Skip to content
Linespedia

Master And Man

Topics: classic

Do ye ken hoo to fush for the salmon?         If ye'll listen I'll tell ye.     Dinna trust to the books and their gammon,         They're but trying to sell ye.     Leave professors to read their ain cackle         And fush their ain style;     Come awa', sir, we'll oot wi' oor tackle         And be busy the while.     'Tis a wee bit ower bright, ye were thinkin'?         Aw, ye'll no be the loser;     'Tis better ten baskin' and blinkin'         Than ane that's a cruiser.     If ye're bent, as I tak it, on slatter,         Ye should pray for the droot,     For the salmon's her ain when there's watter,         But she's oors when it's oot.     Ye may just put your flee-book behind ye,         Ane hook wull be plenty;     If they'll no come for this, my man, mind ye,         They'll no come for twenty.     Ay, a rod; but the shorter the stranger         And the nearer to strike;     For myself I prefare it nae langer         Than a yard or the like.     Noo, ye'll stand awa' back while I'm creepin'         Wi' my snoot i' the gowans;     There's a bonny twalve-poonder a-sleepin'         I' the shade o' yon rowans.     Man, man! I was fearin' I'd stirred her,         But I've got her the noo!     Hoot! fushin's as easy as murrder         When ye ken what to do.     Na, na, sir, I doot na ye're willin'         But I canna permit ye;     For I'm thinkin' that yon kind o' killin'         Wad hardly befit ye.     And some work is deefficult hushin',         There'd be havers and chaff:     'Twull be best, sir, for you to be fushin'         And me wi' the gaff.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Do ye ken hoo to fush for the salmon?..."

"Master And Man" is a quintessential example of Henry John Newbolt, Sir's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Classified Tags

Related lines

"Among the woods and tillage         That fringe the topmost downs,     All lonely lies the village,         Far off from seas and towns.     Y"

""Partial firing continued until 4.30, when a victory having been reported to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Nelson, K.B., and Commander-in-Chi"

"His beauty bore no token,         No sign our gladness shook;     With tender strength unbroken         The hand of Life he took:     But the"

""He leapt to arms unbidden,         Unneeded, over-bold;     His face by earth is hidden,         His heart in earth is cold.     "Curse on t"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Continue Reading

"Among the woods and tillage         That fringe th..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.