

s 



PREFACE. 



/CHARLES LAMB, in commending to Cole- 

 v-' ridge "The Complete Angler," added, 

 " All the scientific part you may omit in read- 

 ing; " and it is chiefly for those who, like Lamb, 

 value Walton for his literary quality rather than 

 his piscatorial lore, that this edition of his master- 

 piece is intended. Walton's text is given intact ; 

 but the voluminous technical notes with which 

 modern editors have expanded and qualified his 

 precepts have been generally omitted. For like 

 reasons, we have ventured (with some compunc- 

 tion) to divorce for the nonce " hearty, cheerful 

 Mr. Cotton " from his life-long companion. Cot- 

 ton's supplement (appended to "The Angler" as 

 Part II. since the fifth edition) is a brief treatise 

 on fly-fishing, designed to supply the deficiencies 

 in this branch of Part I. Cotton wrote his essay 

 hurriedly in ten days ; and though still of some 



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