94 THE SCOTTISH ANGLER. 



stant practice of the bard of Altrive, to mark the tail 

 fin of his par with a peculiar incision, not difficult to 

 recognise. We confess, however, that it is wonder- 

 ful, first, that Mr Hogg should be able to catch the ten 

 thousandth portion of the par frequenting Yarrow : 

 second, that out of a few hundreds that he might catch 

 and mutilate, such a number should reach the sea, un- 

 dergo the many chances of disaster on their way thi- 

 ther, the more hideous perils of that element; that 

 they should ascend to the exact stream of their birth, 

 in preference to many others ; and that, when of good 

 size, and liable to be taken on ever so many occasions 

 by human means, they should, escaping net and hook, 

 otter and leister, arrive uninjured at Mr Hogg's feet, 

 and allow him to transfix them through and through, 

 in order to discover their personal identity. All these 

 circumstances combined, it seems as if Fortune were 

 peculiarly gracious to the poet, in overcoming what is 

 next to a physical impossibility, in invalidating the ori- 

 gin of evidential law, and throwing the calculating sys- 

 tem of philosophers back among the rubbish of igno- 

 rance and error. 



We have avoided upholding Mr Hogg's method of 

 supporting this theory, for no other reason than that 

 we find ourselves unable to answer the many objections 

 which it calls forth ; but we think, notwithstanding, 

 that the theory is a good one, that it is worthy of ge- 

 neral credit, and that such a manner of support might 

 prove no small advantage to our salmon fisheries in 

 Scotland. 



We call not for the interference of an act of legisla-' 

 ture, in order to prevent the destruction of par such 

 a measure would fall too severely upon the brethren of 

 the streams it would rob our countrymen of a kindly 

 and quiet privilege ; but we would submit it to every 



