178 THE SAL. If ON 



which would have made my respected medical ad- 

 viser's hair stand on end, had he been there to see ; 

 but the next few hours would, at all events, be an 

 antidote against dyspepsia. Long before the dogcart 

 drove round I was 'booted and spurred' and cursing 

 the dilatory groom, although the poor man was not to 

 blame, as a reference to my watch and the stable 

 clock convinced me. The two or three miles which 

 divided me from the nearest point of the river were 

 finished at last ; and as I passed over the bridge I 

 saw by the stone on my left, over which the water 

 just broke, that the height was all right, and the 

 colour spoke for itself of course also favourably. 

 Another mile, a second bridge, and another inspec- 

 tion, and we pulled up at last at a gate by a field, 

 opposite to which, about a hundred yards off, the 

 river took a sharp turn under the wooded brae of 

 Kirnan. I almost raced across the field my little 

 terrier partaking of my eagerness, and began to put 

 my rod together, taking rather longer than usual in 

 consequence of my hurry to commence operations ; 

 for certainly in fishing the proverb ' More haste, worse 

 speed,' holds good. At my feet the river ran dark 

 but clear ; a splash or two broke the surface while 

 my preparations were completing. I approached the 

 top of the pool and now I let the curtain fal on 



