THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



though the faot militates against our derivation 

 of Anglia from "Angling" that the people of 

 Sussex, about 678, were so ignorant of the " gentle 

 art," that the only fish that they knew how to 

 catch were eels, which they probably managed to 

 capture after the primitive fashion of "bobbing" 

 with a pottle of hay. St. Wilfrid, however, taught 

 them the art of fishing with nets, and with hooks 

 and lines ; and thus enabled them, at a period of 

 famine, to procure a supply of food from their own 

 rivers and bays. " This Bishop," says the Venerable 

 Bede, who records the event, ' ' gained the affections 

 of the people of Sussex to a wonderful degree by 

 teaching them this useful art ; and they listened 

 the more willingly to his preaching from whom 

 they had received so great a benefit." St. Wilfrid 

 probably acquired his knowledge of sea-fishing at 

 Lindisfarn or Holy Island, where he was educated ; 

 and as angling was allowed to ecclesiastics as a 

 recreation, it is not unlikely that the Saint may 

 have fished fly for salmon in the Tyne, when he 

 was Bishop of Hexham . 



Sea-fishing, with hook and line, though compre- 

 hended by Professor Rennie under the general term 

 " Angling," does not come within the scope of our 

 " Souvenir," otherwise we might here insert certain 

 ; ' Recollections of Cod-fishing," which, perchance, 

 might prove more lengthy than interesting. We 

 will, however, do better ; we will embellish this 

 portion of the volume with a few illustrations of 



