SPORTING LITERATURE. 13 



assuredly the Treatise became the most attrac- 

 tive element in that attractive book, for it went 

 through sixteen editions or reprints in the 

 hundred years which followed its appearance, 

 either with the Book of St. Albans or 

 separately; and for centuries afterwards 

 angling writers pirated from it, without 

 acknowledgment it need hardly be said. And 

 when open robbery ceased, its influence was no 

 less great and lasting; for it gave the colour 

 and tone to fishing literature, and not even the 

 Compleat Angler itself stamped its mark more 

 deeply on the sport. 



Seeing what it is, seeing how mysteriously 

 it arose, and seeing, as will appear, that it is 

 good fishing written in good English, it is 

 worth enquiring whether it is not possible to 

 fix its date, even though the writer must 

 remain unknown. It was printed in 1496, but 

 its date is earlier. There are indications which 

 point to a date as early as the first quarter of 

 the fifteenth century. But in any event it is 

 as early as 1450. Besides the text printed by 

 Wynkyn de Worde, there is an older manu- 

 script text, included in the great collection of 

 fishing books formed by the late Mr. Alfred 

 Denison, a collection fortunately still intact. 

 This Denison text was edited in 1883 by 

 Satchell, joint author of Bibliotheca Pisca- 

 toria, assisted by Professor Skeat, high 

 authorities both. They assign it to a date 

 before 1450. It differs so much from the 



