98 " A Good Dish of Trouts" 



tion] of all flyes." He then gives the best 

 and simplest description of how to make 

 artificial flies then extant; it is used in 

 full by Walton, and until Cotton's work 

 appeared may truly be termed " the fly- 

 fisher's text-book." Indeed, the more 

 Barker's book is considered from the 

 angler's point of view, the more it im- 

 presses itself on one as the work of a 

 thoroughly practical angler, who was in 

 many respects far ahead of his time. 

 Take, for instance, this specimen of his 

 writing : 



" My Lord sent me at Sun going down 

 to provide him a good dish of trouts 

 against the next morning by sixe of the 

 clock. I went to the door to see how the 

 wanes of the air were like to prove. I 

 returned answer, that I doubted not, God 

 willing, but to be provided at his time 

 appointed. I went presently to the river, 

 and it proved very dark, I drew out a 

 line of three silks and three hairs twisted 

 for the uppermost part, and a line of two 

 hairs and two silks twisted for the lower 

 part, with a good large hook : I baited my 

 hook with two lob-worms, the four ends 

 hanging as meet [even] as I could guess 

 them in the dark, I fell to angle. It 

 proved very dark, so that I had great sport 

 angling with the lob-worms as I doe with 



