148 EFFECTS OF A STORM. 



dreamed of in their i)liilosophy. It demands (salmon 

 fishing at least) strength of arm and endurance of fatigue, 

 and a capability of walking in the sharp streams for 

 eight or ten hours together, with perfect satisfaction to 

 one's self; and that early in the spring season, when the 

 clean salmon first come forward. In after life, people 

 are considerably addicted to boats, and to go about at- 

 tended like admirals ; that is what we must all come to. 

 But your real professor, who has youth on his side, 

 should neither have boats nor boots, but be sufficient in 

 himself. No delay, no hauling the boat u]) the stream, 

 but in and out, like an otter ; even like we ourselves in 

 the time of our prime, Fahrenheit being below zero. 

 We then pitched our tent under Craigover rocks, on 

 Tweedside, and slept in it, that Ave might go forth, rod 

 in hand, at five o'clock each morning to our aqueous 

 pastime. It is true that the late John Lord Somer- 

 ville objected to our tent, as being a white object, and 

 therefore likely to j^revent the fish from passing by it to 

 his upper water. But we proved to him, by mathe- 

 matical lines adroitly drawn, that it was not within the 

 range of a salmon's optics. So our tent stood, till a 

 violent storm assailed us one night with barbarous fury, 

 tore up the pegs to which the ropes were fastened, and 

 gave up all our canvass to the winds. Thus, we got an 

 ample soaking in our bed, in which we cut a pretty 

 figure, no doubt, when disclosed to public gaze ; but we 

 were not blown into the Tweed; so that, upon the 

 whole, we were uncommonly fortunate. But we discard 

 ourselves for the present. 



I say then, and will maintain it, that a salmon fisher 



