"But the breeze gradually dropped. Large splashes of calm, glazy-looking water appeared here and there, spreading by little and little over the whole surface, while the rises became more and more infrequent, and, before a dozen fish had been caught,…
"Lough Derg has certainly been well chosen as a spot of religious penitence and seclusion, for the character of its scenery harmonises well with such a feeling; it is that of wild and gloomy loneliness."
"It was much too dark for any one to see where they were going, so that it seemed more by instinct than anything else that the boat touched the shore at the very spot where they had been taken in that morning…"
"'What bird is that ?' said the Captain, rousing himself. 'Sure it's an aigle!' said the men ; and, for want of something better to do, the whole party stood, sat, or reclined, watching the bird as it hovered uneasily round and round them..."
"By this time there began to be a stir among the boatmen, the sun had been for some while under the horizon, and the shades of evening were adding solemnity to the landscape…"
"'And as parliament is usually dead slow,' added the Captain, 'it is much to be wished that Paddy, in the meanwhile, would take the affair [of Otter fishing] into his own hands : he is just the boy to do it well.'…"
