RIVER-TROUTING. 399 



threaded the devious track of that enchanting glen, will wonder 

 that memory lingers there with fond delight. The ivied rocks, 

 the fragrant woodbine, and countless varieties of wild flowers, 

 combined with the rare exotics which the hand of art had 

 scattered there, above all, the symphony of the brook gur- 

 gling within its rocky bed, and ending with a fall, which, if not 

 so wild as Bracklinn, surpasses it both in height and beauty. 

 Many a sultry summer day have I wandered among these 

 shady walks, listening to the sleepy burn, or watching the 

 little trout suck down an occasional insect from among the 

 myriads flickering about the surface. " The pool," a sort of 

 reservoir and headquarters of the burn- trout, always particu- 

 larly engaged my attention. I soon learned to distinguish 

 every inmate, not only from its size and hue, but also its 

 temper and disposition. Some were shy ; others, greedy and 

 tyrannical ; and these several qualities were often exhibited so 

 plainly, that we might learn a lesson even from a fish. 



There was a small pond, formed by an old course of the 

 burn, which, from time to time, was another source of specula- 

 tion and amusement. It had a constant supply of fresh water 

 from a spring, and although the inhabitants of this little basin 

 were completely imprisoned, yet they were in no want of 

 sustenance, from the bottom being soft and muddy, covered 

 with leaves and decomposed vegetable matter. The place was 

 surrounded by trees, which rained down abundance of flies, 

 caterpillars, &c., for two or three trout, which, no one knows 

 how, had found their way in. 



During the latter end of autumn and the whole of winter, 

 no sign of life was to be seen in this retired standing pool; 

 but about the middle of February, if the weather was mild 

 and the sun warm, a slight shaking noise let me know that 

 the frogs had awaked from their winter sleep. By peeping 

 cautiously over the bank, screening myself behind the trees, I 

 discover one or two heads above the surface, which, sometimes 

 singly, and then in chorus, emit the tremulous croak which 



