56 AUTOBIOGEAPHY OP 



fash caught in the nets are no' to be compared 

 to it; but it's guid, wholesome food for a' that, 

 an' dainty eneuch. I was up to London ten 

 years syne to gie evidence, as they ca' it, 

 anent saumon and sich like, an' ech ! the 

 evidence I heard given ! There was ae lad swore 

 that his fish were bred in the sea, an' had no 

 necessity to come to the rivers at a' ! There 

 was anither swore that it was the Saturday's 

 slap that destroyed the fish, for it just allowed 

 those who would have returned to the sea, 

 there to spawn in safety, to gae up the river 

 to be kilt by the poacher ! I saw on the stalls 

 of the fishmongers, as ye ca' them, mony mair 

 kelts than clean fish ; an', though they were a 

 thought paler in colour, an', I kenned weel, 

 varra inferior in taste, they seemed to sell 

 t'ane as well as the ither.' 



" 6 Then you think kelts ought to be killed? ' 

 " ' Hoo,' not at a' ! But a kelt that is fit to 

 be kilt an' eaten should be kilt an' eaten. 

 What for no' ? Ye'U tak' mebbe twal or 

 aughteen fish in a morning, an', out of them 

 a', twa or four, mebbe, are weel mendit. A'd 

 gie them a tap on the head, an' they're just the 

 fish that gie the greatest sport, an' mony ane 



