Attractions of Angling. 5 



Without the fatigue which accompanies the more 

 violent exercises of hunting and shooting, angling, 

 as a sport, possesses more than their attractions ; 

 for the less engrossing character of the pursuit per- 

 mits of a greater enjoyment of the fair scenes amid 

 which it is followed, and fosters a closer acquaint- 

 ance with life in water and in air, which is not 

 only in itself a source of pleasure, but an aid in the 

 further prosecution of the sport ; while as an art 

 angling demands higher powers of intelligence and 

 caution, decision and patience, with quite a host of 

 resources and cardinal virtues. Yet the angler 

 need be no slavish follower of his craft. It may 

 be to him no more than a sport which furnishes an 

 outlet for the exercise of his wits, a rational way 

 of enjoying his holiday, and a restorative of his 

 exhausted power. But surely the recreation will 

 be all the more rational, and the enjoyment none 

 the less keen, if the sport is pursued with some 

 degree of skill and with some chance of success. 

 Of the success, indeed, even the accomplished 

 angler cannot be always sure, but every " honest 

 angler " will admit that the skilful pursuit alone 

 deserves it. In this art, as in others, it is practice 

 of course that makes for perfection. But the prac- 

 tice, to be effective, must be with good tools and 

 after good methods ; and in so far as a competent 

 knowledge of tools and methods is conducive to 



