54 MOSTLY ABOUT TROUT 



the occasional glorious reward of achievement. 

 Then the strength and weight of the stream 

 and of the fish all make for rejoicing in the 

 struggle ; and, above all, the pure air and 

 the surroundings of rock, heather and birch- 

 copse. The long-drawn-out nesting note of the 

 curlew, " the most healing note in nature," 

 as it has been called, the grouse in their early 

 spring plumage, the snow-clad moors and the 

 keen, clean air therefrom. The days of storm 

 and wind and the interludes of bright warm 

 sun, when everything seems to begin to throb 

 with life after the long winter sleep. There is 

 no place that I know like the North of Scotland 

 in March for reviving youth and for clearing 

 cobwebs out of the brain, and there is no finer 

 setting for a struggle with a March salmon. 

 Day after day you set out, full of hope and 

 excitement ; day after day you may return 

 utterly worn out, with muscles aching with 

 fatigue, not having touched or even having 

 seen a fish, and it seems as if the very existence 

 of salmon in that river was nothing but a tradi- 

 tion. The next day you start as full of zeal 

 and energy as if there was no such thing as 

 a blank day, and perhaps you are rewarded 

 by some splendid experience. For instance : 

 the weather perfect. The river in order. The 



