THE RIVER TAY 163 



the burns into turbulent rivers, which pour their 

 floods into the mighty channel of the Tay : thus 

 this river probably carries more water to the ocean 

 than any other in Great Britain. 



I have read much of the rapids of the great rivers 

 in America, and the difficulty of steering and shoot- 

 ing down them in safety ; and the accompaniments 

 of the scenery, and the descriptions of these 

 cataracts, have always appeared to me singularly 

 wild and picturesque. They made so great an 

 impression upon my mind that, to form a more 

 correct idea of the sort of thing, I meditated a 

 voyage down the Tay when, filled with her countless 

 tributaries, she goes raging to the ocean. Besides 

 this inducement, I had some small boats which I 

 wished to take to Perth by water, instead of land 

 carriage ; for I was changing my quarters from 

 Meikleour on the banks of the Tay to the Pavilion 

 on those of the Tweed. These boats were built on 

 Tweedside for fly fishing in small waters, and in 

 warm weather were held for the fisherman by a man 

 who waded in the water, lest the salmon should be 

 scared away by the motion or appearance of the 

 oars, or canting pole, as it might be. Being, there- 

 fore, of a very light and diminutive construction, 

 they were not exactly calculated to endure the 

 buffets of large and tempestuous waters : one is 

 not apt, however, to be over nice about such things, 

 and accordingly I resolved to put them to the 

 proof. Nor was an opportunity long wanting. After 

 a night of heavy rain, the Tay, which flowed through 

 the park of Meikleour, rose to a fearful extent. This 



