282 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXVII. 



to when the shoals take to the lochs or salt- water 

 inlets on the west coast. The scene is then one of 

 singular interest and beauty. The fishing is car- 

 ried on in what looks like a calm fresh- water lake, 

 winding far up into the mountains, which, over- 

 hanging the water, echo back with startling dis- 

 tinctness every sound which is uttered on its smooth 

 surface. The picturesque rocks, dotted with noble 

 old birch-trees, with their weeping branches hang- 

 ing like ladies' tresses over the deep water of the 

 bay, and the gray mountain slopes above these, add 

 a beauty to the scene which is so unexpected and so 

 unusual an accompaniment to sea-fishing, that to be 

 understood it must be seen. Hundreds of boats 

 are actively employed in every direction, whilst 

 larger vessels lie waiting to get their cargo of fish 

 complete, and then stand out from the bay, winding 

 round its numerous headlands until they can take 

 advantage of a steady wind blowing from some one 

 certain point, instead of from two or three at once, 

 as mountain winds always do. In addition to these 

 vessels which are bound for Liverpool, Dublin, 

 London, or elsewhere, there is the Government 

 cruiser, distinguishable at once by its symmetry 

 and neatness, lying near the mouth of the loch, with 

 its tall mast and long yards, keeping order amongst 

 the thousands of men who are all rivals in the same 



