"Yes, sir; I did a good deal of fishing round Athlone, and was taught to
tie my own flies. I wish I had a packet of hooks--the two one of our
fellows made for me are well enough for worms, but they are rather clumsy
for flies."

"I used to be fond of fishing myself," Fane said; "but I have always
bought my tackle, and I doubt whether I should make much hand at it, if
left to my own devices. We are not likely to be able to get any hooks till
we get to Almeida, but I should think you would find some there."

"I shall be able to get some wire to make them with, no doubt, sir."

"I fancy after we have left Almeida you won't find many opportunities of
fishing, O'Connor. We shall have other work on hand then, and shall, I
hope, be able to buy what we want; at any rate, we shall have as good a
chance of doing so as others, while along this road there is nothing to be
had for love or money, and the peasants would no doubt be glad to sell us
anything they have, but they are living on black bread themselves; and,
indeed, the greater part have moved away to less-frequented places. No
doubt they will come back again as soon as we have all passed, but how
long they will be allowed to live in peace and quietness is more than I
can say. As long as it is only our troops who come along they have nothing
much to complain of, for they can sell everything they have to dispose of
at prices they never dreamt of before; but they complain bitterly of the
French, who ate their fruit and drank their wine, killed their pigs and
fowls, appropriated their cattle and horses, and they thought themselves
lucky to escape with their lives. You see there are very few men about
here; they have all gone off to join one or other of the Portuguese
bands."