14 A SCOTTISH FLY-FISHER 



plation of nature they find ample solace for every dis- 

 appointment. The writer is not among them. Theirs 

 is not the spirit in which he practises his art. To him, 

 angling is no light pastime to be followed with divided 

 mind and easy unconcern of the result ; it is a passion 

 to which he is in thrall ; it engages all his energies and 

 leaves him without interest in anything beside. He, 

 when he goes a-fishing, is dominated by a purpose 

 from which the fairest scene is powerless to divert him. 

 Not even when trout are dour and provokingly in- 

 different to the fascination of the fly does his attention 

 wander for a moment from his quest. The basket is 

 his sole concern, and on its weight alone depends his 

 pleasure in the day. Should fortune smile on him, his 

 happiness is perfect ; should she frown, he discovers 

 little comfort in the beauty that surrounds him. It is 

 a wan, grey world that lies about him when he comes 

 empty away from the water. 



Yet he is not entirely insensitive to nature's charm. 

 Although while actively engaged in fishing he is but 

 dimly aware of his surroundings, he does not wholly 

 escape their magic influence. He feels that much of 

 the delight his recreation yields him is derived from 

 the conditions under which it is pursued; he is con- 

 scious of the excitation of emotions to which it makes 



