FOURTH DAY.] SEA TROUT. 93 



not to be driven off, and I am not sure that the Laird 

 himself could divert him from his purpose, except by 

 a stronger tail, and force of arms ; but I will try my 

 eloquence upon him. " Sir, we hope you will excuse 

 us for fishing in this pool, where it seems you were 

 going to take your cast ; but the Laird has desired us 

 to stand in his shoes for a few days, and has given up 

 angling while we are here ; and as we come nearly a 

 thousand miles for this amusement, we are sure you 

 are too much of a gentleman to spoil our sport ; and 

 we will take care to supply your fish kettle while we 

 are here, morning and evening, and we shall send 

 you, as we hope, a salmon before night." 



POIET. He grumbles good sport to us, and is off 

 with his tail : you have hit him in the right place. 

 He is a pot fisher, I am sure, and somewhat hungry, 

 and, provided he gets the salmon, does not care who 

 catches it ! 



HAL. You are severe on the Highland gentleman, 

 and I think extremely unjust. Nothing could be 

 more ready than his. assent, and a keen fisherman 

 must not be expected to be in the best possible 

 humour, when he finds sport which he believes he has 

 a right to, and which perhaps he generally enjoys 

 without interruption, taken away from him by entire 

 strangers. There is, I know, a disputed point about 

 fishing with the rod, between him and the Laird; 



