4 INTRODUCTORY. 



boat ? There is a well-known character at St 

 Boswell's, a man of humble birth, totally blind, 

 who, attended by his dog, gropes his way daily to 

 the Tweed, and there angles, not unsuccessfully, 

 for trout, with a fly. He is a poor man, and has 

 neither help nor guide beyond what casual sym- 

 pathy may bestow ; yet except once, when he 

 caught his dog, who, after ten minutes' exciting 

 play, broke his tackle, and left him groaning over 

 the supposed loss of a huge salmon, I never heard 

 of his coming to grief. Yes ! fishing is a noble art, 

 an absorbing occupation, and one to which a man 

 of high intellect may without shame or scruple give 

 himself up. Its pursuit leads the angler into the 

 most beautiful scenery, at the loveliest time of the 

 year, and the pleasantest hours of the day ; it is 

 not so absorbing as to preclude the contemplation 

 of the beauties of nature or to exclude reflection ; 

 it is a sufficiently active employment for health 

 and exercise, without necessitating the more bois- 

 terous efforts of the chase or the harder labour of 

 shooting. It is a pursuit, the pleasure of which 

 increases with its practice it "grows by what it 

 feeds on" increasing rather than diminishing with 

 age, while the skill and knowledge gained by long 

 experience more than compensate for the absence 

 of youthful strength and vigour. Were I a fish, I 



