ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 97 



were incorporated Charles Cotton's Instructions how 

 to Angle in a Clear Stream^ and Colonel Venables' 

 Experienced Angler. The fifth edition was the last 

 issued during the life of Walton ; and the work 

 appears to have been in danger of being lost sight of, 

 when Moses Browne in 1750, at the instigation of 

 Samuel Johnson, "undertook the employment of 

 introducing a favourite author of the last age, who 

 seemed exposed to the unkindness of being forgotten 

 (a fate many excellent writers have suffered) to an 

 Acquaintance with the Readers of my own time." 



There were three editions published by Moses 

 Browne in 1750, 1759, and 1772. 



In 1760 the first of the celebrated editions by Sir 

 John Hawkins appeared : three other editions were 

 issued by this editor during his lifetime, in 1766, 

 1775, and 1784. 



Considerably over one hundred editions have now 

 been published of the Compleat Angler, ranging in 

 price from 3d. to 10. Of these editions the most 

 exhaustive is the one published in 1836 by Sir 

 Harris Nicolas : and the most sumptuous is the one 

 edited by Mr R. B. Marston, the editor of the Fishing 

 Gazette , and known as " The Lea and Dove" edition. 



Mr J. E. Harting has issued an edition of Walton 

 from the naturalist's point of view. In his preface he 

 gives the following estimate of Walton's knowledge 

 of natural history : 



It is not to be denied that many of Walton's state- 



G 



