238 HIGHLAND SPORT 



to devour some of these delusions, when again and again the 

 same drama of murderous torture was enacted by rejoicing 

 Foes. 



" Then there came one special day when every pool through 

 which I travelled had one or two of the Foes on the banks, 

 while all that day the river was full of their treacherous insects; 

 then, strange to say, on the day following there was not a Foe 

 or an insect to be seen, and as they did not again appear, it 

 seemed as if our existence was suddenly forgotten, for from 

 that time forward every day was a Sabbath to us. In unevent- 

 ful quietude I worked my way up-stream to another fine pool, 

 which an old crow, who was poking about on the shore for food, 

 told me was called ' Tassack,' of Cambus o' May. Here I was 

 destined to experience some totally new sensations, for as I 

 swam into ' Tassack ' I was joined by a slender grilse girl with 

 a beautifully small head and tail, and whom I had formerly met 

 in the deep sea. 



" What charm there was about her I could not tell, but 

 certain it was that from the moment of meeting I never left 

 her side and could not bear to lose sight of her, while alto- 

 gether there seemed to be a greater pleasure in life than I ever 

 dreamt of. Now that I am old, I doubt if I did not over-rate 

 these joys, for what with the life she led me by pretending to 

 go off with others, thus tempting me into many tough battles 

 with rivals, I now see that the period could not have been 

 absolutely so full of delight as my fancy then pictured. How- 

 ever, this is only by the. way, and an old fifty-four-pounder is 

 entitled to a sneer at the pleasures of his grilsehood. Suffice 

 it to say that we were duly married, the afore-mentioned old 

 crow kindly cawing the service, while our honeymoon was 

 passed in perfect happiness on a shallow, secluded bank of 

 gravel. 



"The frost and snow came and went, and then when we 

 were discussing plans for another trip to the sea, for a change 

 of water and food, all my enjoyment was scattered to the 



