48 TOUR IN SUTHERLAND. CH. IV. 



came so bored and ennuyt, with this work, that at 

 last I had only to show him my fishing-rod to in- 

 duce him immediately to retire to some hiding- 

 place rather than be asked to accompany me. 

 Another retriever, on the contrary, always took the 

 most lively interest in my fishing, watching the fly 

 and getting into a state of great excitement when- 

 ever I hooked a fish : indeed, if allowed to do so, 

 he would go in and land the fish, taking it carefully 

 and delicately by the back in his teeth ; but as he 

 often got entangled in the line and did mischief, I 

 was obliged to stop this. A great treat, however, 

 to this dog was to put some living sea-trout into 

 any shallow pool, where he could catch them and 

 bring them one by one to whoever carried the 

 fishing-basket. 



I have no doubt that many wild animals, such 

 as the fox, wild -cat, polecat, etc., catch numbers 

 of fish during their nocturnal wanderings. Their 

 tracks about the water's edge have frequently 

 convinced me of this : the fish, too, being apt to 

 take to the shallows at night, are easier caught 

 than in the daytime. 



To return, however, to Sutherlandshire. On the 

 7th of June I arrived at the good town of Tain, 

 and on the 9th was at Lairg Inn. An excellent 

 place of rest, too, is the inn at Lairg, and the situa- 



