134 SALMONIA. [FIFTH DAY 



the Scotch Church, and therefore may complain. 

 Once in the north of Ireland, when a very young 

 man, I ventured after the time of divine service to 

 put together my rod, as I had been used to do in 

 the Catholic districts of Ireland, and fish for sea trout 

 in the river at Rathmelton, in pure innocence of heart, 

 unconscious of wrong; when I found a crowd collect 

 round me at first I thought from mere curiosity, 

 but I soon discovered I was mistaken; anger was 

 their motive, and vengeance their object. A man 

 soon came up, exceedingly drunk, and began to 

 abuse me by various indecent terms, such as a 

 Sabbath breaking papist, &c. It was in vain I 

 assured him I was no papist, and no intentional 

 Sabbath breaker ; he seized my rod and carried it off 

 with imprecations ; and it was only with great 

 difficulty, that I recovered my property. Another 

 time I was walking on Arthur's Seat, with some of the 

 most distinguished professors of Edinburgh attached 

 to the geological opinions of the late Dr. Hutton; a 

 discussion took place upon the phenomena presented 

 by the rocks under our feet, and, to exemplify a 

 principle, Professor Playfair broke some stones, in 

 which I assisted the venerable and amiable philoso- 

 pher. We had hardly examined the fragments, when 

 a man from a crowd, who had been assisting at a 

 field preaching, came up to us and warned us off, 



