en. xxxvir. laying the herring-nets. 279 



fact of one fisherman bringing to his house fifteen 

 blue bonnets, the owners of which must have all 

 perished near the same spot. Fishermen are gene- 

 rally men with large families, and the numbers 

 of widows and orphans left dependent on the charity 

 of the world in these cases are always very great. 



This is the gloomy side of the picture of herring 

 fishing ; but it has its bright one, for I do not know 

 a more exhilarating sight than the fleets of herring 

 boats standing out from all the larger towns between 

 Wick and the Firth of Forth on a fine day during 

 the fishing season. All along the coast where 

 at other times the indolent habits of the fishermen 

 are prominently seen, everything now evinces life, 

 energy, and activity. 



Hundreds of brown-sailed boats go out from 

 some of the harbours at once, the place resounding 

 with the loud but good-humoured greetings and 

 jokes, from one boat to another, as they pass with 

 all speed of sail and oar to the herring-grounds, 

 each eager to be the first to reach the place so as 

 to have choice of station. A fresh but gentle 

 breeze takes them merrily out, and their nets are 

 cast and fixed, buoyed up by their large round 

 floats, or by what are much used in some places, 

 prepared dogskins — a most unworthy fate for so 

 noble an animal. To make these floats they cut 

 oflT the head, and take the whole body out at the 



