192 THE LAWS OF ANGLING. 



or nothing at all, yet the certainest definition 

 of a several fishing is, " Where one hath the 

 royalty, and owneth the ground on each side of 

 the water ;" which agreeth with Sir William Cal- 

 thorp's case, where an action was brought by hiir 

 against another for fishing in his several fishing, 

 &c. ; to which the defendant pleaded, that the 

 place wherein the trespass was supposed to be 

 done, contained ten perches of land in length, 

 and twenty perches in breadth, which was his 

 own freehold at the time when the trespass was 

 supposed to be done, and that he fished there as 

 was lawful for him to do ; and this was adjudged 

 a good plea by the whole court : and, upon ar- 

 gument in that very case, it was agreed, that 

 no man could have a several fishing but in his 

 own soil, and that free fishing may be in the soil 

 of another man, which was all agreed unto by 

 Littleton, our famous English lawyer. So that 

 from all this may be drawn this short conclusion, 

 that if the angler take care that he offend not 

 with his feet, there is no great danger of his 

 hands. 



But there are some covetous rigid persons, 

 whose souls hold no sympathy with those of the 

 innocent anglers, having either got to be lords of 



