  nearly  dry,  when  the  stroke- 
hauling  became  so  bad  that  I  could  stand  it  no  longer."  On  this 
subject  we  will  hear  another  witness.  "  You  ask  how  we  are  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  fly  is,  of  course,  out  of  the  question,  so  I  work  the 
tideway  in  a  boat  about  the  distillery  wall,  and  have  the  pleasure  of 

seeing  that  *real  sportsman,'  Mr.  G ,  stroke-hauling;  no  doubt 

he  is  an  adept,  as  he  takes  from  thirty  to  forty  per  day,  and 
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  "  quaint  old  Spanish  town."  The 
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  to  say  that  at  Galway  I  beheld  something  new.  I  cannot 
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  taken  up  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  us,  in  one  sense  we  were  unusually  fortunate,  killing 
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 


194  A    YEAE   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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,  as  we  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  free  access  to  the  head  waters,  and  the 
benefit  of  the  extended  franchise  is  already  beginning  to  be  felt. 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  197 

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. 

We  have  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  its  mouth,  and  form  a  haven  where  the  navies  of  the  world 
might  ride,  but  where  now  a  few  small  coasters  lie  at  anchor,  with 
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  the  far-famed  river  of  the  same  name — a  river  which, 
including  its  lakes,  does  not,  I  should  imagine,  possess  a  greater 
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 
Spey,  or  the  Moy,  but  from  the  Costello  "  never  a  word."  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  perfect,  close  to  the  stream,  and  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  sea,  and  whilst  looking  inland  up  the  course 


198  A    YEAE   or   LIBERTY  ;   OE, 

of  the  river,  we  confessed  we  had  seldom  seen  a  wilder  or  mord^ 
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  fishery  is  located  north-west  of  Galway.  You  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 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  190 

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 
fishing  opens  on  the  1st  of  February  and  closes  on  the  last  day  of 
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  will  be  opened  on  the  Ist  of  May.  There  are 
seven  bedi'ooms  besides  dining  and  drawing-rooms ;  it  has  been 
built  expressly  for  the  comfort  of  anglers.  It  stands  at  the 
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  I  make  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. 


200  A   TEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;   OR, 

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.  All  licences  to  be  taken  out  in  the  Galway  district ;  they  may  be  obtained 
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.  It  has  so  long  been  extensively  frequented,  that 
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- 
ful fish  abounds,  and,  in  my  opinion,  foims  the  raw  material  from 
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- 
holes  light  up  the  heathery  waste,  some  of  the  large  sheets  of  water 
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  ;  altogether  it  forms  a  sort  of  sanctuary  in  the  desert.  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  that  the  rugged  shores  seemed  to  grow 
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 
flowers,  from  slope  to  slope,  till  we  gain  the  highest  point.  South- 
wards the  whole  coast  lies  spread  out  before  us,  with  its  innumer- 
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 — Up  before  the  Sun — 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. 

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,  it  yet  contains  room  for  four  or  five  rods, 
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, 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  205 

I  have  more  than  once  wished  my  next  neighbour  "  farther  ;  "  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  fact,  a  sort  of  supplementary  cuticle  to  my 
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 


206  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  207 

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  ;  henceforward  all  "  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell,"  and 
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 


208  A   YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  referred  to,  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  to  change  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- 


SALMON   ANGLING  IN   lEELAND.  209 

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 
to  October,  there  can  be  no  doubt.  "We  must  not  say,  "  better 
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,  is  a  narrow  and  deep  fiord  running  far  inland,  and 
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 


210  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

it  was  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 of  Delphi.  The  lodge  itself  is  not  any  way  remarkable,  but  its  situation 
is.  It  lies  in  a  deep  recess  among  the  mountains,  which  rise  lofty  and  abrupt 
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  degrees,  certainly  few,  if  jiny,  have  retrograded ;  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   lEELAND.  211 

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  would  have  it,  I  was  then  returning  from 
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 
toil  coupled  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  of  size  and  beauty.  But  though  the 
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.  When  JI  first  noticed  him  he  was  limping 
slowly  and  painfully  roimd  one  of  "  the  stations,"  carrying  his  shoes 
and  stockings  in  either  hand,  whilst  his  trousers  were  tucked  up  in 

p  2 


212  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  lake  it,"  offering  me  the  rejected  telescope,  and  adjusting  his 
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.  In  half  an  hour  we  became  great  friends.  "  Ask  him  to 
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  ?" 

"  Up  in  the  big  house,  sir." 

"  What  house  ?     Have  you  not  taken  the  one  we  had  before  ?" 

"No.  The  new  curate  has  took  it  for  six  months  certain  ;"  and 
then,  in  a  stage  whisper  to  his  mistress,  "  the  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."  » 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IBELAND.  213 


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 
it  off,  and  lit  a  pipe  by  my  own  fireside ;  but  the  huge  rusty  bars 
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 


214  A  YEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
single  customer  darkening  his  door.  In  fact,  "  the  store  "  was  a 
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  of  damaged  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  left  Kylemore,  Admiral  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   my  great  desolate  chamber  and  saw  an  unclouded  arch,    "  all 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   lEELAND.  215 

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  Burrishoole  Lake,  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  that  time  belonged, .  most 
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 
for  anyone  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  is — it  is — a  perfect  deluge  of 
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  half,  I  lit  ten.  At  last  the  long  hand  stood  at  six,  and 
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- 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  217 

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 — kick,  bow-wow- wow,  performed  in  true  classic  strophe 
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 
early  call,  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  size,  bore  a  fanciful  resemblance  to  a  city 
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 
road.  "  Here's  the  hotel,  and  the  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, 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  219 

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 
state  room  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, 
fretting,  chafing,  and  leaping  over  rocks  and  stones,  hurling  along 
huge  fragments  of  turf,  and  behaving  altogether  in  a  very  turbulent 
and  headstrong  manner.  It  was,  moreover,  nearly  as  black  as  ink,  and 
had  I  been  put  on  my  oath  I  should  with  a  quiet  conscience  have 
sworn  it  would  be  impracticable  for  the  next  two  days.  Pat  was, 
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 
present  its  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  leisure  to  shampoo  them.  Floors  were  rapidly  assuming 
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  of  man.  Mrs.  M'Hale  stood  by  the  fire  in  a  state 
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  fly  touched  the  water  when  a  quick  dash  showed  there  was 
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  tail  fly  swept  past  the  rock,  and  was  instantly  taken 
by  a  small  salmon  of  seven  or  eight  pounds.  The  strain  of  the 
tackle   was  tremendous,   and  the  fish,   now  in   full  current,  were 


222  A    YEAE   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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, 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  223 

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  of  these  occasions,  having  succeeded  in  catching  him,  I  held 
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  charity.  I  understood  the  appeal.  "  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  !  No,  no  !  A  salmon,  yer  honour  ?  Don't  I  know  a 
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 
all  that  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  to  hag  Pat  again  bounded  over  the  bog,  the  enormous 
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  recognised  mode  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,  in  order  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  two 
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. 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  225 

"  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  like,"  remarked  Pat.  "  I'd  not  wonder  if 
the  maker  had  caught  a  rainbow  and  given  you  a  handful — gold, 
green,  blue,  crimson,  yellow,  violet,  and  orange,"  continued  he, 
reading  one  of  the  despised  articles  from  tail  to  shoulder ;  "  divil 
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  fine  in  the  wire,  inordinately  long  in  the  shank,  and  very 
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  saint,  but  nearly  drove  a  sinner  like 
myself  stark  mad,  as  they  lay  glittering  before  me  in  an  endless 
variety  of  short  joints,  composed  of  the  brightest  and  most  opposite 
coloured  floss,  relieved  here  and  there  with  a  patch  of  gold  or 
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  a  group  of  harlequins  with  yellow  tails  and  long  brown  coats. 
To  expect  sport  with  such  flies,  Pat  declared  utterly  impossible  ;  the 

Q 


226  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  effects  of  the  change  were  soon  apparent,  and  every 
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'  rain  about  to  fall  on  the  mountain,  and 
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  ! — ^hooroo  ;  there's  time  for  another  ;  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  was  filling  a  pool  not  twenty  yards  from  the 
one  at  which  I  stood — again  and  again  the  fly  swept  across  the 
surface.  "  What,  not  another  ere  it  comes  ?"  Once  more  the  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  ;  for  brushwood,  rushes,  and  turf  sods  were  whirling  along 
in  wild  disorder,  thick  as  leaves  in  June.  The  narrow  course  of  the 
brook,  its  numerous  abrupt  turnings,  and  the  luxuriant  growth  of 
heath  and  whin  that  fringed  its  banks,  made  it  a  work  of  sufficient 
difficulty  to  keep  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  hat  and  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 


228  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

Two  to  one  are  long  odds  ;  the  fisli  could  hardly  hold  his  own 
before,  and  now  my  comrade's  opportune  arrival  soon  settled  the 
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 : 

"  Quick,  quick,  yer  honour  ;  now  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- 
quently observed,  "  She  had  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  bogwood  blazed  cheerfully,  and  by  its  light  we  were 
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  fair  Margaret,  followed  by  Mrs. 
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  earlier  period  were  in  themselves  excellent,  but  in  passing 
through  the  hands  of  Margaret  and  her  mamma  had  acquired  a 


SALMON   ANOLINO   IN   IBELAND.  229 

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 
ladies  was  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  ^Ib.  I  felt  as  though  I  had  fared  sumptuously.  Down 
fell  the  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 


230  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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 
finest  mansion  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  grief ;  nor  was  he  satisfied  with  plain  prose,  for 
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  left  me  ;  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  its  floor,  reek  exhalations  from  the  bog ;  its  *  bent '  covered  roof 
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  ; 
let  its  breath  be  so  light  as  not  to  shake  one  petal  from  the  rosy 
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 


SALMON   ANOLINO   IN   IBELAND.  233 

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  creek,  river  and  mountain,  so  lovingly  described  and  immor- 
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  was  the  gifted  author  of  "Wild  Sports."  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  tlins  gazing  far  over  mainland  and  sea,  we  stood  about 
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  sea  face  of  Slieve  More  was  exactly  as  poor 
Maxwell  described  it,  "short  and  stunted,"  yet  it  made  a  delicious 
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 ;  at  least  such  seemed  to  be  the  pronunciation  to 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  235 

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 
hills  and  the  black  peat  bogs.  Some  small  flocks  of  goats  crouched 
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  fertile  valley  of  the  Moy, 
and  on  the  west  by  the  mountains  of  Tyrawley  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 — less  known,  perhaps,  than  any  other  part  of  Ireland — is 
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  you  be  so  absurd  ?  "  remarked  the  lady,  with  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  it  happened.  During  our  honeymoon 
we  visited  Achil ;  everything  was  delightful ;  weather,  fine  ;  country, 
beautiful ;  fare,  good ;  whisky,  unexceptionable ;  and  on  the  morning 
of  our  departure  I  asked  for  my  bill,  with  a  feeling  nearly  akin  to 
that  with  which  refined  minds  repay  an  obligation.  Running  my 
eye  carelessly  over  it  I  remarked,  '  There  is  one  little  error  ;  you  have 
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  house,  sir  ;  but  if  you  wish  it  I  will  consult  the 
principal.' 

"  '  Consult  the  d .     Hark   ye,    my   friend,   you   may    spare 

yourself  the  trouble  ;  there's  my  card,  but  if  I  pay  for  two  beds 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  237 

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  desires  the  blessings  of  health  and  long  life,  let  him 
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 


238  A   TEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  in  bondage  till  pater  and  mater  came  to  the  rescue  some 
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  tallest  green  thing  to 
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 
scarcely  have  recognised  the  crop  had  I  been  left  to  the  unassisted 
exercise  of  my  own  genius.  As  we  approached  the  sea,  my  philan- 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  289 

for  the  winter.  A  nearer  approach  dissipated  the  illusion,  and 
showed  my  imaginary  "  wind  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  friend  if  it  held  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,  filled,  forged  ahead,  and  then,  obeying  some  unseen 
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  to  windward,  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 
incline  from  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  will  send  you  something  out  from  Newport." 

The  kind  and  simple  priest  was  a  favourite  with  us  all.  Warm, 
though  brief,  was  the  greeting,  and,  as  the  carriage  rolled  on,  the 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  241 

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 
priest's  company.  Now  the  P.  P.  of  T3rrena  was,  doubtless,  a  sound 
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," — ^in  the  mild  and 
earnest  spirit  of  an  apostle  condemning  some  heretical  opinion  held 
by  a  friend  and  a  brother, — "  Sure  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 
dignity  as  if  it  had  been  a  crosier ;  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 


242  A   YEAE    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  district,  hardly  twenty  years  ago,  "  the  rint  " 
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 fishing  the  eight  or  ten  "  water-holes  "  that  the  bed  of  the 
river  contained.  Had  I  been  wise  I  should  have  passed  Tyrena  in 
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  his  walk,  had  already  seated  himself  for  the  double 
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 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  243 

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- 
site side  of  the  stream  stood  ''O'Donnell's  Castle,"  a  very  charming 
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  this,  for  I  verily  believe  they  talked  in  their 
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 


SALMON   ANGLINQ   IN   IRELAND.  245 

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,  it  is  just  the  region  in  which  to  wind  up  the  latter 
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  to  wind  up  the  angling  year. 
We,  however,  shall  not  be  able  to  follow  the  plan  here  recommended, 
as  we  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 
at  any  moment,  before  breakfast  or  after  sunset,  the  Esk  is  at  our 
service,  and  seldom  fails  to  yield  us  two  or  three  trout.  Whether, 
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  given  to  lying  in  bed,  was  only 
just  preparing  to  rise.  "  They'll  never  do,  master,"  remarked  the 
perplexed  artiste,  looking  at  his  small  collection ;  "  there  an't  no 
more  to  strip  to-mon^ow,  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  247 

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  quare  now,"  observed  Patsy,  scratching  his  head  in  a 
contemplative  manner ;  "  berrying  drakes !  Who  ever  heard  the 
like  ?  But  your  honour's  will  must  be  done  ;  it's  plinty  ye'll  have  ; " 
and  then,  in  a  parting  soliloquy,  "  0,  Peter  I  What  will  he  do  wid 
'em  at  all,  at  all  ?  " 

Anxious  on  the  score  of  the  flies  to  be  used  that  day  on  the 
Inver,  I  soon  returned,  and  found  my  servant  had  completed  three 
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 
was  gloomily  re-arranging  the  disordered  bundles ;  "  'twill  be  a 
glorious  day,  and  here  we  are  without  anything  fit  to  use." 

Stepping  to  the  window  to  make  a  more  correct  estimate  of  the 
weather,  I  noticed  an  unusual  number  of  boys  "  all  in  a  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  bill  protruded  half  a  yard  or  so  beyond  the  line  of  each 
borrower's  person.     "  There  they  are  !"  cried  I,  pointing  into  the 


548  A   TEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  directed  by  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  extra  foot  of  brown  peat  water,  a  more  tempting 
mountain  river  than  the  Inver  cannot  well  be  imagined.  Many  of 
my  readers,  I  am  sure,  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 
pipes,  but  that  was  all.  "  So  this  is  the  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,  in  high  water,  often  answers  uncommon  well." 

Bryan's  "  advice  "  was  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 


250  A    YEAR   OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

cast  a  salmon  came  gallantly  at  me,  previous  disappointment  was 
forgotten,   and,   in   my  eyes,   Bryan  was   the    greatest  of   modern 
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 
September  ;  yet  the  thrill  of  delight,  as  the  line  tightened  under  my 
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  our  affairs  prospered  till  after  two 
o'clock,  when  a  sudden  and  unexpected  fall  in  all  descriptions  of 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  251 

stock  took  place.  For  the  last  hour  the  storms  of  rain  had  come 
down  more  heavily,  and  those  disagreeable  wet  stains  on  stones 
previously  dry — which  you  and  I  know  so  well — ^began  to  make 
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  little  likely  to  throw  away.  Bryan,  however,  thought 
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- 
tions were  hastily  made  for  departure.  "  Do  you  know  the  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 


252  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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 !  stop  ;  holloa  !  there."  What  a  delight  to  hear  a  voice 
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  to  the  last,  and  perhaps  come  to  grief  in  the  darkness, 
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  a  solitary  "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 
friend's  charity  was  of  ample  measure.  "  Do  as  you  would  be  done 
by  "  was  his  rule  of  action,  and  all  he  had  to  give  he  gave.  Bread 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  253 

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.  Dear  and  worthy  Father,  should  this  ever  meet  your 
eye,  pray  believe  I  still  hold  a  grateful  reinembrance  of  your 
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.  A  little  figure  stood 
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 ? 


254  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY;    OR, 


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  if  he  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  stiff  tumbler  of  whisky  punch  screaming  hot 
(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.     Why  do  you  ask  ?" 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  255 

*•  I'd  like  to  know,  that's  all.  It  will  be  hot  like  yesterday,  I'm 
thinking.     Willie  says  it  won't  be  good  for  the  fishing." 

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  faint  air  blowing  up  the  estuary,  curled  in  a  thousand 
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  says  it  won't  be  a  good  day  for  sport.  We  shan't  have 
many  more  like  it  this  year,  and  I'm  sure  the  mistress  would  like  to 
go  on  the  lake." 

I  saw  what  was  expected,  and  resolved  to  do  it  handsomely. 
"  There,"  placing  the  missing  fish  beside  their  companions  in 
misfortune,  "  now,  you  have  all.  Eun  away  home.  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 


256  A    YEAE    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
hills,  which,  at  its  northern  extremity,  seem  actually  to  drop  into 
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  my  knowledge  of  the  gentleman  who  owns  the  principal  part 
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  so  perfectly  were  mountain,  rock,  and  tree  reflected  in 
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  you  don't  try,  you  can't  succeed,"  is  a  maxim  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 
or  eight  feet  high,  with  broken  fragments  strewed  at  its  base. 
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 
partnership.  "■  He  knew,"  he  said,  "where  there  was  an  apple-tree 
about  a  mile  off,  also  a  shop"  near  to  this  garden  of  the  Hesperides. 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  259 

light  easterly  air  had  sprung  up,  of  which  we — being  on  the  lee 
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  I  saw  the  big  trout." 

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 ;  why  don't  you  pull  ?" 

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 


260  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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  you  sure  it  is  not  a  cod  ?  " 

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  fins  seemed  to  have  grown  larger ;  in  fact,  they  were  rapidly 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  261 

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 
it  is  shut  out  from  the  world  by  uninhabited  wastes ;  but  the  glen 
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  merits,  for  though  often  halting  here 
to  bait  my  horse,  I  never  threw  a  fly  on  any  of  its  pools.  That  it 
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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  263 

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  in  the  long  lake,  from  whose  margin  Arigle,  the 
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  of  Jime  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 


264  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY;    OR, 

certain  inquisitive  young  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  is  excellent,  and  the  cooking  good  ?  All  this 
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  time  my  visit  was  long  and  I  felt  at  home. 

Before  me  lies  a  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 £0     3     6 

„  „      per  week 0  18     0 

„  ,,      per  month    2     2     0 

,,  „      per  season    5     5     0 

When  angler  keeps  all  salmon  caught  by  him, 

He  will  pay  per  day    £0     6     6 

,,         per  week 1  16     0 

„         per  month  4     4     0 

„         per  season  10  10     0 

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  ascent  and  descent,  it  is  evident  that  we  walked  much  and 
drove  little.  As  night  fell  the  poor  horse  grew  more  and  more 
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  cat,  and  in  our  various  wanderings  always  insisted  on 
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  sit  quiet,  whilst  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  it  was  flogged  with  the  most  sparkling  beauties  our  book 
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  crestfallen  they  were.  Still  following  the  north 
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 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  267 

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  left  the  house  promising  to  call  again  on  our  way  back. 

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  first  floated  over  the  peaks  of  Arigle,  and  then  lingered  there, 
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 


268  A  YEAR  OF  liberty;  or, 

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 
ground  and  pay  the  promised  visit  to  our  friend  on  "  the  reef." 

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. 


SALMON   ANGLING    IN   IRELAND.  260 

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  getting  over  this  here,  master."  As  my  com- 
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  paid  the  full  price  for  you,  'tis  a  pity." 
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 


270  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  !  Again  I  seemed  walking  homewards  over  the  moor  in  a 
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 
boggy  inclosure  yonder,  which  was  to  have  been  called  "  Leech 
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. 

It  was  hardly  nine  when  we  walked  out  of  the  yard  towards  the 
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  pool.  It  lies,  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  du'ty  and  disagreeable  !  " 

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,  I  was  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  of  his  grief,  for  the  fish,  on  feeling  the  hook,  had 
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  tail  fanned  the  water,  and  then  a  side  yellow  as  burnished 
gold  gleamed  for  an  instant  on  the  surface. 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  273 

"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 
effort  to  hide  his  laughter,  stood  the  scribe.  I  was  afraid  to  say  so, 
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  more.  His  patent  leathers  would  never  again  bear 
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  till  an  admirable  uniformity  of  shade 
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 


274  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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  my  rod.  Imagine,  then,  the  pride  with  which  I  saw 
Jive  ranged  side  by  side.  My  wildest  imaginations  were  surpassed, 
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  fish  your  favourite  lodge."  The  daydream  was 
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  on."  There,  in  the  midst  of  that  aguish 
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  turning  over  the  leaves  of  our  book.  "  Did 
you  see  him  ?" 

"  Why,  no,  master ;  that  is,  not  exactly,  but  I  think  I  seen  the 
rim  of  his  tail." 

"Well,  what  was  he  like  ?" 
"Maybe  he's  fourteen  pounds,  maybe  more." 
No  unnecessary  time  was  lost,  you  may  be  sure.  The  casting-line 
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 


276  A    TEAR   OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

"  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  fellow  was  bending  over  the  stream  in  order  to  get  a 
better  insight  into  the  difficulty,  and  now  stood  at  my  side  with  a 
very  crestfallen  expression  on  his  brown  countenance. 

"  Bear  on  him,  bear  on  him  !  He  ar'nt  worth  nothing  ;  we're 
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  for  a  more  favourable  moment  ?  The  squall  had  passed 
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  a  narrow  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 


SALMON   ANGLING   IN   IRELAND.  277 

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, 
started  many  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  praise  is  the  last  thing  Lord  George  would  desire, 
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  morning  ?  I  should  like  to 
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 
distance  up  the  road,  and  then  struck  across  the  bog  to  the  right. 
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  as  they  came,  and  fished 
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 


SALMON    ANGLING   IN   IBELAND.  279 

yet  to  be  won.  Patience,  a  quick  eye,  and  light  hand  did  some- 
thing towards  the  winning,  when  my  gallant  squire,  seizing  his 
opportunity,  rushed  manfully  into  the  iiielee  and  gave  the  coup  de 
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 
unprincipled  "  mercantile  ambassador."  Old  Dan  was  never  weary 
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. 


280  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 


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  descent  which  terminates  at  Inny  Bridge,  and  slowly 
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  ladies  were  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 
energy,  "  I  had  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 
treatises,  "  about  the  foreshores  and  their  inhabitants")  "and  by  Jove, 
sir,  didn't  Patsy  and  I  stick  to  business  so  long  as  the  springs  lasted !" 
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  solitary  window  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 


282  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

this  swamp — the  deepest  in  the  neighbourhood — was  in  high  request 
with  the  birds.  Crossing  the  bank,  we  had  hardly  taken  three 
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.  It  affords  constant  variety.  Now  an  old  grouse  rises  in  a 
terrible  hurry  ;  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  all  of  these  mountain  races  we  had  taken  toll  one  day  as 
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 
finally  vanished  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  collected  dogs  and  guns,  together  with  a  couple  of 
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 


284  A    YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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. 

It  was  near  one  o'clock  when  we  halted  on  the  margin  of  the  lower 
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,  and  after  the  first  autumn  spates  are  usually  full  of 
fish.  We  were  soon  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 
ruthless  Major  was  the  same,  "  In  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  it !  You  have  kept  us  waiting  long  enough," 
remarked  my  comrade,  striking  so  vigorously  that  I  turned  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  ?  " 


286  A    YEAE    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 


SALMON    ANGLING    IN    IRELAND.  287 

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, 
lit  a  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  little  pressure  from  without,  to  be  driven  home.  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 


288  A    YEAR    OF    LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
fisheries  was  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 
bridge.     "  You  try  it  whilst  I  move  a  little  higher  up." 

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.  Instinctively  glancing  up  the  stream  (whilst  stretching  out  my 
hand  to  catch  the  casting-line,  in  order  to  change  the  trail)  I  saw  one 
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  second  rise,  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  despair.  "  It's  all  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  kill  a  fish  in  his  immediate  neighbourhood. 
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  the  line  when  ready  for  the  gaff,  by  an  officious  trout 
taking  the  other  fly ;  and  still  the  Major's  rod  seemed  to  continue  in 
a  chronic  "state  of  bend," 

IT 


290  A   YEAR    OF   LIBERTY  ;    OR, 

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 
latter.  "  Ah !  you  may  look,"  to  my  follower,  who  was  suspi- 
ciously examining  their  mouths ;  "  every  soul  of  them  caught  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  I  had  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 
year  has  passed,  yet  in  that  brief  space  important  events  have 
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  painters  is  gone  at  last,  mum.  The  door  looks  illegant ; 
the  holes  where  the  screws  went  is  stopped  up,  so  that  no  crathur 
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 
their  illustration.  But  though  these  are  now  passed  by  in  silence, 
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  five  miles  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 
fishery,  afford  admirable  angling  for  white  trout  during  the  autumn ; 
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  is  a  lake  affording  excellent  brown  trout,  ranging  from  one  to 
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  is  its  head  water.  This  lake  holds  plenty 
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  is  a  good  station  for  Lough  Erne,  on  whose  wide 
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  of  the  rivers  of  the  foregoing  counties 
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  is  probably  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  the  summer  and  autumn,  containing,  besides  trout,  heavy 
pike  and  perch.  I  know  no  more  delightful  angling  tour  than 
might  be  made  by  a  seriatim  visit  to  the  waters  just  mentioned. 

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  fine.  During  the  month  of  May  the  salmon  rise  well 
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.  Any  angler  intending  to  visit  the  district  should 
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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