266 SALMON FISHING IN THE TWEED 



" Dumfoundered he was, nae sicgh did he gie, 

 He mounted his meer, he rode cannilie ; 

 But said to himseF, as he gaed through the glen, 

 ' She was daft to refuse the laird 0"" Cockpen ! ' " 



It had been my intention to give an account of 

 the burning of the water from Melrose Bridge to 

 the Cauld Pool, and so on to Cow's Hole ; but the 

 description, if faithful, would be so similar to the 

 one already given, that it would be lamentably 

 tiresome, and I have been ultra -tedious already. 

 Besides, it must be considered that I have been out 

 of my bed most part of the night ; that I am to the 

 full as sleepy as any of my readers can possibly be ; 

 and, moreover, that my back is half frozen, whilst 

 my front is scorched with the firebrands. 



Farewell ! then, dear brothers of the angle ; and 

 when you go forth to take your pleasure, either 

 in the mountain stream that struggles and roars 

 through the narrow pass, or in the majestic salmon 

 river that sweeps in lucid mazes through the vale, 

 may your sport be ample and your hearts light ! 

 But should the fish prove more sagacious than 

 yourselves — a circumstance, excuse me, that is by 

 no means impossible — should they, alas — but fate 

 avert it ! — reject your hooked gifts, the course of 

 the river will always lead you to pleasant places. 

 In these we leave you to the quiet enjoyment of 

 the glorious works of the Creation, whether it may 

 be your pleasure to go forth when the spring sheds 

 its flowery fragrance, or in the more advanced 

 season, when the sere leaf is shed incessantly and 

 wafted on the surface of the swollen river. 



