PIS C A TOR AND VENATOR 177 



started in the morning with the highest hopes ; all 

 the previous afternoon the rain came down in torrents, 

 and I could hear the trickle of the water from 

 the eaves when I went to bed ; but when I rose in 

 the morning the sky was clear, with a few flying 

 clouds and a strong breeze ; the roofs were dry, and 

 it was evident that the storm moderated long before 

 the morning, and that by ten o'clock — quite late 

 enough for a start on such an occasion — the river 

 would have had seven or eight hours to run down. 

 Had I been the lessee of a beat on the Tweed, Tay, 

 or Dee, or any large river, I should have been con- 

 demned to inaction, or some other form of sport, for 

 a day or two after such a spate ; but the little West 

 Coast stream by whose banks fate had fixed my 

 residence for the time being was fed by mountain 

 torrents and deep sheep drains, and fell as rapidly as 

 it rose. The upper pools— and these were the most 

 interesting to fish, and when in order the most pro- 

 ductive — were sometimes too high to fish one day 

 and too low the next ; but on this day I was in no 

 doubt whither to go, and all impatience to make a 

 start. What a long time the lazy servants seemed 

 bringing the breakfast ! But if I could not control 

 their movements, I was at all events master of my 

 own, and I gobbled down my food with a rapidity 



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