16 ifcfnss of tbe IRofc, TCifle, anb (Bun 



Let them that list, these pastimes still pursue, 



And on such pleasing fancies feed their fill ; 

 So I the fields and meadows green may view, 



And daily by fresh rivers walk at will, 

 Among the daisies and the violets blue, 



Red hyacinth and yellow daffodil, 

 Purple narcissus like the morning rays, 



Pale gander-grass and azure culverkeys." 



The tone of the poem, as will be gathered from this 

 extract, is religious, and the moralising is truly after 

 old Izaak's heart ; indeed, he was indebted to " The 

 Secrets of Angling" for much of the sentiment and 

 picturesque phraseology which are the charm of " The 

 Compleat Angler." But John Dennys was not a mere 

 bottom-fisher. He could both make and throw a fly 

 with the skill of a true fisherman, and as a blend of the 

 poet and the angler he had no equal till James Thomson 

 wrote "The Seasons." His name deserves to be held 

 in honour by all honest anglers, for none of the 

 brotherhood, albeit there have been many good poets 

 among them, has sung with more sweetness and grace 

 the praises of the sport which they love. 



In the year 1651 there was published a small duo- 

 decimo volume which literary anglers prize highly. 

 Its title is as follows : " The Art of Angling : where- 

 in are discovered many rare secrets very necessary 

 to be known by all that delight in that recreation. 

 Written by Thomas Barker, an ancient practitioner 

 in that art." 



In his Dedicatory Address to Lord Montagu, Thomas 

 Barker informs that nobleman and the world in general 

 that he was born " at Bracemeol in the liberty of Salop 



