ANGLING REMINISCENCES. 189 



WINTERHOPE-BURN. MEGGAT-WATER. 



It was a glorious day for stream-angling. The 

 fountains of the hills were gushing over every 

 cavity was charged with water. How full and how 

 finely coloured was Winterhope-burn ! All of its 

 finny dwellers were astir ! The first fall of our flies 

 decided our fortune. We moved at half a mile's 

 distance from each other. It would have been folly 

 to have angled closer, especially along the upper 

 part of the stream, which, although divided into 

 fine promising pools, is still narrow and easily 

 traversed. Lower down, it widens up consider- 

 ably, and when meeting with Meggat-water, which 

 it does after a run of two or three miles, offers, 

 when in a swollen state, ample room for the closer 

 exercise of two rods. 



The weather had now greatly improved ; there 

 was a glimpse of blue sky over-head, and one of the 

 hills at a distance was covered with sun-gleams. 

 It was milder and calmer. The day's creation of 

 flies was abroad some of them skimming the air, 

 and others, less secure, the margin of the pools. 

 Nimbly and eagerly the trout rose, not in single- 

 ness but by pairs, darting at our deceitful hooks 

 without caution or forethought. We hollo'd to 

 each other on the capture of every fresh dozen, and 

 frequently was our note of exultation repeated. 

 The contents of our creels increased rapidly, and 



