FISHING RIVERS. 137 



too large a fly ; on some days we numbered a 

 couple of grilses, and we caught lots of fiimocks, 

 and one day we had two beautiful char, the size 

 of a half pound. This is a handsome shaped 

 fish of a deep crimson colour. The boat, man, 

 and horse and cart, cost about 7s. 6d. per day, 

 by which means we were not fatigued going 

 or coming. There is a small island on which we 

 used to do our fish in a conjuror a little round 

 shaped tin stew pan, with lamp heated by strong 

 whisky or spirits of wine, done in this way, 

 with a little pepper and salt, finnocks especially, 

 and also other fish, never can taste better fresh 

 air and hunger being their best sauce. All the 

 time we fished here we used nothing but the fly: 

 it is said char do not take it, but we found it 

 otherwise in Moidart and Glenalladale. And, I 

 again beg to observe, that there were no par- 

 ticular flies used but the common trout or loch 

 flies ; all the while, they took sometimes one 

 sometimes the other. 



In the interval of all these different periods 

 of time, I have occasionally gone to places near 

 London ; for instance, I have been at West 

 Drayton, the sign of the ( Trout/ when old Parr 

 kept it. This was about 1823. The water fished 



