FORAYS 



AMONG 



SALMON AND DEER 



CHAPTER I. 



Northward Ho ! Donald, the Gillie, and his Capabilities. The River 

 Redburn. My First Rise. Poissonnerie v. Native Element. 

 Fish Hooked. The Struggle. The Victory. The Kettle of Fish. 



MY last adieus being waved to a friend, as he stood on 

 the platform of a London terminus, and watched the 

 departure of the train which was to transport me some 

 400 miles on my way to the Highlands, I sank back 

 into my seat, and in a spirit of genuine commiseration 

 began to compare the respective occupations awaiting 

 us for the next few weeks. 



On the one hand arose visions of legs wreathed fan- 

 tastically round the lanky supporters of an official stool ; 

 on the other hand the pleasing contrast of those same 

 members briskly bearing me over the moors or climb- 

 ing the mountain side. Here eyes were poring labori- 

 ously over columns of s. d. ; there carefully searching 

 the dim distance for antlers rising indistinctly from the 

 heather. 



Behind me was the grey canopy, which, like a huge 

 umbrella, though without its advantages, hung sus- 



