It had sprinkled occasionally during
our voyage, but was now sunshiny, and not excessively warm; so we set
forth contentedly enough, and had an agreeable walk along an almost
perfectly level road; for it is one of the beauties of these hills, that
they descend abruptly down, instead of undulating away forever. There
were lofty heights on each side of us, but not so lofty as to have won a
distinctive name; and adown their sides we could see the rocky pathways
of cascades, which, at this season, are either quite dry, or mere
trickles of a rill. The hills and valleys abound in streams, sparkling
through pebbly beds, and forming here and there a dark pool; and they
would be populous with trout if all England, with one fell purpose, did
not come hither to fish them. A fisherman must find it difficult to
gratify his propensities in these days; for even the lakes and streams in
Norway are now preserved. J-----, by the way, threatens ominously to be
a fisherman. He rode the latter portion of the way to the hotel on the
luggage-cart; and when we arrived, we found that he had already gone off
to catch fish, or to attempt it (for there is as much chance of his
catching a whale as a trout), in a mountain stream near the house. I
went in search of him, but without success, and was somewhat startled at
the depth and blackness of some of the pools into which the stream
settled itself and slept. Finally, he came in while we were at dinner.
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