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waters of the Ken, which, when followed down a 

 few miles, soon become fine streams for the fly. But 

 the trout are here much smaller than in the lower 

 sections of the stream. It has few feeders; the 

 Deugh Water and the Garpel Burn being the prin- 

 cipal. They are not, however, of much consequence. 



There is some lake-fishing in this locality to those 

 who are fond of it. The lochs of Grannoch, Dornal, 

 Lochinbreck, Glentoo, and Roan, which contain 

 trout and pike, and a few perch, will afford a fair 

 share of sport. There is a loch in Girthon parish, 

 in which there are large quantities of charr. Loch 

 Brack is celebrated for its fine and large trout ; and 

 Barscobe, Houie, and Loch Skae, have a high repu- 

 tation among the anglers in the neighbourhood. 



The entire scenery of the upper parts of the Ken 

 is of a singularly wild and desolate cast. We travel 

 for miles and find no human dwelling to cheer our 

 eye, or call forth our human sympathies. Yet this 

 kind of country is full of interest to a contemplative 

 mind. It produces a soft and soothing melancholy 

 which some poets have imagined to be the highest 

 standard of human bliss. And so, in one sense, it 

 certainly is. Nature is never sad ; in all her phases 

 she speaks to the heart and affections, and imparts 

 to them the most exquisite pleasures. These heathy 

 moors, these solitary wastes, these barren and frown- 

 ing mountains, and these dells and caves, in which 

 the human foot has seldom trodden, light up a more 

 intense and bright flame in the breasts of men than 

 the bustle of the great city, or the gaities of the 



