OCTOBER 233 



still strong man in a bleatant land ; a re- 

 freshing person in a time of Socialists, 

 Dryfliers, Cobdenites, and other total 

 abstainers from high spirits and common 

 sense. 



The river was in flood. It seemed 

 ridiculous to think of it as being a 

 tributary of the Tay. That is how it is 

 regarded geographically ; but it would be 

 more precisely thought of if deemed a 

 substantive river having an estuary in 

 common with the Tay. That afternoon, 

 on which I saw it at close quarters for 

 the first time, it was as big as the Tay 

 itself. It was more discoloured than the 

 famous river ever is after the first gush 

 of a sudden flood has passed away. Not 

 there and then, at any rate, I perceived, 

 should I be able to show Bismarck how to 

 catch a salmon. Even in a muddy flood 

 trout sometimes hover so near the surface 

 that they can see flies floating down ; but 

 salmon habitually lie at the bottom. An 

 Eagle, the largest and most gaudy of our 

 lures, would be invisible to them on the 



