EXPLORING THE COUNTRY. 9 



the country before the shooting. What say you, 

 Ward?" 



" Agreed." 



"And you, Frederick Peyton, are you impatient 

 to land a grilse or some sea trout ?" 



"Not too impatient; besides you said that more 

 rain would improve the fishing. They must wait. 

 I'm for the walk, Major Duncan." 



" All right, my boy, except that salmon and sea- 

 trout do not wait much, but are continually on the 

 move till they reach their spawning-grounds ; not as 

 in English rivers you have fished, where the trout 

 are local, or nearly so, and large ones known by 

 head mark." 



"But the yellow trout here are local too, are they 

 not?" 



"To some extent; but Scotch rivers, when flooded, 

 run so strong, that the trout are carried off or run up 

 the smaller streams, so you cannot, as in English 

 rivers, expect a certain monster behind a certain 

 bank ; but a little experience will put you up to the 

 peculiarities of the Celtic salars. Then are we for 

 a pipe on the fir brae and tak' the hill ? " 



This fir brae is a mossy knoll, with one old Scotch 

 fir, and a rude stone seat. As it has a fine view 



