A REPREEF FROM SIR WALTER 253 



rock right into the river, and with that wild bound 

 nailed the salmon to the channel. There was a 

 struggle with his arms for a few seconds ; he then 

 passed his hands down the pole of the weapon a little 

 way, brought himself vertically over the fish, and 

 lifted him aloft cheered by shouts of applause from 

 his friends on the shore. 



Two or three more fish were taken amongst the 

 stones at the tail of the cast, and the sport in the 

 Carrywheel being now ended, the fish were stowed 

 in the hold of the boat, the crew jumped ashore, and 

 a right hearty appeal was made to the whiskey 

 bottle. It was first tendered to the veteran Tom 

 Purdie, to whom it was always observed to have a 

 natural gravitation, but to the astonishment of all, 

 he barely put his lips to the quaigh, and passed it to 

 his nephew. 



' Why, uncle mon, what the deil's come ower ye ? 

 I never kent ye refuse a drappie afore, no not sin I 

 war a callant ; I canna thole to see ye gang that 

 gait." 



' Why, I'll tell ye what it is, Charlie. I got a re- 

 preef from Sir Walter for being fou the ither nicht."* 



" Eh, uncle, how was that ? '' 



" ' Why,' says Sir Walter, ' Tom,' says he, ' I 

 sent for ye on Monday, and ye were not at hame at 

 aight o'clock ; I doubt ye were fou, Tom ' : ' I'll 

 joust tell ye the hale truth,' says I, ' I gaed round 



* It may not be uninteresting to recall the fact that Sir Walter 

 Scott himself wrote in praise of " the picturesque and manly sport of 

 burning the water," referring to himself as "an old spearman." 

 This was in the edition of Richard Franck's curious Northern 

 Memoirs which he edited, anonymously, in 1821. (ED.) 



