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I 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



If there were a single circumstance by which the 

 fame of those " honourable men," the effigies of 

 whom now face the reader, could possibly be en- 

 hanced, it was that of having for their biographer 

 one, who, with the soundest judgment, possessed 

 a sweetness of disposition ever inclining to the 

 bright side of things ; — a veracity not to be ques- 

 tioned, and a felicity of expression peculiarly his 

 own : thus gifted, like the skilful artist, at once 

 both nattering and faithful, he brought to the task 

 of delineation, that delicacy due to family feeling, 

 combined with the justice demanded by strict 

 impartiality : the existence, and the application 

 therefore, of such rare qualities, are equally the 

 subject of exultation. 



On the other hand, that Izaak Walton should have 

 been deemed by his contemporaries, the fittest of 

 all persons to perform so important a task, were 

 sufficient bv reflection alone, to ensure to himself 



