THE LAND OF SCOTT. 307 



Tweed's whole course forms one of the finest combi- 

 nations of stream and pool, whirling eddy and shelv- 

 ing shallow, that the most imaginative sportsman can 

 conceive or wish for. And if he had a river to make 

 purposely for angling, he could not do better than take 

 this as his pattern, and make the new one the exact 

 counterpart of the old. The whole bed of the Tweed is 

 mostly composed of fine pebbly gravel, while the water 

 is beautifully clear, except in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of these sad mar-sports, the mills, while its volume 

 is such, that trout-fishing may be pursued in the severest 

 droughts, when the smaller rivers are nearly parched up. 

 The shores are everywhere shelving and free from ob- 

 struction, either on one side or another, so that the 

 greater part of the river may be fished, by wading occa- 

 sionally. But should the angler object to this, he may 

 still find abundance of excellent trout-haunts within 

 reach of terra firma, to occupy his attention during the 

 longest day's sport. 



The quiet beauty of the scenery through which this 

 noble river Hows, especially from the pretty little town 

 of Kelso upwards, is perhaps unrivalled in Britain. 



Who that is familiar with the works of the great 

 illustrator of " the land of the mountain and the flood," 

 will not regard with a peculiar interest at least that part 

 of it which sweeps in graceful flow through the lovely 

 and classic land of Scott ; every inch of which is in- 

 vested with its own particular associations, from the 

 hallowed ruins of Dryburgh to the splendid remains of 

 Melrose, magnificent even in their desolation, and the 



