AUTHORS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 89 



Carroll's Anglers' Vade-mecum, of 1818, was probably the 

 first book on angling which gave flies coloured by Jiand. 



We will here pay our Transatlantic cousins the compli- 

 ment of including Washington Irving among " English " 

 authors, and quoting a passage from The Angler, which 

 appeared in his Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., in 

 1820:— 



" There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce 

 a gentleness of spirit, and a pure sincerity of mind. As the 

 English are methodical even in their recreations, and are the 

 most scientific of sportsmen, it has been reduced among them to 

 a perfect rule and system. Indeed it is an amusement peculiarly 

 adapted to the mild and highly-cultivated scenery of England, 

 where every roughness has been softened away from the land- 

 scape. It is delightful to saunter along these limpid streams, 

 which meander like veins of silver through the bosom of this 

 beautiful country ; leading us through a diversity of small 

 scenery ; sometimes winding through ornamented grounds ; 

 sometimes running along through rich pasturage, where the fresh 

 green is mingled with sweet-smelling flowers ; sometimes ven- 

 turing in sight of villages and hamlets ; and then running 

 capriciously away into shady retirements. The sweetness and 

 serenity of nature, and the quiet watchfulness of the sport, 

 gradually bring on pleasant fits of musing ; which are now and 

 then greatly interrupted by the song of the bird, the distant 

 whistle of a peasant, or perhaps the vagary of some fish leaping 

 out of the still water, and skimming transiently about its glassy 

 surface." 



The year 1828 is marked by Sir Humphrey Davy's Sal- 

 Dionia, which was reviewed by Professor Wilson (Christopher 

 North) in Blachiuood, and in the Quarterly by Sir Walter 

 Scott. The dialogue may be a little too formal, and Halieus 

 rather too particular a gentleman for an angler who often 

 has to " rough it ; " and certainly the whole book, though 

 modelled on the Complete Angler, lacks the freshness, 



