Izaak Walton 



Green, " sent a thrill of horror throughout 

 Europe." Then followed the proclama- 

 tion of the Commonwealth and Crom- 

 well's invasion of Scotland. The battles 

 of Dunbar and Worcester, in 1650 and 

 1651 respectively, and the outbreak of the 

 Dutch war in the following year, were 

 events enough to turn the minds of men 

 from contemplative themes and peaceful 

 recreations. Strange, therefore, that this 

 quaint book, with its suggestive sub-title, 

 should have been hatched and given to 

 the world in such a time of clangor and 

 clashing of swords ! Stranger still, that 

 it should at once have found such general 

 favor as to make necessary the publication 

 of a second edition two years later. Yet 

 such was the fact, testifying, surely, to the 

 immediate recognition of its rare literary 

 worth, its sterling descriptive beauty, and 

 its compelling fascination. 



Something of the immediate popularity 

 of The Complete Angler was of course due 

 to its subject, apart from its intrinsic quali- 

 ties. It was the first really serviceable work 

 on angling ever published in England. 

 Not, indeed, the first " practical " treatise, 

 not even the first " contemplative " book, 

 on the subject of angling ; for the honor of 

 the authorship of that unique literary cu- 

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