EXPECTATION. 159 



and I should have a long drive home, I started 

 immediately after breakfast, with the intention of 

 fishing down the river from the farthest point, 

 near Boat o' Brig, to the lowest pool allotted to 

 me for the day. I had killed four very heavy 

 salmon a few days before, near the sea, and hardly 

 expected now to surpass my previous good for- 

 tune, although perhaps entertaining a vague hope 

 that one of the aforesaid travelling monsters might 

 possibly have halted on his journey and taken up 

 his quarters in "the Garbity," or "the Couperee." 

 The weather was everything that could be desired 

 on the Spey. A light southerly breeze carried 

 the distant clouds across the sky, the air was 

 warm, but not oppressive, and the state of the 

 water, when I reached it, appeared equally pro- 

 pitious. It was lower than during the previous 

 week, but although perfectly clear, had that slight 

 coffee-coloured tint which is so favourable for 

 sport. On the left bank, just above where the 

 burn of Garbity falls in, there is a wooded island, 

 separated from the mainland by only a compara- 

 tively shallow arm, which is easily waded, but on 

 the other side, between it and Pelfour, a deep and 

 exceedingly rapid stream rushes past, which in 

 very low water is generally considered a sure find 

 for a big fish, and although the river was just now 



