Izaak Walton's Praise of the Dog *o ^> 



(From The Compleat Angler) 



A ND for the dogs that we use, who can com- 

 mend their excellency to that height which 

 they deserve ? How perfect is the Hound at 

 smelling, who never leaves or forsakes his first 

 scent, but follows it through so many changes and 

 varieties of other scents, even over and in the 

 water, and into the earth ! What music doth a 

 pack of dogs then make to any man, whose heart 

 and ears are so happy as to be set to the tune of 

 such instruments ! How will a right Greyhound 

 fix his eye on the best Buck in a herd, single him 

 out, and follow him, and him only, through a 

 whole herd of rascal game, and still know and 

 then kill him ! For my Hounds, I know the 

 language of them, and they know the language 

 and meaning of one another, as perfectly as we 

 know the voices of those with whom we discourse 

 daily. 



The Otter Hunt *o <^> ^> <^ 



1/ENA TOR, My friend Piscator, you have kept 



time with my thoughts ; for the sun is just 



rising, and I myself just now come to this place, and 



21 



