A DAY WITH THE GRILSE 167 



with on this water. The fish here prefer a small 

 fly; but for the present, in this high flood, the 

 great point is to let them have something they 

 can see to attract their attention. 



Poor discontented fishermen ! we are never 

 satisfied. One day we are sighing for more water, 

 the next we are grumbling because we have too 

 much. " Depend upon it," said the present Lord 

 Brampton (then only Mr. Hawkins, Q.C.), when 

 acting at the bar for two moneylenders in a 

 scrape, "your best chance is to tell the truth." 

 "That's what I tell my son," answered the eldest 

 of them ; " but I'm afraid he will tell too much 

 truth." Water, like truth, is an excellent thing 

 in moderation ; but whatever may be said of the 

 latter, you may certainly have too much of the 

 former. The provoking thing, too, is that you 

 may have too much one day and not enough on 

 the next. A short Highland river, not running 

 out of a loch, with every hill around it drained 

 with deep sheep - drains, rises and falls almost 

 as fast as a speculative Stock Exchange security. 

 However, there is nothing for it but to begin, 

 and I deposit my spare joints and my bag almost 

 opposite a rock just showing through the break- 

 ing water, and begin to fish the lowest of the 

 three stretches which make up the long pool of 

 Dunadd. 



This is a monotonous pool to fish ; but too 

 prolific to be neglected. It is rather difficult 



