A MONTH AT STRATHMAACOE 195 



To this I replied, " Depend on it, the men won't think much 

 of your idea, as it will give them five times the work to do, 

 and as we must not make them sulky, suppose you go and 

 square them." 



Thereupon Tom went to our boatmen and said, " Now, 

 look here, my men, I've a fancy to work the boat on a plan of 

 my own this afternoon, so no blame to you if there is no sport ; 

 it will be harder work though, so therefore you shall each 

 have half a crown extra for your trouble." 



This settled matters as we wished, so getting afloat once 

 more we kept rowing five or six hundred yards from the shore 

 and drifting in again, covering fresh ground at each drift. So 

 well did this answer that when we landed at the pier we had 

 forty-seven fine trout, averaging just under a pound each. We 

 were both of us delighted with a very good day's sport, for the 

 fish fought well, frequently splashing high out of the water or 

 dashing under the boat at great speed, thus necessitating a 

 quick eye with a steady hand to defeat these troutish tricks. 



Moreover it was pleasant to learn from the pier-master that 

 the new comers and lazy starters had yet brought back more 

 than any other boat, and I fear as long as there are fishermen 

 there will ever be feelings of this nature. Old Izaak Walton 

 felt the sentinent in his day and boldly, expressed it, for he 

 wrote, " I envy but him, and him only, that catches more fish 

 than I do," so, therefore, his disciples of three hundred years 

 later may surely own up to the soft Impeachment without 

 feeling abashed. 



The weight and number of our fish having been duly 

 entered in a book, the pier-master then asked if we wished to 

 send any away, for labels and boxes were ready and the railway 

 close by. We availed ourselves of the opportunity, while once 

 more dilating on Loch Leven good management ; then we paid 

 for our sport, half a crown an hour for each rod— thus as we 

 had been afloat eight hours, the calculation of the amount was 

 an easy one — so wishing the pier-master good-night, we 



