IZAAK WALTON AND HIS FRIENDS 137 



but the following fancy conversation written by 

 W. S. Landor in his Imaginary Conversations, 

 Vol. IV., is interesting ; — 



" Walton. Hold my mare, son Cotton. I will 

 try whether my whip can reach the window, when 

 I have mounted the bank. 



''Cotton. Curious! the middle of a street to 

 be lower than the side by several feet. People 

 would not believe it in London or Hull."^ Again 

 we read ; " I never could have believed, master 

 Izaak, that you would have trusted your tackle out 

 of your own hand " ; and Walton says : "Without 

 cogent reason, no indeed; but — let me whisper. 

 I told youngster it was because I carried a 

 hunting-whip, and could not hold that and rod 

 too." 



The play-writer has not forgotten to make 

 Walton the subject for a drama. I possess a 

 booklet printed from the prompter's copy by 

 Charles Dance (Chapman & Hall). The dedica- 

 tion runs as follows: "To the President and 

 Members of The Walton & Cotton Club, the 

 following humble tribute to the memory of their 

 revered ' Father and Friend, honest Izaak Walton,' 

 is especially dedicated by their very obedient 

 Servant, Charles Dance." It is written from the 

 Garrick Club, and dated 1st July 1839. 



Walton's portrait, formerly in the National 



^ The scene is Ashbourne. 



