MAECH 77 



without a shot, and what could be more doleful than 

 an abortive battue ? But with angling especially 

 salmon angling it is slightly different. The pursuit 

 of salmon leads a man into the most varied and 

 attractive scenery, because the beauty of every country 

 is invariably concentrated on the banks of its river, 

 and the most dismal land generally reveals some charm 

 by the waterside. It may be even possible to recount 

 the incidents of a blank day's fishing without being 

 tedious ; at all events, it is not preposterous to make 

 the attempt. 



The night mail set down a fugitive from London at 

 a wayside station in the south-west of Scotland about 

 half-an-hour before sunrise on a March morning. The 

 air was mild as May, the wet streets of the little town 

 were deserted ; for what should lead people abroad at 

 that hour if it were not to listen to the orchestra of 

 blackbirds and thrushes, to which every villa garden 

 seemed to contribute a performer ? There are those 

 who extol the song of the mavis above that of the 

 merle; no doubt it is more varied, and includes a 

 greater compass of notes ; but surely there is nothing 

 in the lavish melody of the thrush to equal the rich 

 flute-like tones of the less voluble blackbird. 



But behind and beyond the song of birds, there was 

 a sound in the air of more moment to the fisherman^- 

 the low roar of the river, chafing at the 'cauld' 

 Anglice, weir. There is no want of water this spring 

 (1897); unlike the last four seasons, this has been a 

 'dropping ' one ; what matter though farmers are getting 



