80 ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 



I have named it, to the Right Honourable, and 

 Gentlemen Anglers of the Citie of London, and 

 else-where within the Realm of England. If the 

 Reader do finde anything herein delightfull, I shall 

 heartily rejoyce : For the favour I have found in 

 them shall never be buried in oblivion by me, and 

 so I bid the world adieu : For I am grown old ; and 

 therefore am willing to set forth my true experience 

 that I have been gathering these fifty years, and 

 the true grounds of Angling, having spent many 

 pounds in the gaining thereof, as is well known 

 where I was born and educated, which is Bracmeal 

 in the libertie of Salop, being there a Free-man, 

 and Burgesse of the same Citie. If any Noble or 

 Gentle Angler, of what degree so ever he be, have 

 a mind to discourse on any of these experiments ; 

 I live in Henry the sevenths gifts, the next door to 

 the Gate-house in Westminster, my name is Barker, 

 where I will be ready to satisfie them. I doe crave 

 pardon for not writing Scholler like ; but my meaning 

 shall be true, as I will maintain during life, which is 

 not like to be long, that the younger frie may have 

 my experiments at a smaller charge than I had them : 

 for it would be too heavie for every one that loveth 

 that pleasure, to be at the charge as I was first in my 

 youth, the losse of my time, with great expences ; 

 therefore I thought it fit in my discretion to let it be 

 understood, and take a little pains to set forth the 

 true grounds and waies of experience and understand- 

 ing, both for the fitting of the Rods and Tackles for 

 the ground Baits and Flies, with directions for the 

 making thereof, with observations for the times and 

 seasons for the ground Baits and Flies, both day and 

 night, with the dressing thereof: for age taketh the 

 pleasure from me, with many Crosses, as is now 

 known to many. 



THOMAS BARKER. 



