XXVI 



vates and advances the generous mind of the 

 contemplative angler, let me invite and en- 

 courage him to patrole the solitary streams 

 of Trent, if he purpose to undergo the toil 

 of the art, before he publish himself an art- 

 ist : for the practicks of angling won't ap- 

 pear legible, whilst the theory remains pa- 

 radoxically unintelligible, (here's a cypher 

 prick'd down instead of a figure) so that 

 should I emblazon or intitle my self an art- 

 ist, or a proficient 'of the rod, how can I 

 avoid running the risque of being reputed 

 ostentatious ? On the other hand, to remain 

 silent after the periods of forty years exer- 

 cise, every angler will censure me ignorant, 

 and my silence interpret me wilfully obsti- 

 nate. Thus I steer betwixt Sylla and Cha- 

 rybdis. But as I cannot impede or hinder 

 the thoughts or suggestions of any man, so 

 by the law of retaliation, no man ought to 

 hinder or ^misinterpret my modest resolu- 

 tions, when but to challenge the degree of 

 an under-graduate in the art. Nor have I 

 confidence to raise my ambitions higher, 

 than to superscribe my self an admirer of 

 the rod, and a lover of silent and solitary 



