INTRODUCTORY 29 



suppose, again a matter of temperament. It is 

 not everybody who cares for the independence 

 and comparative solitude of angling ; and there 

 are probably some people who would consider 

 either of these as a drawback. Nor are we all 

 equally attracted by the charm and changes 

 of the season and by natural beauties, nor all 

 equally interested in the life of the country. 

 The gift of being pleased by these things is 

 one of the most precious possessions that a man 

 can have within him, but it is rare to find it at 

 an early age. In boyhood it is generally dor- 

 mant, and it is not this that we think of when 

 we first begin to fish ; but presently there comes 

 a time when we realise that angling is often 

 taking us to the most beautiful places of the 

 country at the very best times of year, and then 

 we feel a new sense of gratitude and a crowning 

 delight. From now onwards we look at more 

 than the river. There come times when the 

 beauty of the day or of the place seems to 

 possess us, so that the thought of angling ever 

 afterwards becomes full of beautiful associations, 

 of delightful meadows and woods, of light upon 

 water, of the sound of streams, till in the recol- 



