

INTRODUCTION 



There is always a feeling of sadness, mingled with joy, 

 at the birth of a posthumous child ; welcome though the 

 new arrival may be, and doubly dear, perhaps, from the 

 circumstances under which it comes into the world, its 

 friends are irresistibly reminded of the parent whose friend- 

 ship they have lost, and whose fostering care will be 

 wanting to his child. 



Such feelings are evoked by the issue of this book which 

 its Author had prepared for publication, but which, alas ! 

 he was not destined to see through the press. It will appeal, 

 not in vain, to its critics to be kind, and recall, especially 

 to those Northern friends who enjoyed the personal 

 acquaintance of Mr. Pritt, many a delightful hour spent in 

 his company, either at the riverside or in social intercourse, 

 in which they heard, perhaps, not a few of the "Stories" 

 or "Sayings," or received some of the hints which are 

 now " Emptied out of his basket " for the edification or 

 amusement of a wider circle of anglers than they have 

 hitherto reached. 



The proverbial generosity of an angler was a marked 

 feature in our late friend's character ; personal service and 

 pecuniary support were given ungrudgingly to help a brother 

 angler, or forward any movement for preserving old, or 

 developing new, opportunities of indulging in the " gentle 

 art" of which he himself was a master. This generous 



