52 FISH AND FISHING IN SCOTLAND. 



by the Gael. Angling is not working : it is an amusement. A 

 person who lives by angling is a gentleman ; he toils not, neither 

 does he spin ; with the never-ready, ever-late race, he is therefore 

 a gentleman. 



I descended the stream, fishing it as carefully as I could. At 

 certain times there must be splendid sport here. But the stream 

 is difficult to fish, and extremely rocky. It runs through the 

 Trosachs, in fact, on the southern side ; another stream, but 

 smaller, passes through on the other side. I did not see it. The 

 day was bright and warm. I recommend the angler to try the 

 stream I fished, when flooded, early in the morning: he can 

 easily get there before the Gael, who will have his tackle to find 

 and his rod to mend when they are wanted, although he knew all 

 this a month ago. When a boat is required in the land of the 

 Gael, it is then remembered that the hole in the side, made two 

 months since, had not been closed. When this is done, an oar, 

 broken long ago, has still to be repaired ; the tiller is not to be 

 found, it having been used for fire-wood, or to mend a stable door. 

 This is the Gael. 



I turned my back on Loch Katrine and Loch Achray, perhaps 

 to see them no more. The pure air of these mountains and 

 lakes had in a few days restored me to health and strength. 

 I began again to feel like a man, and not like a cit : Piccadilly 

 and the clubs ; the Haymarket and its snobs ; hard, dry, flinty 

 iron-bound Trafalgar-square, were utterly forgotten. I now felt 

 sufficiently strong to attempt Glenfinlas. 



A lovely far-winding glen, commencing by a wooded gorge, a 

 waterfall and a rushing stream, leads from the bridge of Turk 

 towards the north and east. This is the bed of the Finlas. As 

 you ascend the Highland glen, the woods gradually disappear 

 and meadows of no great width take their place. On these the 

 sheep farmers were busy collecting their winter fodder for the 

 numerous flocks of sheep which browsed the lofty mountains 

 shutting in the glen. We ascended it for miles, until, the stream 

 becoming small, it was thought advisable to try our fortune 

 with the finny brood. 



I fished it from this spot to where, rushing into the wooded 

 gorge, angling was impracticable. The Finlas is a good stream. 



