THE TWEED SIR WALTER SCOTT. 67 



considerable number of grilse into their water. Mr. 

 Russel of the Scotsman, a rather celebrated angler, to 

 whom we have already referred in connection with the 

 new Tweed Act, is one of them, and gave in evi- 

 dence to the House of Commons Committee that u at 

 the beginning of the season in 1856 he killed nine sal- 

 mon [kelts, we presume] in one day, whereas during 

 the rest of the season, though out eight or ten times, 

 he got only one." He stated, indeed, that he had 

 made calculations in 1850 which led him to believe 

 that in that year there had not been more than 700 

 cle.an fish altogether killed by the rod in the Tweed. 

 A few grilse and salmon the latter, perhaps, not par- 

 ticularly clean have, however, always been got by 

 " The Nest" anglers in the period of grace allowed for 

 rod-fishing at the end of the season ; and it is hoped 

 that, in future, although the time is abridged, the sport 

 will be better. 



As we have reached the salmon -district of the 

 Tweed, we are now also fairly into the land of Scott. 

 At Ashiestiel he took up his residence after being ap- 

 pointed Sheriff- depute of Selkirk, when his principal 

 began to grumble about his living at Lasswade, at a 

 distance from the scene of his duties. Here he wrote the 

 Lay, Marmion, Waverley, arid others of his immortal 

 works, and abode until he became the laird of Clarty- 

 hole, and built his " stone and lime romance" at Ab- 

 botsford. He was the plain " Shirra," not even the 

 titular " Duke of Darnick," and was ready for any 

 kind of " ploy." He was an angler, although he de- 

 clares, in his review of Sir Humphrey Davy's Sal- 

 monia, that his line usually fell "with the emphasis of 



