LIFE OF WALTON. 21 



mentioned above ; vouching the authority of the ori- 



final writers, in like manner as he elsewhere does Sir 

 rancis Bacon, whenever occasion occurs to mention 

 his Natural History r , or any other of his works. Pliny 

 was translated to his hand by Dr. Philemon Holland, 

 as were also Janns Dubravius De Piscinis fy Pis- 

 cium naturd, and Lebault's Maison Rustique, so often 

 referred to by him in the course of his work. 



Nor did the reputation of the Complete Angler 

 subsist, only in the opinions of those for whose use it 

 was more peculiarly calculated ; but even the learned, 

 either from the known character of the author, or 

 those internal evidences of judgment and veracity con- 

 tained in it, considered it as a work of merit, and for 

 various purposes referred to its authority : Doctor 

 Thomas Fuller in his Worthies, whenever he has occa- 

 sion to speak of fish, uses his very words. Doctor 

 Plot, in his History of Staffordshire, has, on the 

 authority of our author, related two of the instances of 

 the voracity of the Pike, mentioned Part I. Chap. 8. ; 

 and confirmed them by two other signal ones, that had 

 then lately fallen out in that country. 

 3 These are testimonies, in favour of Walton's autho- 

 rity in matters respecting fish and fishing. And it will 

 hardly be thought a diminution of that of Fuller, to 

 say, that he was acquainted with, and a friend of the 

 person whom he thus implicitly commends; a fact 

 which the following relation of a conference between 

 them sufficiently proves. 



, Fuller, as we all know, wrote a Church History, 



which, soon after its publication Walton-shaving read 



-applied to the author for some information touching 



Hooker, whose Life he was then about to write. Upon 



this occasion Fuller, knowing how intimate Walton was 



with several of the bishops and ancient clergy, asked 



his opinion of it, and what reception it met with among 



his friends f Walton answered, that " he thought it 



c would be acceptable to all tempers, because there 



' were shades in it for the warm, and sunshine for those 



c of cold constitution : that with youthful readers, 



' the facetious parts would be profitable to make the 



" serious more palatable, while some reverend old read- 



B 4 



