Preface 



" T AM but a gatherer and disposer of other men's 

 - stuff." It is thus that Sir Henry Wotton, who 

 was, as his friend and biographer Izaak Walton tells us, 

 " a most dear lover and frequent practiser of the art of 

 angling," and a good poet to boot, modestly describes 

 himself in his preface to " The Elements of Architecture." 

 Without presuming to place myself within measurable 

 distance of so eminent a person, I may apply that 

 description to myself in regard to a great portion of 

 " Kings of the Rod, Rifle, and Gun." 



But I hope I shall not be thought to overstep the 

 bounds of modesty if I claim credit for something more 

 than compilation in the present work. For, original 

 research has in several cases resulted in my unearthing 

 details and incidents undiscovered by previous bio- 

 graphers, whilst personal knowledge has enabled me 

 to supply anecdotes and facts which have never before 

 appeared in print. Moreover, the estimates I have 

 formed of the characters sketched in these pages have 



