212 ANGLERS' EVENINGS. 



consequence of the physical energy that should have been 

 expended in keeping the hands acutely sensitive to the 

 slightest touch upon the line, and the eye quick to note 

 the smallest sign denoting the presence of a fish, having 

 been previously dissipated in a rough walk over the hill, 

 possibly keeping up with some gillie or gamekeeper, who 

 strides over the ground very much as if his nether 

 extremities were made of jointed cast-iron. It has 

 invariably been my experience that, when fatigued, my 

 fishing has been careless, and consequently unproduc- 

 tive. One of the great advantages of St. Boswells is its 

 proximity to the water. You can always put on your 

 wading gear at home ; and, for that matter, put up your 

 rod too. Indeed, I have known some who kept their 

 rods up for weeks together. This I much object to. It 

 is a little trouble, perhaps, at the end of the day's work to 

 take down your rod, lovingly straighten out the pieces, and 

 deposit them safely in the bag ; when, seeing that you 

 will be on the water bright and early next morning, you 

 could have saved the trouble by leaning it against the 

 outhouse in the garden, or leaving it lengthwise in the 

 lobby. But, not to mention the risk of having the rod 

 broken, a week or two of this treatment will do it more 

 harm than a whole season's work on the other plan. A 

 rod, after a day's fishing with minnow, for instance, and 

 more or less with any lure, takes a particular bend, and 

 if not taken to pieces and carefully straightened, is sure 

 to grow twisted and useless. 



About the middle of the village of St. Boswells, a 

 road leads down to the Dryburgh Ford, and the angler 



