INTRODUCTION. xvii 



upon sport to fill the empty days. When a second edition 

 was found desirable in 1665, about one-third was added 

 to the original size of the book Walton appears to have 

 been given to the practice of re-writing. The later editions 

 which appeared during his lifetime were published in the 

 years 1661, 1668, and 1676 respectively, and the last of 

 these is distinguished by the addition of the Second Part, 

 written by Charles Cotton, dealing with the art of fishing 

 for trout or grayling in a clear stream. 



The Life of Hooker was published in 1652. It is possible 

 that Walton derived some of his materials for this work 

 from Rachel Floud's uncle, George Cranmer, who had 

 been a friend of the great English prose-writer and defender 

 of the Church. In 1670 the biographies of Donne, 

 Wotton, and Hooker were collected and The Life of George 

 Herbert added. The last of the Lives was that of Bishop 

 Sanderson, published in 1678; and the latest piece of 

 writing attributed to Walton appeared in the year of his 

 death. His second wife had died in the year 1662. Dr. 

 Zouch tells us that after the Restoration Walton and his 

 daughter had apartments constantly reserved for them in 

 the houses of Dr. Morley, Bishop of Winchester, and 

 Dr. Ward, Bishop of Salisbury. Izaak Walton died at 

 WincjieM^-in~J&^house of his son-in^Iaw^J^jSawkins, in 

 Decemjber 1683, and was buried in the cathedral there. 



The writings of Walton belong to that class of literature, 

 one of whose primary qualities is charm whose first means 

 of^ attraction is the delightful individuality of its style or 

 manner, of its imagination or fancy, whether serious or 

 humorous. To please us in this particular way cannot be 

 (he privilege of the poet who " almost requires a solemn 

 service of music to be played before you enter upon him ;" 

 and no one has been charmed by any paragraph or period 



