108 ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 



no sooner deliberated, but drop'd his Argument, and 

 leaves Gesner to defend it ; so huff'd away : which 

 rendred him rather a formal Opinionist, than a 

 reform'd and practical Artist, because to celebrate 

 such antiquated Records, whereby to maintain such 

 an improbable Assertion. 



Theophilus. This was to the Point, I confess ; pray 

 go on. 



Arnoldus. In his Book intituled the Compleat 

 Angter,you may read there of various and diversified 

 Colours, as also the Forms and Proportions of Flies. 

 Where, poor Man, he perplexes himself to rally and 

 scrape together such a parcel of Fragments, which 

 he fancies Arguments convincing enough to instruct 

 the Adult and Minority of Youth, into the slender 

 Margin of his uncultivated Art, never made practi- 

 cable by himself I'm convinc'd. Where note the 

 true Character of an industrious Angler, more 

 deservedly falls upon Merril and Faulkner ; or rather 

 upon Isaac Owldham, a Man that fish'd Salmon but 

 with three Hairs at Hook ; whose Collections and 

 Experiments were lost with himself. 



Apart from this attack upon Walton, the Northern 

 Memoirs do not call for much notice. In dealing 

 with the salmon, a good description is given of a 

 kelt :- 



Besides, the Salmon is incident, as other Fish are, 

 to various Accidents ; more especially if we consider 

 the female Fish, who in the Spring (as other Females 

 do) drops her Eggs (but some call it Spawn) which 

 makes her infirm : and if it so happen that she lags 

 behind her natural Mate in the fall of the Leaf, she 

 is then prohibited the benefit of Salt-water to bathe 

 her Fins, and carry off her slimy Impurities, which is 

 the natural Cause of her kipperish Infirmity, that 

 alters her delicate Proportion of Body, and blots out 



