2 INTRODUCTORY. 



who knew nothing whatever about the pursuit at 

 which he threw his sarcasm, who, short-sighted and 

 hypochondriacal, probably could not have enjoyed 

 it had he tried, and who (the fact is sufficient 

 for us) openly proclaimed his preference for the 

 tumult of Fleet Street to the finest rural scene in 

 England. Still we are bound to confess, that the 

 British public is to a considerable extent divided as 

 to which definition is the more correct. There are 

 few amusements which the uninitiated look upon 

 as so utterly stupid ; and an angler seems generally 

 regarded as at best a simpleton, whose only merit, 

 if he succeeds, is that of unlimited patience, and 

 whose want of success should he not succeed is 

 only attributable to his want of that virtue, of which 

 people seem to take fully more credit for the want 

 than for the possession. Such impressions can 

 only have originated in very confused ideas of 

 both angling and patience; and though it may 

 suit the unsuccessful to abuse angling as "slow" 

 and monotonous, and to quote Dr. Johnson's famous 

 saying which, so far as they are concerned, is 

 certainly correct angling, as we hope to show, is 

 by no means either slow or simple, and requires 

 just the same qualifications as are required for 

 success in any other pursuit viz., energy and skill, 

 and those in no small degree. 



If, however, on the one hand angling is looked 

 upon with little favour by an unenlightened multi- 

 tude, on the other hand there is no amusement to 



