264 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SALMON FISHING. 



he laid fast hold of the bottle, and filling the quaigh to 

 the brim, " Here goes," said he, " to the lousy stranger." 

 After he had drunk, and mended his draught, he kept 

 the bottle in his own custody with a pretty smart allow- 

 ance in it, in the character of residuary legatee. I had 

 an account, however, "to settle with him ; for being the 

 only stranger in company, I fancied his toast meant a 

 reflection upon my cleanliness. "What did he mean by 

 the dirty and degrading epithet ? This I demanded, 

 advancing with a warlike countenance, and leister in 

 the rest; and had not Tom been in a very benign 

 humour, this book might never have been inflicted on 

 the public, for the man was well armed and resolute, 

 and might have leistered me according to art. But put- 

 ting on his sweetest smile, he assured me that by the 

 " lousy stranger " he meant a newly run fish with tide 

 lice on it, " which," said he, " are far the best ye ken." 

 This I well knew, though the application did not occur 

 to me at the moment. And here, by the way I beg to 

 observe, however odd it may seem, that you may know 

 the best clean fish, by their having tide lice upon them. 



" All hands to the boat again. Come, Rob, give us a 

 merry blaze ; never spare the tar barrel : well done, 

 Vulcan ! Now we have a splendid light on the water, 

 and can see well enough to read small print at the 

 bottom of it." 



" Sandy Trummel, ye great bear, what gars ye stamp 

 and scream at that rate ? " 



Sandy in fact not only stamped and screamed, but 

 swore that he was dreadfully brunt with the pieces of 

 charcoal and drops of flaming pitch which insinuated 



