252 THE WILDS OF SUTHERLAND. 



and reaching the last step before he expected. 

 The object is gained sooner than intended, or even 

 wished ! 



Unmixed pleasure at the brilliant prize floating 

 on the waters quickly followed ; and when Suther- 

 land rowed to land with the finest male specimen 

 I had ever seen of this most beautiful of all divers, 

 my content was complete. 



Our landlord supplied us with a couple of 

 small rods, but none of the flies in our book were 

 " cut out " for this loch. In about two hours and 

 a half, however, we brought into the boat thirty 

 fine red trout, which were delicious at table. 

 With orthodox flies a hundred fish to each rod is 

 an average good day's work ; how sumptuously, 

 therefore, the black-throats must have fared every 

 day! 



Next morning Mr M. gave a most graphic 

 account of his sport on the marches. Of course 

 he had a number of the aged natives as witnesses, 

 and some of these ancient Celts grew quite fierce 

 in their Gaelic disputes with each other. One 

 venerable Sutherland oracle frantically tottered 



w 



up to the arbitrator with " I wonder, sir, to see 



