22 TREATISE ON FLY-FISHING, 



appearance of " Walton's Complete Angler," 

 there seems to have been no improvement of the 

 original work ; on the contrary, the " doers" of 

 new editions of the book under new titles seem 

 to have had but little skill in the art of tiy-fishing y 

 and their alterations, as Pinkerton said of Evelyn's 

 amendments of his work on medals, " are for 

 the worse." 



In 1653, appeared the first edition of " Walton's 

 Complete Angler ; or, Contemplative Man's 

 Recreation :" in small duodecimo, adorned with 

 cuts of most of the fish mentioned in it It came 

 into the world attended with laudatory verses by 

 several writers of the day, and had in the title 

 page, (though Walton thought proper to omit it 

 in future editions) this apposite motto, " Simon 

 Peter said, I go a fishing, and they said, we also 

 will go with thee." John xxi. 3. 



Isaac Walton, was born at Stafford, in August, 

 1593. He settled in London as a shopkeeper, 

 in the Royal Exchange ; and, as in the year 1624 ? 



