150 ANCIENT ANGLING AUTHORS 



have regarded badminton as admirably adapted for 

 the clerical profession. 



I then asked the Dean, if he had ever heard of the 

 game of shuttlecock ? or if he would laugh at me for 

 mentioning it to him as a good domestic exercise ? 



" Laugh at you ! " said the Dean ; " I know no 

 game, that I value more. It has all the characters of 

 the amusement we want. It gives us good exercise 

 it makes us cheerful and has no connection with 

 our pockets : and if I may whisper another truth in 

 your ear, it does not require much skill to learn. 

 When my legs were in better order, I have spent 

 many a rainy half-hour with Sir Roger, at Shuttle- 

 cock in his hall. . . . Laugh at you ! so far from it 

 that I respect the man, who invented shuttlecock." 



In 1696 the first edition of The True Art of 

 Angling^ by J. S., was published. From the pub- 

 lishers' point of view this must have been a very 

 successful work, for it ran through eleven editions, 

 the last appearing in 1770. After the first two 

 editions the title was changed to The Compleat 

 Fisher ; or, The True Art of Angling. 



As is pointed out in the Bibliotheca Piscatoria> 

 it is probable that the author of this work was the 

 J. Smith, Gent., who wrote Profit and Pleasure 

 United^ for, apart from the initials, certain similar 

 passages in the two books suggest, this conclusion. 

 Compare, for instance, the following extracts : 



Profit and Pleasure. Which Line must be either 

 of Silke or Haire, though the latter I prefer before 

 the former ; and in twisting or breading, you must 

 observe an exact evenness, least one haire being 



