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| LOUGH DAN, CO. WICKLOW. -This lovely sheet of water is connected with Luggelaw, or Lough Tay, by the river Killough, and is remarkable for the apparently exhaustless number of mountain trout it contains. These fish, although not large, rise eagerly and it is not unusual for anglers, provided with a sufficient number of "flies," to hook three, or more, of them at a single cast. No embargo is laid on the fishing in this lake, and the only cost to the fisherman is the hire of boat and boatman at a very moderate charge. One of the angling peculiarities of Lough Dan, noted by Mr. W.F. Wakeman, is that "the boat is rowed out to that point of the water from which the wind is blowing and is then left to drift at her own sweet will, while the angler plies his 'flies' from side to side" until his course is run. The surrounding scenery is very charming, and the people of the district are noted for their courtesy and hospitality. Samuel Ferguson, the poet and archaeologist, has embalmed these characteristics in his graceful poem, "The Pretty Girl of Lough Dan"-a peasant maiden, who supplied the wants of himself and comrade when, hungry and footsore, they sought the shelter of her cabin. The smile of gentle "Mary" must have captivated Ferguson, when he wrote- For such another smile, I vow, though loudly beats the midnight rain, I'd take the mountain side e'en now, and walk to Luggelaw again! |
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