64 A Protest. 



that, even from the angling point of view, 

 we cannot but consider it a notable piece of 

 condescension, and marvel at the devotion 

 of so much real poetic genius to a theme 

 so humble. With the exception of The 

 Compleat Angler, no higher compliment 

 than this poem has been paid to the 

 sport." 



The italics in the quotation are mine ; 

 and surely all anglers will agree with me 

 that from any point of view our sport and 

 art can be considered "humble " is absurd. 

 The truth is, that the compilers of the 

 Bibliotheca Piscatoria were literary rather 

 than practical anglers : they fished very 

 successfully in the tributaries as well as 

 in the main stream of bibliographical 

 research. We must ever be deeply indebted 

 to them for carefully collected particulars 

 about the dates, sizes, editions, etc., of 

 books on angling, but their criticisms of 

 angling works and angling writers were 

 not always just. For instance, what angler 

 will agree with the remark that Sir Hum- 

 phry Davy's Salmonia " lacks freshness 

 of heart " ? This work was written as a 

 recreation by the author "during some 

 weeks of severe and dangerous illness, 

 when he was wholly incapable of attending 

 to more useful studies, or of following 

 more serious pursuits. They constituted 



