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Here nature wild nature reigns glorious and free, 

 Then come here in summer, and angle with me. 



" It is life to the soul to climb these steep knolls, 

 To watch the gay trout, as he sports in the pools ; 

 The scene is so rich, and the landscapes so fair, 

 That the mind feels content to dwell always there, 

 To scan the bright shadows on the grey mountain's brow, 

 Is a pleasure that dullness itself must allow. 



" There's strength in the mountain, and health in the vale, 

 There's glow in the zephyr, and glee in the gale ; 

 A buoyant hilarity rests on the mind, 

 And lightness and joy at each step are combin'd. 

 So come, anglers, come, rare sports here invite you, 

 Sure pleasures so pure can't fail to delight you." 



MofFat is the best starting point to fish the Annan 

 and its chief feeders. The Annan is not a good trout 

 stream. It has a run of several miles, and its 

 streams look very imposing to the eye, but there are 

 very few trout in them. What there are, however, 

 are often tolerably large. The MofFat Water comes 

 from another direction. It flows down the narrow 

 valley between St. Mary's Loch and MofFat, and has 

 a connexion with Loch Skene by means of the Grey 

 Mare's Tail burn. There is good trouting in the 

 MofFatt Water, but I have never seen very large 

 ones taken out of it. It is a pleasant stream to 

 angle with a single-handed rod ; and its banks and 

 windings among the high hills have a solemnising 

 and contemplative effect upon the mind. 



If the angler ascends the stream till he comes to 

 the rivulet that leads up to the Grey Mare's Tail, he 

 will be much interested. This glen forms an 



