IZAAK WALTON AND HIS FRIENDS 39 



from the pen of Walton instead of from that of the 

 great philosopher and chemist, Sir Humphrey 

 Davy. He thus describes the benefits of angling 

 to the philosopher and the lover of nature : "It 

 carries us into the most vivid and beautiful 

 scenery of nature, among the mountain lakes, and 

 the clear and lovely streams that gush from the 

 highest ranges of elevated hills, or that make their 

 way through the cavities of calcareous strata. 

 How delightful, in the early spring, after the dull 

 and tedious time of winter, to wander forth by 

 some clear stream, to see the leaf bursting from 

 the purple bud, to wander upon the fresh turf 

 below the shade of trees, whose bright blossoms 

 are filled with the music of the bee, and on the 

 surface of the waters to view the gaudy flies 

 sparkling like gems in the sunbeam, to hear the 

 twittering of the water birds, with other like sights 

 and sounds, and to finish all by catching a salmon, 

 and carrying him home." 



