26 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [part i. 



that both these meet together, and do most pro- 

 perly belong to the most honest, ingenuous, quiet, 

 and harmless art of Angling. 



And first, I shall tell you what some have ob- 

 served, and I have found it to be a real truth, that 

 the very sitting by the river's side is not only the 

 quietest and fittest place for contemplation, but will 

 invite an Angler to it : and this seems to be main- 

 tained by the learned Peter Du Moulin, who, in his 

 discourse of the Fulfilling of Prophecies, observes, 

 that when God intended to reveal any future events 

 or high notions to his prophets, he then carried 

 them either to the deserts or the sea- shore, that 

 having so separated them from amidst the press of 

 people and business, and the cares of the world, 

 he might settle their mind in a quiet repose, and 

 there make them fit for revelation. 



And this seems also to be intimated by the Chil- 

 dren of Israel, Psal. 137, who, having in a sad condi- 

 tion banished all mirth and music from their pen- 

 sive hearts, and having hung up their then mute 

 harps upon the willow-trees growing by the rivers 

 of Babylon, sat down upon those banks bemoaning 

 the ruins of Sion, and contemplating their own sad 

 condition. 



And an ingenious Spaniard says, that " rivers and 

 " the inhabitants of the watery element were made 

 " for wise men to contemplate, and fools to pass by 

 " without consideration." And though I will not 

 rank myself in the number of the first, yet give me 



