178 THE SALMON 



which would have made my respected medical ad- 

 viser's hair stand on end, had he been there to see ; 

 but the next few hours would, at all events, be an 

 antidote against dyspepsia. Long before the dogcart 

 drove round I was ' booted and spurred ' and cursing 

 the dilatory groom, although the poor man was not to 

 blame, as a reference to my watch and the stable 

 clock convinced me. The two or three miles which 

 divided me from the nearest point of the river were 

 finished at last ; and as I passed over the bridge I 

 saw by the stone on my left, over which the water 

 just broke, that the height was all right, and the 

 colour spoke for itself — of course also favourably. 

 Another mile, a second bridge, and another inspec- 

 tion, and we pulled up at last at a gate by a field, 

 opposite to which, about a hundred yards off, the 

 river took a sharp turn under the wooded brae of 

 Kirnan. I almost raced across the field — my little 

 terrier partaking of my eagerness, — and began to put 

 my rod together, taking rather longer than usual in 

 consequence of my hurry to commence operations ; 

 for certainly in fishing the proverb ' More haste, worse 

 speed,' holds good. At my feet the river ran dark 

 but clear ; a splash or two broke the surface while 

 my preparations were completing. I approached the 

 top of the pool — and now I let the curtain fal on 



