MAY 111 



road and not guarded by any gamekeeper, 

 they could not be suspected of containing 

 anything better than an eel; yet one 

 afternoon Mr. T. J. Barratt and I took 

 from them 25 Ib. of handsome trout. It 

 would seem that waters which are most 

 in the public view are the least severely 

 poached. Hardly any one deems them 

 worth trying. 



On Loch-na-Craig the other morning 

 the most enthusiastic angler could easily 

 have been excused if he had wished to 

 be under shelter again as soon as possible. 

 More inauspicious weather could not have 

 been imagined. The wide valley on the 

 south was filled with mist, surging athwart 

 a dense cloud which was steadily blacken- 

 ing ; out of the darkness came a cold wind 

 in gusts; and the stinging sleet was heavy. 

 Nevertheless, James Stewart, managing 

 the boat, was not in despair. He explained 

 that the wind was from the very quarter 

 which brought good luck to Loch-na- 

 Craig. A breeze from any westerly 

 direction never did at all ; instead of 



