EVENINGS ON THE EARN. 151 



is broken by running over stones, beside over- 

 hanging banks, or any place where the fish can 

 have the slightest cover. In the evening a nice 

 dish of trout, weighing from half-a-pound up- 

 wards, may be secured with the natural minnow, 

 but it requires skill to bring them to the hook, 

 and a novice will not make much of it, 

 for the trout at this time of year are well fed 

 and shy, and take fright at their own shadow. 

 When there is a slight rise of water the trout 

 take the worm greedily, more especially after a 

 time of drought, and when the water is not too 

 high they will rise freely to the fly. 



After the day's work, I have often wandered, 

 rod in hand, down the banks of the Earn, not 

 with the intention altogether of catching fish, 

 but to breathe the river air, to enjoy the sylvan 

 scene, to listen to the warbling of the birds, to 

 watch the insects that frequent the water-side 

 and the flowers that grow upon the banks; these 

 to me are far more enjoyable than the mere 

 catching offish. "We are affected with delightful 



