FISHES AND FISHING. 279 



have been lovers of the art which requires quiet and 

 solitude. "No man surrounded as he must he, thus 

 situated, with the wonders of creation, can fail to look 

 up with veneration and gratitude to the great and 

 glorious Architect of the universe, for the benefits 

 bestowed upon him ; whilst the invigoration of mind 

 and body, resulting from exercise in the open air, the 

 change of scene, reanimates the health and spirits, 

 and renders the angler more capable of exertion on 

 his return to the active duties of life. 



The antiquity of angling can be proved by reference 

 to the Eook of Job, who died 3407 years ago ; by 

 Isaiah, who was put to death 2550 years ago ; by 

 Plutarch, who gives the scene between Cleopatra and 

 Marc Antony : besides, did not Christ order a hook 

 and line to be cast into the sea, and the fish to 

 be taken ? and did he not choose the greater number 

 of the apostles from amongst fishermen ? According 

 to Oppian, the Emperor Severus practised the art of 

 angling, out of a boat in an artificially made lake, 

 wherein dainty fish were bred and fed, of a species 

 fit for the royal table. It was the favourite sport of 

 the Emperor Trajan, and in more modern times it 

 has been that of ]S"elson, Paley, Davy, Chantry, and 

 a host of celebrated characters. 



God gave to man the dominion over the fish of the 

 sea, the fowl of the air, and over every living thing 



