BOAT USED FOR BURNING. 237 



for it. After lie was awa' I sliddered, out and fun' his 

 purse ; there war seeven shillings and a groat in it ; so 

 I gaed to auld Mary Butler's, and bought yetmeal for 

 the bairns' parritch wi' it, and ye see the auld cuffer is 

 riddling the sand, thinking to find his purse. He'll no 

 be worth a rigmaree the night for fishing.' " 



" Aweel, Charlie, Janet says true ; but wha mun we 

 hae to lead hame the fish ? Tarn Hardy or Rob Colyard 

 would mak' good fun. Tarn, he'll tell us that lang 

 story aboot the scramidge, and the muckle fish he killed 

 in Leader-water, that misured nine inches atween the 

 een ; and if we hae Rob, he'll get a stick and be gaun 

 through his braidsword exercise, and tell us how he did 

 wi' the twa Frenchmen on the field of Waterloo ; so 

 Rob may meet us wi' his cart to tak' hame the fish, 

 when we come to Brig-end pool. We mun now tak' up 

 the twa boats to the Carrywheel, where they will bide 

 our coming at night; — and look here, mon: when we are 

 in a sweet wi' pooing them up, we will tak' a wee 

 drap out o' this black bottle." 



The boat in general use for burning at night is larger 

 than the rod fishing boats, as more room and steadiness 

 is required. In the centre of it, close to the side on 

 which the leisterers strike the fish, is a pole fixed ver- 

 tically, with a frame at top of it formed of ribs of iron to 

 contain the combustibles. Tlu'ee men are sufficient to 

 man the boat ; one at the head, another at the stern, as 

 boatmen and leisterers, and the third at the centre to 

 kill the fish and trim the fire. But it will contain more 

 men, if necessary. 



The remainder of the day having been spent in 



