388 AN ANGLER'S RAMBLES 



part of the river, where there was no perceptible current. There, 

 to my surprise, instead of despatching, he forthwith set free his 

 victim, but it was only for a moment ; the trout, on making a 

 quick attempt to gain the deep water, was again pounced upon 

 and transferred to the shallows within a yard of the river's margin, 

 where it was released for a second time. This game of allowing 

 the fish its apparent chance of escape and recovering it, was 

 carried on by the gull for fully ten minutes. At length, however, 

 the trout, probably showing symptoms of exhaustion, and being 

 unable to afford its tormentor further sport, was despatched and 

 swallowed. Besides the gulls above mentioned, a number of 

 aquatic birds, including the Larus rissa, or kitty- wake, the Sterna 

 hirundo, or sea-swallow, the Mergvs serrata, or goosander, the 

 mallard, teal, and widgeon, visit Tweed periodically, but I am not 

 aware that they do any great injury to the parr-stock. A curious 

 instance of the fearlessness of the tern or sea-swallow happened 

 to a friend of mine two years ago. He was fishing with a large 

 salmon-fly from the boat at Sprouston Dub, along with one of 

 the Kersses, and was in the act of recovering his hook after a 

 cast, when one of these graceful little air-cleavers pounced upon 

 and lifted it up into the air. The lure, which, happily for the 

 bird, was too large to be swallowed, having dropt from its bill, 

 the tern made a second stoop, and succeeded in seizing hold of 

 and relifting it before it had reached the surface of the water. 

 On the hook becoming again detached, my friend took the oppor- 

 tunity of recasting his line. The bird, however, returned to the 

 charge, and actually, before retiring, made several other attempts 

 to carry off the fly. 



Throughout the Border-land, I may mention the feathered 

 tribe seldom meets with molestation except from licensed per- 

 sons, and even by them game and vermin are made almost the 

 only objects of pursuit. A better feeling certainly prevails 

 among the juveniles of the present day towards birds of all sorts 



