Fearing. — An Angling Library 57 



score have tried to bring new facts in regard to it before 

 the eyes of a constantly increasing public. 



The charm of Walton's honest writing never grows 

 stale, one takes him up with as much pleasure in this 

 twentieth century as in the days of his first appearance. 

 As has been charmingly said of him, "The Companion 

 of our boyhood, the delight of our mature years, when 

 shall we look upon his like again? Fishers have in- 

 creased and fishing books have multiplied, but where is 

 the fisher blest with such a 'Heavenly memory' as our 

 Izaak, and where is the fishing book so rich in honor 

 and renown as his?" 



The second edition, which appeared in 1655, was much 

 enlarged, having been almost rewritten, and contained 

 some one hundred and seventeen pages more, and four 

 more plates, the bream, eel, loach and bull-head having 

 been added. Commendatory verses by seven apprecia- 

 tive writers are given for the first time in this edition. 

 Copies of this second edition, though not bringing as 

 high a price as the first, are much more rarely met with. 

 A little more than a hundred years after its appearance 

 John Hawkins (afterwards Sir John) states in his "Life 

 of Walton" in his edition of "The Compleat Angler," 

 first issued in 1760, "The second I have never been able to 

 see." This scarcity has continued to the present day 

 and, while it is always possible for anyone to find a 

 "First Walton" who is willing to pay the price for it, 

 he would have to search for a considerable time to find 

 a good copy of the second edition. 



The third edition first appeared in 1661. This con- 

 tained but few and unimportant changes. This edition 

 again appeared in 1664 with a new title-page, and dated 

 1664. The latter date is much scarcer than that of 1661. 

 The fourth edition appeared in 1668. "It is a mere 

 paginary reprint of the third, with the exception of the 

 'errata' which are here corrected in the work." 



The fifth edition was issued in 1676 and was called 

 "The Universal Angler, made so, by Three Books of 

 Fishing. The first written by Mr. Izaak Walton; the 



