NOT AMBROSIANA. 233 



always cany cold tea, without sugar or cream, in my 

 flask, instead of anything stronger), and the men had 

 some more venison cooked. I then betook myself to 

 the heather bed for the night, about nine, and lazily 

 watched and listened to the two men as they sat on 

 stones at opposite sides of the fire smoking and 

 exchanging stories, until I fell asleep. 



My repose that night scarcely deserved the name of 

 sleep. In reality it was five or six hours passed in a 

 half-conscious state of irritation, caused first by smoke, 

 secondly by cold, and thirdly by midges. The last- 

 named plague and, reader, if you don't know midges, 

 plague, I assure you, is too mild a term thoroughly 

 aroused me by five or six A.M. and forced me to 

 evacuate the cave ; for the gillies were not yet awake, 

 and by this time the tobacco and peat smoke had so 

 much dispersed as no longer to be any protection against 

 these tiresome little insects. Taking therefore my rod 

 in hand, I strolled down to the loch through which the 

 river I had been yesterday fishing runs, and though it 

 was a dead calm and the salmon were splashing about 

 in all directions, and evidently in no taking mood, I 

 sauntered along the shore giving an occasional cast, 

 that by moving about I might at least keep off some of 

 " the plague of flies." At length to my astonishment 

 a fish rose and was hooked. For two or three minutes 

 all went well, but by the end of that time I began to 

 find myself entirely at the mercy of my winged 

 enemies ; who, taking advantage of my slower move- 

 ments, now that 1 was engaged in a hard struggle, 

 began to settle in swarms on my hands and neck and 

 every part of my person open to attack. The torture 

 soon became unendurable, and my patience quite 

 exhausted, I began to haul the fish straight in, to the 

 great danger of the tackle. However, I succeeded in 



