ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 149 



against me a most formidable body of evidence: but 

 will you give me leave to challenge them ? Donne, 

 you know, was esteemed in the early part of his life, 

 an incorrect man : and I suppose you are not much 

 acquainted with his opinion on the subject after he 

 became a pious divine. 



" For my predecessor, Dr Nowel, I have a high 

 reverence ; and I have heard, as you have, that he 

 was an able angler. But I have heard also that he 

 made it a rule to give all his fish to the poor ; which 

 looks as if the good man was not quite easy in his 

 business ; but thought some kind of expiation neces- 

 sary. . . . As to my friend Walton (whom I much 

 esteem) though I allow him to be a pleasing writer, 

 I doubt whether he is a deep reasoner. How angling 

 can be called the contemplative man's Recreation, I 

 cannot see. That the contemplative man may lay 

 his rod on the bank, and take out his book, or 

 meditate on a subject, I can easily conceive. But 

 what has that to do with angling? While he is 

 following his profession, and attending to his fly, 

 I should not give much for the produce of his 

 contemplation." 



The curate next points out that the Apostles were 

 fishermen, and that " our Saviour himself bids Peter 

 cast his hook into the sea." To which the Dean 

 replied that Peter did not cast his hook into the sea 

 for amusement. However, he would not censure 

 angling too harshly, out of respect to the memory 

 of his father, who was both a very able angler and 

 a most humane man, and felt for every living creature 

 except a fish. 



It is evident from the high opinion in which the 

 Dean held the game of shuttlecock, that he would 



